Handwriting resources

[jackfrosttoes]

My dc, age 7 has poor handwriting (and DCD), does anyone have any workbooks for handwriting that were fun? We've got love writing inc but I'm wondering if there is anything else out there people have tried that helped encourage practice?

Write from the Start is quite good. It doesn't focus on handwriting but is good for improving pencil control. The worksheets are based around recreating patterns so it doesn't feel like 'work'.

Write from the Start was way too hard for my DS. We got a pack of Handwriting without Tears (bought online from Ireland) and they have helped a lot.
You'll get people saying "do lots of multi sensory stuff" but the reminders for letter shapes i.e. cognitive stuff is much more helpful for this age.

Yes, we've been doing fine motor building activities for years but it's the reversals and letter formation, thanks for those recommendations, I am off to look them up, thanks!

My DS has dyspraxia which was only confirmed by a medical professional a year ago but I had a suspicion since he was aged 4 so I started quite early with all the handwriting support and OT sessions. He is 9 now and although can generally keep up with the pace in school, legibility is terrible. The problem is he can produce good enough handwriting but it comes at the expense of the quality of his work.

Having tried all the 'sensory' stuff for years I didn't feel he could truly close the gap with this alone so I enrolled him on a touch typing course with the hope of him being able to use a laptop at school and for exams by year 5.

Yes we may well end up doing that, we'll see. I hardly ever write these days it's funny it's such a key school skill but post school it isn't these days.

Thanks for all the advice - dd diagnosed with dcd this week but we've had a good idea since she was 4 but although we've done handwriting I've not pushed it so far as she finds it so hard and focused on drawing but changing tack now.

Magic link handwriting course is also a very structured course that really helps. I believe it was designed for children with dyslexia but many others benefit including us.

We had the exact same challenge in our school until we streamlined our daily routine! For our daily 10-to-15-minute practice, we’ve been using
PrimaryHandwriting.com on the interactive whiteboard at the front of the class, and it’s made a massive difference[cite: 1].
Here is how we integrate it into our daily routine:

• Morning Starter / Warm-up: As soon as the pupils sit down, I load the app up on the board[cite: 1]. It’s free for teachers, which was a huge selling point when we brought it to our headteacher[cite: 1]!
• Live Stroke Modelling: Instead of me trying to awkwardly draw joined-up letters on the board while blocking everyone's view, I just use the Type Text feature[cite: 1]. You type in your focus letters, high-frequency words, or target sentence, and the app models the exact handwriting formation live on screen for the kids to watch and copy[cite: 1].
• Controlling the Pace: For tricky joins or letter families, I turn on the Starting Dots toggle so children can clearly see where the pencil needs to land first[cite: 1]. I also lower the Write Speed slider down to $0.5\times$ or use the Next Stroke button so we can break the letter down stroke-by-stroke together[cite: 1].
• Repetition: If a lot of kids are struggling with a specific entry/exit stroke, I just hit Loop or Rewrite! so it continually plays in the background while I circulate the room to check pencil grips and posture[cite: 1].

It’s completely transformed handwriting in our school because the visual modelling is consistent across every year group, and it saves so much prep time in the mornings. Definitely worth giving a try with your class!