teaching handwriting

[puffingirl]

DD has excellent verbal skills and reads a lot of words, but isn't all that interested in learning to write.  She wrote her name about 6 months ago (she can only write a few letters and not very clearly), did it a few times and really hasn't wanted to learn to write anything since. We have lots of cool tools for practice--like dry erase and tracing stuff, and I've tried the writing with your finger in a tray of flour idea (zero interest), but I think we both get frustrated quickly.  She gets frustrated that it's hard and I get frustrated that she really does not want to hear from me how to make the letters.  I've just let it go and haven't done anything with it for a few months but I want to find an approach that is less frustrating for all when she is ready to start again. Suggestions?

[leighi123]

My ds has this thing:

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-19139-Scribble-and-Write/dp/B001W2WKS0

He plays with it in the car and really likes it.  It has lower case and upper case and drawing pictures and lines.  

There is also a leapster game that is the same idea (which I havent tried).  

We also do a lot of finger strength type activites - playing with playdough, sand, moon sand, various types of 'goop', threading beads, playing with really tiny things, poking things, folding paper, etc.  

Another thing he likes are the Kumon workbooks - there are the coloring/cutting/folding ones that are good for the finger strength ones.   And there is also the tracing, and mazes ones that practice pencil skills.  We have the 'write and wipe' cards too, which he likes b/c he gets to use a whiteboard marker.  

He also has better control using crayon rocks or using small broken crayons.  This makes them have to use the 'tripod' grip to hold onto the small piece, which is good to get used to.  For colored pencils and things I put those pencil grips on there for a while, and now he can hold them properly without.  

We do the "100 easy lessons" book which he is doing great with as far as learning to read (although he could read some before we started it), but with that he practices writing 2 letters a day, which is good practice but only takes a short time.  We also do things like decorate a large letter "a" or something - color it, glue things on it, trace with his finger, put dots on it with a dot marker, etc.  Helps to get the form of the letter.  

And lastly we have some of the 'handwriting without tears' set, which he thinks is fun too!  The book it came with has little sayings for each letter (jump up, slide down, etc), so it gives him more of a visual to remember how to write things, when he works on his own I hear him going through them outloud.    

[puffingirl]

Wow!  Thanks for all those great ideas--I hadn't heard of almost any of them.  Going to look into several soon.