Handwriting- what would you do?

[maybenextyear]

Hi,
Below is a photo of my 8 year old's writing. Handwriting is not an area of expertise for me and I'm wondering the best way to go about helping him. His school have taught cursive from Reception (goodness knows why). His writing is quite often illegible, some joins are incorrect, not on the line, ascenders/descenders too short etc. What should my next steps be? Take him back to pre cursive? Focus on fine motor skills / strength? Can anyone recommend good resources to use?

Thank you!

My DD had this problem when younger. Is there any chance your DS is hypermobile at all ?? As that turned out to be the reason my DD struggled so much with writing, it's was uncomfortable fir her & she couldn't grip well due to loose joints in her fingers. Once she understood writing, she was given an iPad to write with in school & it made a huge difference to her

I think you can self refer to a Paediatric Occupational Therapist, they can assess him as to which pens suit his grip best as there's several types, my DDs needs changed over time, initially she also needed a supportive glove too

We've had similar problems with our 7 yr old. Consistently poor handwriting that school seemed reluctant to do anything about. Decided enough was enough last year as I suspected wider issues and after referral to OT/physiotherapist he had a motor ABC assessment which placed him on 2nd percentile for his age and likely means we have a diagnosis of Developmental Coordination Disorder likely coming when referred back to the community paed.
We've been given some exercises to do and OT is now going into school to work with him on a one to one for a period. There's also a programme called Write from the Start which you can buy from Amazon which school are using as well as us at home.
Early days in terms of seeing any tangible improvement but feel better for knowing that there is a problem that we can all try and do something about.

I've never understood cursive writing... I was made to do it throughout school and my handwriting was always shit. My handwriting is lovely (I think so anyways) now and doesn't have a hint of joined up letters anywhere. I was told that they make you write cursive if you don't have your own handwriting style yet so maybe get him to write a few words how he feels comfortable and see how legible it is. I can't see teachers complaining about not using cursive if it makes their jobload easier. Reading kid's handwriting is ridiculous at the best of times 🤷

TeddyBeans it's faster to write joined up once you can do it well, and also the muscle memory element of spelling is more effective with a fluid movement.

It's far less useful in post school life nowadays because typing has obviously taken over, but it's impossible to write as fast when printing as when joining letters. If you take essay subjects for A level and beyond and are not allowed to type it'd be nearly impossible to print fast enough to get enough down on paper for a top grade in the time allowed.

"Joined up" writing certainly has an important role in passing exams and taking notes at school, even though the role is time limited and no longer applies much in later life.