Left handed twins going into Y3 - terrible handwriting

[mammmamia]

I have 7yo twins going into year 3. Both are left handed - not sure if this is relevant - and they both have terrible, messy, inconsistent handwriting with varied letter sizes and switching between joined up writing and non joined up.
They are a boy and a girl.
Any tips or things we can do over the summer to improve this? Do they need to do specific things for left handers?
Thanks for any advice.

My handwriting was awful as a youngster. It felt like all my ideas were piling up to get out of the end of my pen. So, I taught myself italic script where every letter has to be formed exactly the same way twice. This helped with the ideas and construction because they had to form an orderly queue.

A fun way to do pen control is to practice writing backwards, upside down or with the non dominant hand. I did the latter all day at a conference and got put in the right handed group when I wasn't.

Those maze puzzles are great for pen control - even crosswords and word searches.

I love border patterns. The easiest, and very effective, one I know is a repeated wave shape (taking up one whole line space) with a stars in the gap above and fish below. It's very meditative and can be beautifully embellished with a clicky four colour pen.

The italic handwriting has earned me many pounds and much kudos.

Stationery is a cheap treat and really does encourage penpersonship.

I used to hang out in WH Smith for hours. Never did win the pony though.

My daughter is left handed and in year 3. she writes better in pen and has really improved when slanted the paper when she writes

Those cheap propelling pencils with rubbers on the end are great because there's no such thing as a mistake with them (i.e. rub it out and do it again).

Copying handwriting from old post cards? Go to a boot sale and buy a few. Take an equivalent photo and send card to Auntie or Granny with similar message. There's so much fun to be had with a pen and piece of paper.

I've got a left handed and a right handed twin both also going into year 3. Although it's the right handed one whose writing is abit rubbish. The left handed one copes very well and has lovely writing.

Absolutely tilt the paper. I'm left-handed and had to write at school with a fountain pen. No smudging from me because I tilted the paper - sometimes to almost 90 degrees, but it sometimes depended on how I felt. But tilting the paper stops a left-hander from bending their wrist around the pen - instead they hold the pen with a straight wrist as a right-hander would. (No pain from the weird position, either.)

Good luck. :)

My left handed DS was also dyspraxic - his writing was so bad that even he could not read it. His salvation was a left handed teacher so my suggestion would be to find a left handed adult or older child, with good writing, and get them to sit with you DC to write. That way you DC will see how other lefties write legibly.

As ever, thanks mrz! Useful to hear about the tilting even at an early stage. Personally I find it a bit befuddling having a leftie when all my family are right handad (in terms of knife and fork and what I should teach etc) and all very interesting what we can do to support and help.

FWIW my 8yr old left hander went into year three with shocking handwriting. But by the spring it had clicked and her writing is fine now. She would never practice at home either, I tried many times but that ended up with a pencil being flung at me and an epic tantrum.

Yaay.. I grew up having problems using the iron with the left hand for my clothes. I always wonder if it is a left-handed problem :)

harold, I've solved the left handed ironing problem by not doing any. It's a very effective solution

DD say the vacuum id left handed and therefor unoperational

So apparently is the washing up brush and mop - the washing basket may also be right handed as the floor seems an easier option

The TV remote however is fine to use

You guys are right - the left-handed association should have published the list of chores considered hazardous for left-handed children. I wish i had that growing up - my DD will love it!

My DS is left-handed – as am I. In Y3 DS had additional handwriting homework and the regular extra practice did seem to help a bit.

He’s at secondary school now and his ability to write legibly at speed is still showing small incremental improvements with each passing year. One of his English teachers wanted everyone to use fountain pens – a smudgy nightmare for left-handers - but DS got special dispensation to use an ordinary pen.

In fact, you can buy pens with quick drying ink – such as the Jetstream pens – to avoid smudges.

One thing I’ve noticed is that DS’s marks for essays are better when he is allowed to type them up on the computer. Teachers are influenced by layout and neatness, even if it’s at a subliminal level.

Luckily most adults can limit their handwritten efforts to signatures and shopping lists.

Turn the page 90 degrees. Please !!!! My writing would be excruciating had I not discovered this.

For eating with knives and forks, I hold my knife in my right hand and fork in my left (as a right-handed person would) but if I'm only using a fork or spoon, then I use my left hand. So handily, I can cut my food with a knife in my right hand, and then can put it down and just use the fork that's already in my left hand. Unlike right-handed people who swap things over. I guess because my mum taught me that way.

However, if I'm cutting vegetables, meat, bread, etc with a sharp knife, I use the knife in my left hand.

Turning taps can be actually quite difficult with your left hand!

Really good tips on here. Thank you very much.

it never occurred to me.. but it seems true now. Most general furniture, appliances, cutlery that require hand operations are biased towards lefties..

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4430930/Left-handed-drivers-accidents-speeding-fines.html
... Psychologist Becky Spelman said: ‘When it comes to driving, it’s likely that both cars and road furniture in the form of signs, roundabouts, and more, have all been designed with an unconscious bias in favour of the right-handed driver.’

DD school doesn't have and left handed can openers or scissors etc

I think it's appalling and no other group is ignored in their needs for specialist equipment

I have tried - but get ignored

I can understand scissors but why does she need a can opener?

You use your stronger hand to open a can. We don't NEED them but they work better for us.

"DD school doesn't have and left handed can openers"

I can understand the need for a left handed can opener at home but not sure why the school should be providing them.

Cooking lessons?

They open tins in cookery lessons?

Yes - spat bol needs tinned tomatoes - cold pasta salad needed tinned sweet corn - and so on

She's broke everyone of my can openers and it's 'natural' to turn the handle the wrong way and the whole thing snaps - try it

Oh yes, the world is biased against lefthanders. (We are only 10% of the population, so it is understandable.) It does mean that left-handed people end up more ambidextrous than right-handed people.

Anything that requires opening via twisting (jars, taps, can openers as others have mentioned) is set up for right-handed people.