DS (5) and handwriting

[figcake]

I would really appreciate tips for improving DS' writing. I know he is young and his motor skills may not have caught up yet. However, I DO feel that it is important in his case as he is practically a free reader, he enjoys writing (and more recently spelling too!) and will willingly sit down and choose to do it.

I have tried Write from the Start - we are half way through it, I cannot see much of a difference. Infact, his writing is more difficult to read than it was last year when he first started writing.

I know about Mrz list of activities. However, a lot of them seem to be geared to pre-school and the pre-writing stage. I am a bit worried as the gap widens between his reading and writing attainment - it obv has other implications if I am correct?

There is no point asking the school for help as I have taught him whatever he has not taught himself - they are rubbish and still forcing him to do really basic stuff just because they have a chip on their shoulder about his speech dating back to when he started at their nursery at age 3.1.

Are there any other writing progs I could invest in?

Btw, have bought pencil grips, claw pencils, fat pens, hexagonal pencils, thin pens, glittery pens - you name it!

I would also add that it is not related to high expectations - I have seen the writing produced by other children in the class as well as examples on the NC website. Also, that he does know correct letter formations and is actually very good at grammar (fully understands and applies it). It is just that his writing is so illegible (incl syntax, size and placement of letters) that I am having to memorise the stories that he is making up as he writes just so that he feels that it is possible to read it (he certainly can't read much of his own writing).

Handwriting without tears

or just concentrate on the syntax, size and placement of letters as you are saying. Each day you practice handwriting with him choose one goal for him to work on (all letters sitting on the line, or finger space between words, or all letters being the same size, or whatever)

Thanks Indigo - had a look at it, there seem to be so many different components - Do you know of any bundle deals or ways of cutting the cost by supplementing their materials with homemade worksheets?

I understand that it is not unusual for there to be a disparity between boys reading and handwriting. My 5 year old ds is in year 1. He is what they call a rainbow reader which is good. I am aware his writing skills [neatness, size of writing..] are way below his reading ability. He says he finds writing hard and tiring. He really doesn't want to write at home and at the moment I'm not pushing it. He is left handed and also finds cutting with scissors difficult- even left handed ones. I kind of hope it will just sort itself out...

Another mum here of a DS in reception with a massive gap between reading and writing skills! No advice but just wanted you to know it's not unusual.

figcake the activities aren't for pre school they are for reception /KS1 and even KS2 if children have difficulties.
I would also teach children the correct sequence of movement to form letters correctly regardless of age. If they know where to start the letter and in which direction to move and where to end they can't go wrong.
Worksheets that require children to overwrite/trace/copy only work if you sit with your child and make sure they are forming each letter correctly.
I use Write from the Start as "handwriting" exercises

could someone tell me where i could find mrz activities please ?

Fine Motor Skills
Things to remember:
Upright working surfaces promote fine motor skills. Examples of these are: vertical
chalkboards; easels for painting; flannel boards; lite bright; magnet boards (or
fridge); windows and mirrors; white boards, etc. Children can also make sticker
pictures; do rubber ink-stamping; use reuseable stickers to make pictures; complete
puzzles with thick knobs; use magna-doodle and etch-a-sketch as well. The benefits
for these include: having the child's wrist positioned to develop good thumb
movements; they help develop good fine motor muscles; the child is using the arm
and shoulder muscles.
Fine Motor Activities
Moulding and rolling play dough into balls - using the palms of the
hands facing each other and with fingers curled slightly towards the palm.
Rolling play dough into tiny balls (peas) using only the finger tips.
Using pegs or toothpicks to make designs in play dough.
Cutting play dough with a plastic knife or with a pizza wheel by holding
the implement in a diagonal volar grasp.
Tearing newspaper into strips and then crumpling them into balls. Use
to stuff scarecrow or other art creation.
Scrunching up 1 sheet of newspaper in one hand. This is a super
strength builder.
Using a plant sprayer to spray plants, (indoors, outdoors) to spray snow
(mix food colouring with water so that the snow can be painted), or melt
"monsters". (Draw monster pictures with markers and the colours will run
when sprayed.)
Primary
Picking up objects using large tweezers such as those found in the
"Bedbugs" game. This can be adapted by picking up Cheerios, small cubes,
small marshmallows, pennies, etc., in counting games.
Shaking dice by cupping the hands together, forming an empty air space
between the palms.
Using small-sized screwdrivers like those found in an erector set.
Lacing and sewing activities such as stringing beads, Cheerios,
macaroni, etc.
Using eye droppers to "pick up" coloured water for colour mixing or
to make artistic designs on paper.
Rolling small balls out of tissue paper, then gluing the balls onto
construction paper to form pictures or designs.
Turning over cards, coins, checkers, or buttons, without bringing them to
the edge of the table.
Making pictures using stickers or self-sticking paper reinforcements.
Playing games with the "puppet fingers" -the thumb, index, and middle
fingers. At circle time have each child's puppet fingers tell about what
happened over the weekend, or use them in songs and finger plays.
Place a variety of forms (eg. blocks, felt, paper, string, yarn, cereal,
cotton) on outlines
Match shapes, colour, or pictures to a page and paste them within the
outlines
Primary
Self-Care Skills
Buttoning
Lacing
Tying
Fastening Snaps
Zipping
Carrying
Using a screwdriver
Locking and unlocking a door
Winding a clock
Opening and closing jars
Rolling out dough or other simple cooking activities
Washing plastic dishes
Primary
Sweeping the floor
Dressing
Scissor Activities
When scissors are held correctly, and when they fit a child's hand well, cutting
activities will exercise the very same muscles which are needed to manipulate a pencil
in a mature tripod grasp. The correct scissor position is with the thumb and middle
finger in the handles of the scissors, the index finger on the outside of the handle to
stabilize, with fingers four and five curled into the palm.
Cutting junk mail, particularly the kind of paper used in magazine
subscription cards.
Making fringe on the edge of a piece of construction paper.
Cutting play dough or clay with scissors.
Cutting straws or shredded paper.
Cutting
Use a thick black line to guide cutting the following:
A fringe from a piece of paper
Cut off corners of a piece of paper
Cut along curved lines
Cut lines with a variety of angles
Primary
Cut figures with curves and angles
Sensory Activities
The following activities ought to be done frequently to increase postural muscle
strength and endurance. These activities also strengthen the child's awareness of
his/her hands.
Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking
Clapping games (loud/quiet, on knees together, etc.)
Catching (clapping) bubbles between hands
Pulling off pieces of thera-putty with individual fingers and thumb
Drawing in a tactile medium such as wet sand, salt, rice, or "goop".
Make "goop" by adding water to cornstarch until you have a mixture similar
in consistency to toothpaste. The "drag" of this mixture provides feedback to
the muscle and joint receptors, thus facilitating visual motor control.
Picking out small objects like pegs, beads, coins, etc., from a tray of salt,
sand, rice, or putty. Try it with eyes closed too. This helps develop sensory
awareness in the hands.
Midline Crossing
Establishment of hand dominance is still developing at this point. The following
activities will facilitate midline crossing:
Encourage reaching across the body for materials with each hand. It
may be necessary to engage the other hand in an activity to prevent
switching hands at midline.
Primary
Refrain specifically from discouraging a child from using the left hand
for any activity. Allow for the natural development of hand dominance by
presenting activities at midline, and allowing the child to choose freely.
Start making the child aware of the left and right sides of his body
through spontaneous comments like, "kick the ball with your right leg." Play
imitation posture games like "Simon Says" with across the body movements.
When painting at easel, encourage the child to paint a continuous line
across the entire paper- also from diagonal to diagonal.
Primary
Activities To Develop Handwriting Skills
There are significant prerequisites for printing skills that begin in infancy and
continue to emerge through the preschool years. The following activities support and
promote fine motor and visual motor development:
Body Stability
The joints of the body need to be stable before the hands can be free to focus on
specific skilled fine motor tasks.
Wheelbarrow walking, crab walking, and wall push-ups.
Toys: Orbiter, silly putty, and monkey bars on the playground.
Fine Motor Skills
When a certain amount of body stability has developed, the hands and fingers begin
to work on movements of dexterity and isolation as well as different kinds of grasps.
Children will develop fine motor skills best when they work on a VERTICAL or near
vertical surface as much as possible. In particular, the wrist must be in extension.
(Bent back in the direction of the hand)
Attach a large piece of drawing paper to the wall. Have the child use a
large marker and try the following exercises to develop visual motor
skills:Make an outline of a one at a time. Have the child trace over your line
from left to right, or from top to bottom. Trace each figure at least 10 times .
Then have the child draw the figure next to your model several times.
Play connect the dots. Again make sure the child's strokes connect dots
fromleft to right, and from top to bottom.
Trace around stencils - the non-dominant hand should hold the stencil
flat and stable against the paper, while the dominant hand pushes the pencil
firmly against the edge of the stencil. The stencil must be held firmly.
Attach a large piece of felt to the wall, or use a felt board. The child
can use felt shapes to make pictures. Magnetic boards can be used the same
way.
Have the child work on a chalkboard, using chalk instead of a marker.
Do the same kinds of tracing and modeling activities as suggested above.
Primary
Paint at an easel. Some of the modeling activities as suggested above
can be done at the easel.
Magna Doodle- turn it upside down so that the erasing lever is on the
. Experiment making vertical, horizontal, and parallel lines.
Ocular Motor Control
This refers to the ability of the eyes to work together to follow and hold an object in
the line of vision as needed.
Use a flashlight against the ceiling. Have the child lie on his/her back or
tummy and visually follow the moving light from left to right, to bottom,
and diagonally.
Find hidden pictures in books. (There are special books for this.)
Maze activities.
Eye-hand Coordination
This involves accuracy in placement, direction, and spatial awareness.
Throw bean bags/kooshi balls into a hula hoop placed flat on the floor.
Gradually increase the distance.
Play throw and catch with a ball . Start with a large ball and work
toward a smaller ball. (Kooshi balls are easier to catch than a tennis ball.)
Practice hitting bowling pins with a ball. (You can purchase these
games or make your own with pop bottles and a small ball.)
Play "Hit the Balloon" with a medium-sized balloon

wow! a million times thank you !

Thanks
OK Mrz - I own up; I did realise that many of the activities were still relevant though the list seemed so long and the cold weather sapped my motivation somewhat. Now that the sun is slowly returning, I will start carrying out some of the activities again outdoors. They def did help at the time - his writing was better then than it is atm.

It is a brilliant resource - thanks for sharing it on MN.

I think you can jiggle activities if you think your child will find them too "young"

Wow mrz! That is such a helpful list, you have no idea. Thanks for posting.

Another big thank you here Mrz :)

And another from me, Mrz! DS2 is in Reception and really really struggles with his fine motor skills. His teacher says he goes through every type of scissor that they have to try and find one that he can manage easily and he gets really disheartened that he finds it so difficult. He still struggles with his buttons during PE too, she says. As for writing......

I will go through that list during the half term holidays and really have a go at building his confidence.

Thanks so much.

is it really wrong that im now quite relieved that my son is not the only child still struggling with his fine motor?? feels like every other reception child is reading Dickens whilst writing Shakespeare sometimes .......

Just for anyone with a DD reading this - it isn't just boys who have a problem

My DD is in YR & is struggling with her writing too (and flying along with her reading).

Her school is really good & they do a "handwriting club" once a week for any children struggling, where they do various hand strengthening things & then bring stuff home to practice with for the following week (eg playing with pegs, pipecleaners, doing dot-to-dot etc)
From her class (3 class entry) 2 girls & 3 boys go.

I also found THIS a useful resource.

(OTOH 3yo DS has always had fine motors skills way ahead of "normal" for his age, so hopefully he won't have the same problems...)

Very useful list of activities mrz.