Handwriting

[scarlett]

Mmm , I find trying to decipher some of the doctors handwriting I know is just like one big non verbal paper. Which I'm not very good at.

[mystery]

I think it is probably because doctors drink too much.

[scarlett]

Eh ? Although the doctors where I am spend quite a lot of time on the childrens games consoles.

[menagerie]

Has he got those exercise books with the faint red lines at mid and three quarter heights to show the correct heights of the letters? They are helpful reminders for sizing of letters. Is he aware that handwriting is one of the areas of assessment in literacy? If he's ambitious it may spur him on to know he can't be awarded a 4a, say, until his writing is legible with ascenders and descenders rising and falling to the correct positions above and below the line.

You could try and get him to do some strengthening exercises too. Arms out straight in front of him, open and close fingers, like twinkling stars (don't tell him this if he's yr 4, obv, say like a Scooby Doo monster, or something relatively cool.) Keep doing it until his hands ache. Set it up as a challenge, who can do it for longest.

Also, put hands in prayer position, chest height, palms pressed together, but elbows sticking up, so forearms are at right angles to hands. Press hands down to get a stretch through the hands. Some handwriting problems are physical, as we don't use our hands as much as we used to. Get him to wring out facecloths and wet swimming stuff too. All strengthens the muscles in the area that has to grip a pen.

Where's he holding the pencil? If too low (too near the point) it's hard to get good control. Wrap a rubber band above the pointed end, so he has to hold it slightly higher up.

[DIY Mum]

OP- sounds like my Y4 boy. His messy writing was because he had his own weird style of letter formation and didn't distinguish between letter heights (h was like an n).

I have some 'good' handwriting books for him like Cambridge PenPals and Morrells but the reality is that he finds them such a chore so we do it in short bursts. He prefers a more creative approach than going through exercise books.

Liked using the cursive white board as it's quick and easy. He also likes drawing and labelling his pictures, writing out out football teams and players (so much easier to work on his handwriting during those sessions).

To motivate him to get his letter heights right, we personalised the letters. E.g. F being the tallest and longest letter represents (dad /father). L is a tall letter and represents mum (mums being ladies ). T is not as tall and is the teenager and I is a small letter, therefore the baby of the family (infant). Writing a couple of lines using 'f l i t' or 'iltf' on a laminated handwriting sheet worked well.

Sand-paper letters are good in sorting out letter formation: like the 'c' family: a, e, o, d, g, q. Don't need to buy them just make them yourself with glitter and glue. Making sentence strips using glue pens and glitter/ coloured sand is also fun. Doing arts and crafts -making badges, personalised gifts etc is also a great way of motivating them to write well.

Hand exercising sounds like a good idea.
I think girls are so much more better than boys in developing their 'pincer grip'- my girls love writing but my three boys don't. Other than arts n crafts, the only time my ds consciously strengthens his pincer grip and exercises his hands is when he is picking out bugs from the garden or playing with lego.

[intensiveyears]

Thank you all so much for your ideas, greatly appreciated!