Going into Y4 with dreadful handwriting!

[wizzler]

DS will go into Y4 in September. He is bright and thriving on school.. loves maths, reading etc... however his handwriting is terrible, and he is sad because he thinks he will be in a lower group for literacy next year because of it. He has asked me to help him improve over the summer.

It may be that this is a ploy to melt my heart, think he is studious and buy him a computer game, however, he certainly does need to improve. I have suggested that he keeps a diary and writes in it every day and tries to keep it really neat.

If there are any Y3/Y4 teachers out there, do you know of any study aids / books I could get to help him in this... the more interesting ( football related!) the better

www.activityvillage.co.uk/football_writing_paper.htm

twistynoodle.com/helmet-and-football-worksheet/

Not sure they are much help.

What makes his handwriting 'dreadful'?
Does he form his letters properly? Does he place them properly on the line? How is his pencil grip?

Same here and def impacts on his reports/ assessments. We talked to class teacher and he was v helpful. Am convinced ds hands just under developed for fine motor. There are some good pencils on wh smiths normal size but dots of rubber to help grip.

ask about occupational therrapy. tis available here.... and know I did not know about it until i saw a poster in the ot department.

Thanks for the responses...Everything makes his writing dreadful... it is sprawling, the spaces between words are often omitted, the letter formation is poor ( usually writes a J the wrong way around), and the letters veer off the line at random intervals

TBH, I know they are encouraged to write joined up, and I think that this just makes it worse: I don't think he had mastered printing letters sufficiently well , but I am happy with the teachers generally and they seem to know what they are doing.

Will try the special pencil thing, that might help . His grip looks a bit odd to me, but I am a leftie, so difficult to show him.

I have bought a couple of study books for him to work through over summer , but he gave me "that look", and said "Mummy, Really?",

DS also has issues with his handwriting, also leaving Y3, although I don't think it's as bad as your son's. He has worked harder at it this past year though and has improved.

Maybe over the summer, when he doesn't have to write to school specifications, why not let him practise printing. Maybe if he gets better at that he will be better able to write joined up. Just a thought.

To try and help my ds I've got him this book for over the holidays. My ploy is that because it's something to keep as a memento he'll have to make sure he uses his best handwriting. Well, that's the theory, we'll have to see how it goes in practice.

A possible cheaper option is a scrapbook or one of those story pads that Wilkinson do. Photos or drawings of holiday activities with a sentence or two underneath perhaps?

Have bought a shiny new diary for him to complete, and a stabilo pen.... could be a very long 6 weeks summer hols!!!

Writing reviews of computer games, what the game does, how you control the figures, what strategies work (or don't), what age kids it suits, rating out of 10.

Similar for book reviews, the library may even put it up on a noticeboard if you ask.

Writing letters to school friends, everyone likes post.

ANother non writing activity that builds muscle tone is tracing paper - you can trace any picture that takes your fancy. Sticky tape it on, then go for it... this is great for those who get frustrated their pictures don't look good, as tracing always looks just like the original! Then colour it, frame it, whatever to keep the interest up.

My DS is just 9, and he is also obsessed with drawing his own comics...

Work on gross motor skills too. That's the advice I've had previously. No point in focussing purely on fine motor skills without working on the gross motor skills too.