Not a TAAT but a question about Berol Handwriting pens...

[Nothavingfunrightnow]

The exploding pens thread reminded me that I had wanted to ask teachers why Berol Handwriting pens are The Pen for school children.

DS (aged 10) uses it and his handwriting is hideous. I don't think that a ballpoint would make his writing beautiful, but perhaps better. However, his school (state) has requested the children use that type of pen.

Why??

[MrsMot]

Horrible things. OTs I know hate them - they do nothing to help encourage a good grip and are hopeless for left-handers.

The Berol fountain pens aren't much better...

[JellyBabiesSaveLives]

So which are good pens then?

[CtrlAltDelicious]

I loathe them. I remember having to use them at primary school and my handwriting was appalling. Last year I suggested we switch to fountain pens but our head would only let us by the cheapest crappy ones you could imagine. They dripped, they splotched, they scratched... not good. I like roller ball pens best.

[Nothavingfunrightnow]

I think so, too, MrsMot! But like Jellybabies, I have no clue which ones are better. Perhaps the triangular shaped ones?

I know this is not the biggest problem in the universe, but DS' handwriting really is shit, and the school does not seem bothered about it. Then again, I come from the old school where we had handwriting practice every day (not that my writing is perfect, mind!)


Why are Berols recommended for school kids??

[coffeetofunction]

There horrendous! I remember them well.

[Nothavingfunrightnow]

Yes, they are horrendous! I am going to get DS to use another type. Hopefully that will improve his writing.

I would still love to know why they are considered THE handwriting pen for school kids!

[CtrlAltDelicious]

BUY, not by

[Nothavingfunrightnow]

:) haha! I missed that one...

[threepiecesuite]

I like these Stabilo bendy ones the most but Jesus the price!

[Thatssofunny]

We don't have Berol Handwriting pens at school. We use Staedler...the yellow ones. www.artshopmaterials.co.uk/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/t/staedtler_handwriting_pen._black.jpg

I actually prefer the Berol ones, because of the colour...and I think ours are quite thin and scratchy. However, we used fountain pens from second grade onwards when I was in school. I'd rather they used those, but mine don't have a clue how to write with them.
I think the idea is that handwriting pens are supposed to provide a better ink flow compared to biros, which would make joined up writing easier. I have to admit, though, I find the handwriting of most British children shocking and don't understand why there isn't a set handwriting style. Every primary school does its own little thing. Lots of boys (not just, but mostly), who move into my class when they get to UKS2, have dreadful handwriting, still print, still use pencil, have inconsistent letter heights and make a complete mess when asked to join their writing. Usually takes me about 5 weeks of being an absolute bitch and they are sorted...Not sure why this cannot be done earlier in their school career, though. (Yes, I also have children with SEN, who will not get there...but the majority are capable of writing legibly.)

We rarely have exploding pens, though. Perhaps once or twice per term (usually because they chewed on them).

[Pippidoeswhatshewants]

Berols are the "official" handwriting pens at dcs school (because they are cheap?). Mine both use these www.amazon.co.uk/STABILO-EASYoriginal-Rollerball-Right-Handed/dp/B001QCGOKG/ref=sr_1_11?s=officeproduct&ie=UTF8&qid=1424639538&sr=1-11&keywords=handwriting%20pens&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21, though, and school seem to be ok with that.

[MrsMot]

Yes, Stabilo are good. I also like a German brand called Schneider.
They do roller ball and fountain pens, both with decent triangular grips. The nibs on the pens are robust too. They're much cheaper than Lamy pens.
Here

[PlaydoughGirl]

I like pilot frixion pens: www.pilotpen.co.uk/en/must-have/frixion-family.html
The ink flows well even for children with light handwriting pressure, and they're erasable!

[18yearstooold]

They haven't used berol pens at dd's school for years

They use roller ball pens, start teaching pre cursive in reception and join up in yr 1

Dd has beautiful handwriting

[steppeinginto2015]

There are 2 types of berol school pen though aren't there?

One is a fibre tip and IMO hard to write with
The other is more like a roller ball and much better.

ds has just started secondary and asked for a Lamy fountain pen for Christmas. he loves it, and it has improved his (awful) writing.

[MrsMot]

The only thing to watch with Frixion pens is that the ink 'disappears' if you laminate it!

[Daisy17]

I hate Berol Handwriting pens, in order to get it to flow properly you have to hold the damn thing completely upright which does completely bizarre things to one's grip! Pens need to be able to write slightly slanted otherwise they are useless. Parker fountain pens all the way. Lovely rounded nibway, no scratching, excellent ink flow. [Gavel]

[thecatfromjapan]

I like Lamy. Great colours, too.

[Nothavingfunrightnow]

I agree about it being odd that there is no fixed handwriting style in England. In fact, in DS's infant school, I found that all 3 Reception classes had different styles of writing being taught by the 3 different teachers - well, not 100% different, but all 3 had different style capital Fs and it annoyed me enough to say something to the school :)

[Hulababy]

We have the Berol Handwriting pens in school, mainly for year 2 and generally only used for weekly handwriting practise or for "published" work - when work is written up for best.

I don't mind them too much to be honest. I find they write fine and flow quite easily, but they do change after someone has used them a while. They'd be better if children were issued with their own rather than having a class box to dip in and out of.

Our left handers use them too, though none have said anything negative about them to us.

I'd also prefer them to have finger grips or something on them more clearly to help with pen grip.

They aren't the best handwriting pens out there but they are very good value for money for class use. They work out at about 35p per pen. That's hard to beat really.

[Dixiechick1991]

We use the "manuscript handwriting pens" from YPO. Before I took over the class they were using biro and work looked so messy. It'd 10 x neater now.


www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00P3IMIGS/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1424815935&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=handwriting%20pens%20manuscript&dpPl=1&dpID=41dPCwhSPDL&ref=plSrch&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21