handwriting question

[beachlover]

I've been trying to teach my just turned 5 year old how to write his name. We tried last year without success, so I let it be for a while.

He can trace letters perfectly but when I ask him to copy letters without the dotted lines he has a really hard time.

I just don't understand. He is very coordiated, has good fine and gross motor skills, can cut with scissors well, knows most of the letters and the sounds they make etc.

I've never had a child have this much trouble before with being able to form letters freehand. Any ideas.

[2xy]

I don't have an answer for you, but years and years ago people taught cursive first. Block printing can be difficult for children, and I'm not sure why we use it in modern day, to be honest.

Maybe try Handwriting Without Tears and see if he takes to rounded writing better?

[yllek]

Handwriting is the single hardest thing my ds5 has to do for our homeschool. If I had to do it all over again, I would...

• Teach letter formation in sand trays, shaving cream bags, wikki-stiks, playdough, dry erase boards, vertical chalk boards... No paper. Just the shapes of letters in the manner they are to be written (start at the top, big lines for tall letters, etc.)
• Introduce writing on paper after letter formation is pretty comfortable. No lines. Just focus on grip and body position while making letters anywhere on the page.
• Introduce capitals after lowercase. I know there is an issue with reversals and lowercase is more difficult, but I cannot get my ds to stop writing capitals now.
• Teach all of those rhymes for letter and number formation. My ds loves these. I think they really helped to cement the movements that he needs to make when he has no other guide to refer to. He doesn't say them for all the letters, but he does mumble them for quite a few letters.
• Focus on lots of fine motor activities.
• I would also not use those very wide lined papers intended for beginning writers. Ds has demonstrated over and over again that it is much easier for him to write little letters than to attempt to make large ones. I tried to use that paper, and it was very fatiguing for me too.