Kid's and handwriting

Fun ways to teach handwriting!

I've read about a mom who's ranting about his son's writing skills in one of a local forum. Her 5 year old daughter is being asked by her teacher to do a very long copywork in school every single day. The dear kid needs to write her assignment and other notes from the board to her notebook everyday! Her child had a hard time finishing and therefore the parents attention were called and was advised to make the child practice more so that she'll be able to catch up, otherwise she won't get a good grade or worse fail her subjects. Oh, by the way, did I mention that the kid was only in pre-school.

Another mom's dilemma is her son who needed to do another tedious copywork and worse, the kid is only 3! During a periodic exam, the poor toddler wasn't able to finish up his test, he failed the exam and was only advised that the parents should take note of the child's weakness in that area. Talk about stress for a 3 year old.

I'm really very sad hearing these stories. I wonder if these parents realize the stress their kids experience. Naturally, the parents would think and wonder if there is indeed something wrong about their kid, doubt their parenting skills, compare their kids with other kids. But, only some would think that maybe the way their kids were taught is not how their kids would better understand or learn. Kids have different learning styles, each different and unique. But, they are all avid learners if nurtured from the start.

I couldn't help but to see myself in the lives of these moms. I myself have struggled with my son's writing problem. Too much letter reversals, poor grip, not wanting to write or color, and just really bad handwriting skills. All I can remember only is that having a nanny for my son who did almost all of his stuff for him (from brushing his teeth, feeding him, picking up his toys). I realized, he has totally lost control over a basic learning in his life... and that is building a stronger grip.

When we placed him in a pre-school at 3! I was so amazed that he could write his nickname already. I didn't mind the handwriting as he was only starting to write, I thought he'd eventually write much better next time. But when he turned 5, his teacher would tell us that he had problems in his writing. His grip isn't that strong and that he doesn't want to write at all. With that, he didn't want to write, read or even memorize. He has simply lost interest in any language arts subject... except for one thing. Read-alouds (story reading time).

I've also observed that he had a lot of reversed letters and numbers. Sometimes he would reverse the letter E or numbers 3 and all the other letters. I got a bit concerned, some would say maybe he's dyslexic or had dysgraphia. All of those thoughts greatly concerned me that I researched on every single thing on how to improve his handwriting.

This prompted me to homeschool my child for pre-school and pulled him out of regular school of 2 years so I can focus on his needs. My son loves to be read at. His comprehension is truly excellent and he simply love to invent or come up with new things! I just want him to catch up, and should he decide to come back again... He'll be more prepared, able to read and write wth ease. For me, it is the best time to address this.

In our homeschool curriculum with Sonlight.com. I saw Handwriting without Tears (www.hwtears.com). It was made by a mom (an occupational therapist) who had a son who once came home from school crying because of handwriting. I read and watched their studies and right away included it as part of our curriculum.

I bought a 2-lined paper, Wet-Dry-Try Board,Wooden Pieces and the Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers guide and Workbook. I read the teacher's guide thoroughly. Managed to teach Ice with the wooden pieces first, played with the sticks as if we're sword fighting and just simply had fun. I wasn't in a hurry with the lessons as I have the entire year to finish up all the letters of the alphabet and the numbers.

During the 1st week, We did 1 letter per week, 2 days for wooden pieces, 1 day wet-dry-try, and mastering the grip as he hold the pencil. I also taught him about the helping hand the way HWtears taught a kid as it worked with my son. Now, he knows his helping hand should always be awake to help him out.

Now, we've done 2 months of HWOT and during the 1st month, my son have progressed into building 2 letters per week (including the lowercase of those letters). His grip has improved a lot, now when he does his coloring... he doesn't just lazily scribble but makes sure he fully fill the image with colors.

I also have noticed that he doesn't do reversals anymore. I believe it's because of HWOT style of teaching starting on top (we would sing this song to make sure he remebers, I managed to play it on the piano as well) and also consistenly follow the strokes/style of each character. The same way Chinese characters are written about which 1st stroke to start before the other strokes are written for that character to be read well.

Before, his handwriting would be either too big that his 3 letter name would occupy almost half of the paper. But, now... teaching him that letters/words needs to be sticking together as a family and not separately, has helped him.

Writing with kids should be fun, it shouldn't be something that must be pressured to a kid but must be made as a habit. Yes, everyday we consistently do copywork like writing his Full name, Family names, sending greeting cards, and even writing or painting on the sidewalk, using bubbles to write in the bathroom. And many times just practicing writing letters even while eating. :)

I'll be scanning some photos of his handwriting 1 month before HWOT and his handwriting now. Even Ice would say he writes better now and that gave him a lot of confidence to write even more. No pressure in writing, just playing and learning at the same time.

As a homeschooling mom, these are the things that I will forever cherish. That is to be an answer to my child's problem. Not questioning him or even comparing him to other kids who are doing well in school. This may seem like an easy problem but I know how frustrating this is for my son.

Even if you don't homeschool because you are working, spending 1 hour a day will help you discover your child's strength and areas to improve on. It's worth the time when both of you address these together... trust me! It's priceless.