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handwriting
- This topic has 7 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 10 months ago by
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Ds5 can write most of his letters, although they’re sloppy. I thought I would back up and start over, using the order HWOT recommends instead of alphabetical. My question is, should I stay with the same letter for weeks and weeks until he is neat, or go on to the next one when I can tell what it is and work on neatness later? (His preschool says he has motor skills issues; Dh and I think it’s just a matter of he’s not ready yet. After all, he’s only five).
Thanks for your input.
Karen
I wouldn’t stay with the same letter for weeks and weeks, that would almost certainly become quite monotonous for your ds (and yourself!). At the age of 5 I wouldn’t worry too much about handwriting. If you want him to practice his letters I would suggest making it only a 5 minute practice so he doesn’t get bored or discouraged. Just make sure he is beginning to hold his pencil (or crayons/markers) the right way so you won’t have to break a bad habit later on. At 5 yrs old my son’s motor skills were not refined enough for very good handwriting and he became very discouraged (I thought we had to master it, not simply introduce it, my fault!). I decided to take a step back and use sidewalk chalk in the driveway for him to practice making letters REALLY big. That was so much fun and then we would play word games using the letters he made. Remember, at the age of 5 it is more important to instill a love and appetite for learning, along with loads of freedom to play outdoors. Handwriting practice will be much easier if you wait until he is ready for copywork and his fine motor skills are more developed. I hope that is encouraging to you, and have fun!
Rachel 😀
In addition to Rachel’s great idea re. sidewalk chalk, you could try a salt or sand box to draw and easily erase letters, shaving cream on a cookie sheet, finger paint, etc. We’ve enjoyed these from time to time for practice.
Christie
We’re already trying the sidewalk chalk idea. The other stuff, well, I don’t know. We have outdoor cats, so a sandbox is out of the question (they think it’s a litter box). He’s under an IEP with our ps and will continue in speech there twice a week; they’ve hinted that they might test him for first grade readiness at the end of the 2010 school year. That means he has to be able to write his name and his numbers to 20 as well as reading and math (which I’m not worried about). We’ll have to do some pencil and paper work for that.
Karen
I have a related question. Rachel mentioned that you definitely want him to hold the pencil the “correct” way from the beginning. I was talking with other moms the other day about this exact topic. All of our children (preschool-early elem.) hold their pencil the same “wrong” way. And none of us could really articulate why that was a problem : ). Does anyone know WHY there is one “correct” way to hold a writing utensil when you write? If they can master the form and make it look lovely, is there a problem with holding it like a nonconformist? None of us really knew – HELP!!
Thanks,
Jenna
First of all, is this my friend Jenna from LBC (now LPC)? If you have no idea what I’m talking about then just say so 😀
As for pencil holding procedure, there are several different methods, all of which have good reasons for different positions. I am of the opinion that the “correct” way is whichever one feels comfortable to the child, doesn’t cause cramping or tightness and gets the job done well. As long as the right muscles are being used it should be fine, the small finger muscles, not the wrist and arm muscles because that would become very tiring. I am very non-conformist 😉 and as long as my children aren’t complaining about hand, wrist or arm cramps then I let them go for it (but keep watching in case they need a few pointers). Many folks have success with the triangular shaped pencils or the little grips that slide on a regular pencil if their child just isn’t able to get the right feel for how to control the small muscles. There are some neat exercises I’ve come across from the Montessori method that help with small muscle control (pinching clothespins around the rim of a basket, wringing wet sponges from one bowl into another, transferring beans or corn using a spoon or tweezers). These “games” are usually used to encourage pre-writers fine motor skills, but I’ve used them with my 7 yr old and have noticed an improvement in his writing. I’ll be interested to hear what others have to say on this subject, especially since copywork is such a central part of the CM method.
Rachel 😀
Hi Karen,
When I started my son at five, it backlashed on me and he hated to write.
When you wrote HWOT, did you mean Handwriting without Tears? I highly recommend it. My dd started with it at that age and it uses crayons instead of pencils. Plus, as she explains, at that age, they shouldn’t be using a full length pencil. They don’t develop that ‘pincher’ with their fingers as they should.
Use chalk and short crayons only, follow the directions in the book and he’ll do great; he won’t even think he’s ‘working’ on something. Also, she liked the mini-chalk board and stamp and see screen, where there’s tracing with a short, chalk like ‘pen’.
We went thorugh that first book real slow, plus, everytime she did a new letter, she would color the pre-k wall card that corresponded with the same letter and I hung it on her wall. Of course, that won’t work if your son doens’t care to color, but it worked for her.
He is too young to do traditional handwriting, yes, he hasn’t developed properly yet. It’s not that anything is wrong with him, jyst young. And each child develops at different paces.
BTW, it’s not been until this year (two years later for both my children) that I consider there h/wing ‘neat’. I still use HWT paper with my dd, but under a different copywork program (at least until she starts cursive, then I’ll switch back to the book for learning that year), that uses the style for her to trace and copy.
Rachel
Thank you Rachel – no we are not friends from LPC. But we can be friends from SCM :-)! It actually occurred to me to also ask my sis-in-law who is an OT. She assured me that there are several “correct” ways to hold a pencil. We just have to make sure our kids are using one of those options. Phew – I am with you, one option just feels so constricting!!
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