We didn't try to make her feel bad, we were very matter-of-fact and just let her know that there will be times when people other than mom, dad, and teachers will need to read her work and neatness counts in the real world. I think she got the point...
Statistics: Posted by Shari Nielsen — Sun Mar 23, 2008 6:16 pm
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I agree with those of you who say that pushing your child too hard to produce super neat handwriting will be counterproductive. At the same time,allowing sloppy work sends the message that it's ok to produce something less than what she's capable of.
My angle would be to ask the question: Why write in the first place?
If she is not the type who is willing to sit down for long periods of time doing handwriting drills, then it may be a good idea to try the following:
- let the writing task be meaningful. Write short thank you notes, little reminders, the titles of stories, putting captions on photos, labels, speech bubbles in comics...anything that is communicative.
- let the writing task be manageable. Is the prospect of writing a whole page too intimidating for your learner? Then it's better to do a little writing each day. Break the big task into smaller steps.
-increase your standards for neatness gradually. What can she manage now? Focus on one aspect of neatness ( make sure the letters touch base?) at a time.
I hope these suggestions are helpful
Statistics: Posted by tricia — Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:48 am
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I am a lefty, and I did not do well enough in 5th grade in handwriting. Everything else I did fine. Imagine getting all A's (why they grade in 5th grade is beyond me) and then get a "C" in handwriting. I hated being told that it wasn't good enough.
I think I would take her favorite subject and do some writing for that subject. Even if it is math. Here's a place to find things to write about for math:
www.mathcats.com
Look for the writing contests. You might get some ideas, even if you don't enter a contest. The point is to get her to write on paper, but not focus on the writing itself.
Also, look at Homeschool's Cool A to Z website, the page for handwriting has links for everything you could possibly think of there.
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/web ... riting.htm
I have been using the Getty-DuBay Italics handwriting books. They give instructions in the front of the books and in the teachers manual for how to sit correctly, and how to hold the pen/pencil.
Chalk and dry-erase boards can be fun for kids to write on, too. That would give her some fun practice.
She might like those books called
And, I agree with what the others were saying about it not being that important. Just remember that you want to build her confidence, not make her self-conscious. Don't worry, though. I can see that you have a loving relationship with your child. Hope some of this helps
Draw Write Now. You draw simple pictures and write a text.Statistics: Posted by Mathmom — Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:30 am
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Not that we don't write neatly when we need to, but when did our kids ever see anything that we'd written neatly? All they ever saw of our handwriting was phone messages, and other notes jotted to ourselves crosswise while holding armfuls of stuff and using the weak hand. I may be exaggerating slightly, but see what I mean?
I even used to always write my remarks on their schoolwork diagonally, so they had no sense that the lines on lined paper are to be used.
I had to make myself write everything neatly for a few months because my children really do learn everything by example, even handwriting.
HTH,
Ramona
Statistics: Posted by Ramona — Mon Dec 24, 2007 11:59 am
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