Handwriting help

[AllBuggiedOut]

DS2 is 10. He has the most atrociously messy handwriting. Have decided it's my our mission to improve this over the summer - any ideas for how to do this please? Some letters I can identify as needing work (eg his 't' is too short, 'f' doesn't drop below the line). Other than working on specific letters, does he just need to practise? Has anybody had any success with kids this age? His year 5 teacher said 'it's a bit late to change it now, really'

Thanks.

The teacher sounds not at all committed - I do not think that there is a time limit to learning that.

My DS (11) has a very bad handwriting, which only now improved (he was told to write in block letters during SATs so that external examiners can read his words.) The advice I received were of two kinds. One was to strengthen his hands - more the bone connection - through weaving and knitting. This he was told in year 4 and he did some exercises like this in school, which helped. At home I had him practice with notebooks that support writing the letters in the correct length. There is a house at the beginning of the line and the floor is the baseline. There is a cellar, which provides the lowest line where g, y, f stop and an attic which again had a line, which meant there do long letters i.e- l and f and capital letters end - do you know what I mean, if not I can take a picture. Practicing in that notebook really helped.

Suggest you use handwriting lines to ensure tall letters are tall and small letters small.

Make sure he's starting each letter in the correct place and right direction

Make sure he keeps his pen on the paper to the end of the word

If he has weak shoulder girdle and core this will make writing hard work so monkey bars wheelbarrow walking wall push ups can help

His pencil grip needs to be comfortable and effective (tripod is most effective but there are variations)

Wrist and finger strength exercises will help if this is an issue

Thanks - agree Cheesecake, I thought it was a little defeatist of the teacher! And yes, that makes perfect sense about the house, attic and cellar.

Great ideas about strengthening exercises, thank you.

We have been battling all year with this.

At the end of this year I asked the teacher again whether DS's writing would be readable in the SATS (by strangers). She said that she had got used to his writing and could read it, but was sure that people who didn't know him would not be able to read it.

She's an NQT teacher and had her mentor with her. The mentor said 'I think hes' forgotten how to join all his letters properly'. DS used to write much more clearly. His whole style has changed this year.

She suggested we get a handwriting book and start again reminding DS how to form the letters.

I started with it today and it made such a difference. Just reminding him that each letter needs to be readable and practicing doing that - then he wrote a bit of a story and it was so much better.

So we'll be doing that for 10 minutes a day during the holidays.

my daughter is a bit younger but we have handwriting issues, I think it is never too late, I know quite a few who only developed neater writing as adults. we have been suggested to get a colouring book she will like, an adult one so more detailed and get her to do that being very careful and specific with the details in it. practice letter formation again for each letter, not ridiculous amounts of it but do all of them and then focus on the ones that need it. we have a handwriting book that contains sentences so it is showing all the joins between the letters which seems to be where DD has her problems and rewriting a sentence is marginally more interesting than just letters.