to get a handwriting tutor for DS or not worry?

[farewellfigure]

DS has just started yr 2 today. His handwriting is appalling. He's left-handed and a boy (obviously!) which I know are two disadvantages, but it really is bad. I can hardly read what he writes most of the time. i've no idea how his teacher deciphers it.

Anyway, he had some writing homework to do over the summer, and my DM was here for a while, so she helped him with it. She sat him down and they really gelled together and she managed to get him to do the best writing I have ever seen him do. She was really quite strict with him but he listened and really concentrated. She said things like, 'No, that's not good enough. Rub it out and start again'. I must admit I was smiling to myself as she was way harsher than I would ever be.

Anyway, the question is, should I get a tutor to come and help him, just like DM did? He progressed better in two hours with her than in the whole of year 1. Do they actually teach handwriting any more in school? Or should I just lighten up and not worry about it? Will it just get better with time? I've no idea what's normal really but his report last year said his writing was the lower end of average.

Sorry, quite long!

Larry really? I fill in a form by hand once in a blue moon. Mostly I just fill them out as pdf's on my computer. Perhaps your ds would be better served to know how to fill out a form on his phone or computer as that's easier to carry around than a parent as he moves on in life.

I am a lefty and I had so much pressure from school about this.

It got better because I put in some effort but it is appalling again since leaving school.

Anyway educationally I got a PhD in a science subject.

Don't put too much emphasis on this though, I clearly remember being told how awful I was and I found it upsetting.

Most medics have terrible handwriting. He could become a doctor!

Kennington, I was just going to post that it must be a sign that he's going to become a doctor!

Glad someone else noted this. I wasn't joking either. Being left handed has made me a dunce at handwriting and terribly clumsy and awkward. But it wasn't pathological and hasn't held me back.......other things might have, but not bad lefty writing!!

I've found that it's laziness that causes most guys I know to have horrible handwriting. My dad is left handed but he really values hand written letters and his writing is painstakingly neat. My brother, however, used to be forced to sit at the kitchen table with my mum, writing and rewriting as she scrubbed out his scrawled homework. Give it a while, he's only young.

Marking piles of illegible school work is a nightmare. I'd love to see a general improvement in handwriting quality. It's so frustrating when you know a piece of work has great ideas, but you can't piece together enough legible words to extort the meaning. It's very time consuming too.

Handwriting is still a useful skill, and even in an age of typing, developing that fine motor control is a valuable transferable skill.

I have a left handed boy who still finds it extremely hard to write neatly at ten. It's so hard if you're left handed - his hand naturally goes straight over his writing. I wouldn't make an issue of it, but I would encourage and support. We have tried rewards but to be honest it is still an issue even now - he's a bright boy - but it's hard to read what he's written.

There is a thread here somewhere (hopefully in my watched threads) - I'll post a link if I find it.

Your ds will do it fine when he is good and ready

That is just not true. Not everyone just 'does' things without practice and some effort FFS

There is actually a growing amount of evidence that handwriting is good for the brain, and that taking notes by hand (as opposed to typing) enhances recall considerably. Touchtyping is a great skill but it is not a substitute for handwriting.

By all means get a tutor if you want, or do some work with him yourself. Some kids respond better to a non-parent. Keep it gentle--just a little at a time!

My, 20 and 22 year old sons always had terrible writing and still do . They have never had any interest in arts or crafts and their terrible writing has never bothered them. However, I know it bothered their teachers as it was always the first thing their teachers mentioned in parent teacher reports. I would be amazed if they didn't loose marks in exams due to their ilegible writing.
They also disliked colouring or drawing.
Although they mostly use computers as they get older I still think having legible handwriting is important and I wish I had been more proactive getting my sons to write legibly when they were young. If you don't get into the habit when you are young it's hard to change it when you are older.

My DH has beautiful writing as do both my DDs. I also have terrible writing and, if I think someone will read my writing, I only use capitals as it's a little clearer.

OP - I can't find the thread I was looking for, but search for threads by MrZ who says he is a reception teacher and SENCO and has gone into a lot of detail in his posts.

whois of course not everyone does things without practice. But by the same token, not everyone can be good at things just because they do practice. I diligently practiced the violin every day for 30 minutes for 7 years during my childhood. I was terrible when I started and I was terrible when I finished and I ended up with absolutely nothing out of it. I think that my time could have been better spent on something more suited to me. But my mother thought that it was a necessary part of a childhood education.

What is good for the brain really depends on the child and how they learn. I was told when my ds was younger that he would have great difficulty taking notes and listening at the same time as he got older and the school work got more difficulty and that it would not be beneficial to his learning to try to force him to do so. In fact, we have found that to be completely true as he got older. He pretty much remembers whatever he hears and as he moves even further up his education he will probably need to record his classes.

My little boy had similar issues. He lives for details, so we suggested he copy his favourite facts and figures. To make it fun we let him buy something new to copy (he picked a football magazine and a horrible histories book), he also got an excercise book so he could see his improvement and one of those lovely shaped stabillo(?) pens. The pen really helped his technique.
His class teacher was so impressed with the improvement that he awarded my son pupil of the week.
The best bit? The head teachers handwriting on the certificate was almost illegible!

Do write from the start and get him touch typing. then re-evaluate.

Scruffy handwriting often shows that the great ideas are all queuing up trying to get out of the end of a pen. The brain is working quicker than the hand can write. Slowing down the handwriting by crafting helps the ideas to get wait in order and is a great way of editing in the mind before it makes it to paper. The equivalent of think before you speak.

mrz will suggest using a slope for writing ( an A4 ring binder would be a good option, the lever arch type I mean).
Have you seen the stabilo handwriting pencils? they do RH or LH versions- supermarkets have them at this time of year, with all the back to school stuff. There are also chunkier pencil by staedtler which my DS finds easier to use. And faber castell have triangular pencils, which my DD found easier to grip.

It does come down to practice I'm afraid, and whilst it is still onerous for him, he will still hate it. Once he cracks the sheer laboriousness of it, he will be away.
Bribery is always a good tactic

We're having problems with DS1's handwriting. Along with other issues he's ended up being referred to check he didn't have dyslexia or dyspraxia which he doesn't. His Occupational Therapist has suggested we use this: www.amazon.co.uk/Write-start-Programme-Perceptual-Handwriting/dp/1855032457

We were strict when we got him to write things so like you said your Mum made him rub stuff out. That made a huge difference and his writing went from illegible to very messy but legible. You do need to intervene now because if you don't his handwriting will become habit and we all know it's difficult to change a bad habit.

Observe how he writes and give him hints and tips that help him form the letter. I know they practice in school but unless it's 1 to 1 they can't tell if he's doing it correctly or not. For example my son will write 'I' by starting at the bottom and drawing a line up. Anyone looking at it would think its was fine but if you watch him write it you realise there's a problem.

Make sure at school he has a sheet with all the letters on and arrows showing how they are formed.

As to a tutor well I've given up finding one, loads of people will claim to be able to help. The closest I've found is an English Teacher with beautiful handwriting but I'm relying on the above and intervention of school to start with.

Good luck remember it's not about getting it perfect just good enough.

Really bad handwriting is self-penalising once they get to GCSE's - an examiner cannot award any marks for words that cannot be read.

It is worth taking some action now. Can your DM visit and work with him more regularly?

Random my mum lives about 2 hours away on the train and has various health issues, so it's a big thing for her to come here. She probably comes 2 or 3 times a year and we have a wonderful time. Out of all the activities we did over the holidays (Spain, camping, beach, park etc), DS picked out 'Granny being here' as his most favourite thing. They have a special bond. I half jokingly said that she'd have to visit more often to help him with his handwriting, but she knew I wasn't being serious. I wish she'd just move in with us to be honest.

I will give it a couple of weeks and try do do some more writing with him, being as strict as my mum was. I like the idea of him picking out something special for him to copy. If there isn't an improvement, I'll talk to his new teacher and ask whether there is anything in place in the school to help him. I remember spending whole lessons forming letters on that special 3 lined paper when I was at school. Now I think they copy from the board and I know some of it just hasn't gone in. He writes his lower case Es and Ss from the bottom up! And he puts random upper case letters all over the place. And he rarely leaves a space between his words. Sometimes I think he just doesn't concentrate enough.

Thanks for all the brilliant ideas and help.

You could suggest he writes letters to your mum? As her lessons with him are still fresh in his mind, the thought of her checking his letter over might spur him on?
If nothing else it would be a lovely thing for both of them to do together, especially with her being so far away.

Handwriting really comes together in Year 2 so I wouldn't worry too much. 5 minutes a day the or for times a week on handwriting paper should be enough to make progress. Learn how the school teaches handwriting and then follow that. Correct but don't chastise. Talk to the teacher and ask if they plan on putting any provision in place.

farewellfigure. My 20 year DS2 still writes some of his letters from the bottom to the top. It's painful to watch. He went to a traditional three R's type school overseas and was taught to write properly albeit a rather flowery old fashioned style. His writing is also microscopic.

I think you have to be proactive now as you can't change it later on.

Luckily DS2 is academic enough to have got away with loosing marks in exams but I often wonder if he would have got higher grades with better writing.

I would second the suggest of Stabilo Easy Ergo pencils and pens. The help with the correct finger grip. DS1 has dysgraphia and even after OT intervention his handwriting is not brilliant. He is Yr7 and started learning touch typing in Yr 6 with the aim of him being able to type most of his exams.

I think I remember a thread on here were a special pen for left handed children was available from educational shops to help. It might have had different contours etc?

Would this be something he would engage with?

My middle brother has atrocious left handed writing and yes it held back his literacy too. He always said it was back to front for him.

As a child I wanted to be like the big brothers and would sit at the table rubbing out their old homework writing books and redoing them whilst they did their school work. It really improved my writing and I have very neat work.

I also grew about developing his fine motor skills of hi hands, things like threading beads on a string etc will all help him.

Please do to leave him to struggle he really reminds me of my brother. Would your mum be prepared to do some work with him each time she is there if nearby? Or look for any occupational therapy advice online for one motor skills.

Larry really? I fill in a form by hand once in a blue moon. Mostly I just fill them out as pdf's on my computer. Perhaps your ds would be better served to know how to fill out a form on his phone or computer as that's easier to carry around than a parent as he moves on in life.
He is computer literate and touch types well, but there are some forms, particularly for the work he does, which do not offer the option of an online form.