Does anyone have any ideas as to how to encourage ds to improve his handwriting?

[bodiddly]

My ds is about to go into year 5 and his writing isn't great. It's not exactly awful but could definitely stand improvement. He also has a tendency to revert to non joined up writing as he finds he is neater. At parents evening a week ago the year 5 teacher said that the most important thing children could do over the summer is practice times tables and handwriting. Does anyone have any ideas as to ways to engage ds and make it less of a chore? Also, any idea how to encourage him to find his own style? I noticed a couple of examples in his class that looked great.

I would ideally like him to do a little every day and short of copying out sections of Minecraft books I am clueless! All ideas gratefully received, thanks!

[Pooka]

Marking place as ds1's handwriting not good. He seems to be hardwired to start letters from the wrong position and loop back over to form them.

[bodiddly]

I was very impressed by some of the examples of work - their writing was not only neat but stylish. Unfortunately, ds' is neither.

[OwlMother]

When my son moved to his current school his handwriting was as you describe your ds's. He was about 10 at this point. The school he moved to expect all children to use fountain pens at this stage and this totally changed his writing. It's easier with a fountain pen to not lift the pen from the paper and seemed to encourage joined up writing. Ds now has amazingly beautiful writing and always uses cursive even when taking notes. You can get beginner fountain pens- the novelty might also encourage him.

[BravePotato]

My DS' handwriting is not good, or pretty, but it is legible and I think that is all that matters.

So I leave him be, despite what the school says. Yes, his handwriting could be neater, but handwriting is an antiquated skill, esp. After primary.

I am hoping to teach him touch typing instead.

[OwlMother]

Feel the need to add that ds is also left handed. Does your ds have proper pencil grip when he writes? Can sometimes be an issue.

[weegiemum]

Watching this too - my ds starts high school next month and though he's very bright his handwriting is awful! Mind you, he might be following where dh leads, his writing is also awful (and he fits the stereotype perfectly as he's a GP!!).

[bodiddly]

An ink pen is an idea - albeit a messy one. I used an ink pen from the age of 7 now I come to think of it. His teacher did say its important to get it consistently joined up as there are points allocated in the sats now for handwriting.

[lougle]

There are two really good handwriting improvement tools that aren't very expensive:

'Write from the start' - two big books with exercises that focus on the fine motor skills which contribute to handwriting.

'Speed up' - a book filed with exercises to improve speed, style and fluency of handwriting.

[barkingtreefrog]

If he's relunctant to practice try starting with something that will improve his fine motor skills which will feed into his handwriting. Books like Write from the Start might seem too basic but they are fun, and children enjoy working through them.
Amazon link here and you can see other suggestions on that page as well. Have a read of the reviews.
You can also get similar sheets from websites - look at the pencil control pattern worksheets (the more advanced ones) on the twinkl website.

[barkingtreefrog]

Cross post louge! I'd also recommend Speed Up!

[barkingtreefrog]

Sorry, lougle, (why autocorrect to another non-word?!)

[bodiddly]

Thanks, I will look at those. My ds is left handed as well - does that make it a lot harder?

[lougle]

It just means that he doesn't benefit as much grin the left to right travel of words. So right handed people write letters and as they form their next letters they can see the letters they have just written. Left handed people cover the letters they have just written when they write. That's why they often twist their writing hand over their work, so that it doesn't cover the words.

[sideshowbob2]

there's an app on the ipad that we use in school think its called joined up and i'm sure you could get it on any tablet, even 10 minutes before meals or after would be plenty of practise and then get him to write the shopping list when you go out to practise with a pen or pencil!

[wombler]

Well I could have written that post. DS (moving to yr5) is exactly the same. Legible and average speed but 'scruffy' and he writes like a left hander even though he is right handed.

I have worked on hand strengthening exercises (google pincer grip exercises) and used 'right from the start' and 'speed up'. We found 'right from the start' a little too basic and I think the real problem was the grip and hand position, so it did little for that. It is still a 'work in progress' and we did get professional assistance to assess what the issues were. I do feel there is light at the end of the tunnel now though. There is lots of help on the national handwriting association website and they can also provide a list of handwriting tutors.

[bodiddly]

I think part of the problem for ds is that he has ADHD so wants to do get everything down on paper as quickly as he can before he forgets. I'm not sure he would cope with back to basics exercises.

[BlueChampagne]

How do you think he'd respond to some basic calligraphy? Get a little set and let him try different styles, using a fountain pen - more art than handwriting practice. Of course if he then wants to do all his school work in gothic script it might backfire somewhat ...

Holiday postcards to friends and family?
Holiday diary?

[bodiddly]

Thank you, I think an ink pen and calligraphy wild be fun though I'm not sure if its joined up!

[Belloc]

Throughout primary school DS1's & DS2's reports contained constant references to disgusting handwriting. Although their handwriting was (and still is in both their cases) dire, I thought they were being unnecessarily fussy as it was legible, just very messy and ugly. And a bit infantilising.

So long as it's legible, does it actually matter?

[wombler]

I often thought, well what does it matter, afterall, he is doing more and more work on the computer. However, I have seen research that examiners unconsciously mark down for bad handwriting. Apparently it is as much as one grade at GCSE or A levels!

I remember discussing my MSc dissertation with my tutor and he said, 'well if it is well written I know I have to pay more attention to it, because it is likely to be excellent quality research too!

Sooo...like it or not, people do make subconscious decisions about ability based on such subjective qualities as neat handwriting and well written work.

[Belloc]

wombler - really?

DS1 is a 4th year medical student and he did one discursive subject at A level (and managed to get an A in spite of his writing looking like a 6 year old's). DS2 has also sat one discursive A level and we are hoping for top grades come August. And they both have a string of As at GCSE so absolutely no evidence of anyone being put off by their writing.

Isn't a dissertation normally typed?

[Belloc]

in fact many doctors have poor handwriting, they've all been academically successful in spite of it.

[mrz]

www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6003868

www.theguardian.com/education/2010/jun/01/bad-handwriting-marking-exams

[Phineyj]

I have just marked lots of KS5 papers and it's not that anyone wants to mark candidates down, but that if you can't read it, you can't award the marks. The board I work for scans everything, which compounds the problem.

I found some good resources for my own students who struggle to write legibly, here: www.nha-handwriting.org.uk/news/news-summary. You are right to address this OP - people think it doesn't matter but it does (teach him to touch type as well later if you can ).

[mrz]

Suggest you either buy or print off handwriting paper - the type with extra cloured line between top and bottom line for a guide.

Check how he is forming individual letters does he start in the correct place and use correct sequence of movements so ready to move onto the next letter.

If he is forming letters correctly great - I would suggest copying out a short passage/poem rhyme and sticking it to the fridge door. This is his starting point. His target is to work to improve it by the end of the holidays when he copies out the same piece for comparison. You may want to offer a small treat as a reward if it improves.

If he isn't forming letters correctly it is important that you focus on teaching this as a priority.