Handwriting help...any Clever Ideas!?

Try having him write in shaving cream or pudding! It is fun and many kids learn well this way! Good luck!

I wouldn't push him too much. He seems to be doing great on his own! He will learn once he goes to school but you could try alphabet letters he can put together to spell, writing letters in shaving cream ( fun but messy on my table!), crayons that write in different rainbow colors, writing like a ghost when you dip a cotton swab in lemon juice and write on construction paper then put it out in sun(it'll show up and look like a ghost wrote it), Wiki sticks are fun and typing on the computer after he writes down on paper as a fun reward! Also setting up a writing space in your house is helpful!There are lots of ideas but the big thing is not to push too hard. He will do it when he's ready! Most kids don't have the fine motor skills to form their letters correctly and once he learns a way it's difficult to teach him correctly when hes older.

Sometimes it hurts to hold a pencil - it's quite a motor skill! He may not be comfortable. Try going to a teacher store and get him a big, cushy grip for his pencil and see if that helps.

Handwriting is something that improves over time. Don't worry too much about it, my husband's handwriting is still just as bad as when he was four!! :)

My son just turned 5 and had no interest in writing until a few months ago. We started out with tracing letters. We got a dry erase board at Walmart that had letters already on it to trace. I try to get him to practice his writing during play, like when playing in his play kitchen area he will write down words for a menu or shopping list. He will ask me how to spell the words. Also, I try to keep a small notepad and pen in my purse. If we are at the store and he starts showing me what he wants for Christmas I will give him paper and pen and he will copy words off the box onto his wishlist.

Is he having trouble actually making the letters or just not real interested in learning them? If his interest seems to be the problem,try writing them in shaving cream on a cookie sheet - my kids loved it. Soap crayons helped getting my daughter going too...we'd write on the shower door and she'd copy it. She sometimes still does this for her spelling words - guess she's learning to multitask LOL! Good luck!

Good Morning A., Corbin 4 1/2 is the same way actually. Just started Pre-K this year. They practice their names every morning while everyone is coming in. It just takes a while for some children to get it. Some days you can tell he did a great job and other days he gives up and scribbles or leaves out letters. He can spell his name just fine. He doesn't draw stick people either. Can draw a Big Honk'n Dinosaur though....lol
I wanted to write when I was little so I did it all the time, carried my Big Chief Tablet always. Now I have typed for so long I can't write where I can even read it sometimes. Just takes practice, practice, practice.
Asher is 5, Austin 9 and neither of them write that well.

Our youngest son still doesn't write well, when he is helping the kids with home work I have watched him, he still starts his letters from the bottom, and are misshaped.
That was something I couldn't break him from doing. So just left it alone as it seemed to be easier for him for some reason.

We use a dry erase board with Corbin at home, we can draw then sign our names to the pictures, that makes it fun.

God Bless A., he will get it eventually.
K. Nana of 5

There is a program called writing (or handwriting) without tears. You might be able to find it online or at a teacher store. From a teachers perspective - it has worked wonders for some kids. Good luck.

Jennifer

My Dr.s always told me the kids could only grow in so many diferent areas at once. Even when he turned two & hadn't had a first haircut, yet because he didn't have enough hair, he was talking in full 9-12 word sentences, & she said growing hair just wasn't what his body was concentrating on at the moment. Excuse or not, don't know, but I think it was her way of teaching patience..lol. Anyways, it may be a motor skill issue, it may be he is more vocal oriented rather than writing. How is he with catching a small ball or using scissors? Does he like to color or use markers, but not write? One thing I was taught to help them increase fine motor skills was having them play with a sponge (squeezing the water out) in the tub or playing with a small stress ball, squeezing it. the Handwriting without Tears as another person mentioned is supposed to be really good. My son is Dyslexic & handwriting is an issue for them & it was suggested (by his tester) for him.

Don't worry. I have two grandsons who are in the same boat. One is 5 and in kindergarten and wanted to quit because of the writing letters. He was upset the lines were 'wiggly' and yet he kept trying and now he is doing excellent work with his writing and he too can spell, etc. They don't like using the pencil and doing the small motor skills but after encouragement they do fine. The other grandchild is 5 this month and hates it and won't write his name at preschool and they are all upset over it and he will do fine. He too is very smart and will do it when he needs to. Right now if he knows letters, sounds and is not way behind let him enjoy being 4 1/2. Let him trace things and just learn to control the pencil this year and he'll do fine.

Honestly, I wouldn't stress about it! It sounds like he's pretty advanced for only being 4.5 years old and my daughter really didn't care much about writing then either. They all pretty much learn to write in kindergarten, but something my daughter's teacher recommended to me was to work on her fine motor skills. She said to do things like use scissors, put very small items like beads in trays, glue foam letters and shapes on paper, count things like macaroni pieces, etc. She said these kinds of activities did a lot to help exercise and develop the hand muscles we use to write. I think your son is doing really well and the writing will come about just fine!

First off A., I DON'T think you are being neurotic...penmanship has gone the way of the dinosaur thanks to computers...most school curriculum don't even have a penmanship class anymore. So I think you are right on to keep on him on this...the tricky thing is to get him to WANT to do it so it is fun. I've got a 6 yr old who hates writing too and here's some things I've worked with him on...
1) The workbooks you can buy at Wal-mart
2) Stencils
3) Fisher price computer game/program (it's actually a keyboard with a writing pad that hooks into the computer to get them to do their letters better)
4) Leapfrog writing program (have to say this one was kinda hard and unforgiving)
5) Writing on the table with shaving cream (spread the shaving cream over the surface of the table and let him draw his letters/words in it)
6) Ditto with finger paints
7) Buy the Crayola window markers/crayons and let him write his name or something on the front door...maybe even do a Happy Halloween sign (washes off really easy).
8) Magna Doodle...great for playing around in car and getting them to write or copy signs they see. ;)

Hope some of it helps...of course, there are always the teacher supply stores you can go to as well...the whole trick is to just make it fun for them so they WANT to do it...you can also do it as a reward system. Hope this helps!

I know there is a program called "Handwriting without Tears" that lots of Occupational therapists use to work with kids on handwriting. You might also consider calling the Parents As Teachers Program in your school district for guidance & resources.

M. S.

Remember just that all kids are different in just about everything. My oldest could write and cared about how nice her writing was at an early age, my next 2 girls however don't really care about their handwriting still and they are 3rd grade and Kindergarten! I am always working with them on writing it their neatest, doing their best work... So I would say 1) kids in general are different, 2) he's a boy, and 3) he's only 4 1/2! I wouldn't worry about it.