Can anyone recommend a good handwriting workbook?

[inthesark]

DD's handwriting isn't great; it's legible but quite scrappy. She says she wants to learn 'grown up handwriting' so we thought we'd take the opportunity and get her a workbook of some kind. Can anyone recommend a good one?

If she wants to learn cursive, you can print out worksheets off the internet.

ALso look up good handwriting techniques, pen holding, sitting etc.

Write from the start is good but expensive

Hi inthesark

We have had/currently having problems with DS's writing, very legible but very variable in size, height, position of letters etc and some strange joins. It got better during Yr2 and then took a huge nose dive last summer. At that stage I noticed that the pencil grip was not 'standard', and thought this could be exacerbating the problem. I bought the pencil tripod grips. These have worked wonders and he now holds the pencil correctly without these. Gradually, the writing has improved without any further assistance during Yr3. The school now seem happy anyway.

I did buy 'write from the start' and the sequel but although I could see these books would have been brilliant for a reception/yr 1 child they were a bit too 'basic' for a yr 3. I am not a teacher, but I cannot help thinking we would have got further if we had known what the problem actually was ie fine motor, motor memory, perception etc.

I did find something on potential plus org website, part of slides from big family weekend I think.

I still need to tackle the imaginative joins but school have said I need to stand over him as these are so ingrained. I think it will be good to do this over the summer when he is doing no other writing that will reinforce the bad habits.

Being the sort of person who likes to 'kill two birds with one stone' I will make up my own work sheets and model interesting openers, cool connectives and exciting adjectives to help the quality of writing too. I was recommended 'Writing exciting sentences' by Alan Peat on another website.

Hi inthesark

We stumbled across the Collins Easy Handwriting book series

(amazon sells these & many good book stores/ news agents: www.amazon.co.uk/Collins-Easy-Learning-Age-7-11/dp/000727758X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373203406&sr=1-2&keywords=handwriting+practice+workbook)

DD2 worked her way through them very happily - lots of little spelling rules as well, so she was learning a bit as well. She worked through 3 books all by herself & really enjoyed it. Has helped her writing - although she still has tendency to want to write incredibly small letters, but that's her not the handwriting book I think.

I would avoid workbooks and opt for an exercise book with handwriting lines

Is that the type where there are fainter/dotted lines for the letters that go above/below? I think I remember ones like that.

:)

This type of thing?

DD's handwriting is legible but wonky IYSWIM, no idea how it rates in terms of where she should be though. (yr1, just turned 6)

it is obviously the morning for handwriting questions!

they are cheaper than that in the local stationery shop. think it is rymans.

alternatively use a pale coloured crayon to do the lines/copy over. [too much time on hands emotion]

Ha. I have been known to draw pencil lines when DD does the occasional piece of homework.

I fondly remember using 'line guides' at school! Laminated sheets with thick printed lines that we would paperclip underneath our neat work...

Ahem. NostAlgic.

We have used " Penpals for Handwriting Year 3 Practice Book" by
Gill Budgell, Kate Ruttle. There is a book for each year, I think.

You will need to have lined paper to practise writing the suggested words and patterns.

My DD liked it. My DS not so much.

Worth double checking what the school's handwriting style is first. They are a bit different. I'll never forget a meltdown by one of mine when I tried to work on "k" and did it different to school!

Heaven help the parent who dares do something different to their child's teacher, eh Bentley :o

My DD's school teaches cursive from the start, incidentally, no idea if that's normal or not!

Thanks everyone, all very helpful. I will look at all of these on Amazon and ponder.

youcouldnevermakeitup - this sounds very like DD, who has a bit of some odd motor skills stuff going on but we can't quite work out what, and had a slightly odd pencil grip too - this is getting better with the stabilo triangular pencils, but still holds the pencil vertically. She still has some odd letter formations, and that's what I'd like to have a go at before they become completely entrenched. And she's said she wants to.

And yes, DD's school did cursive from the start. Put DD in a right old paddy, because she'd already learnt printing at nursery, so she stopped writing for a term

This website has a guideline generator so you can print your own lines....
www.scribblers.co.uk/acatalog/Guideline_Generator.html

Wow...just what I need Metellaestinhortobibit (hope I spelt that right!) Thanks. Sorry I know this was not my thread!