[Mama_Leah]

My two older girls have really poor handwriting. We used Christian Liberty last year and it never really improved. I also tried doing copywork of things that interest them. They just don't like writing very much, every letter is a chore.

My oldest is eight and I really feel like her writing should be better than it is. I try not to put too much pressure on them to be "up to grade level" but I think I need to start pushing a little harder in this area.

I have seen several people mention Handwriting without Tears. Is it too late for them to start learning a different style of print at this age? Is the program as great as everyone says?

 

[OTMomma]

Handwriting without tears really is great- but for an 8 year old, I'd just go ahead and start her with their book on cursive writing. Some people think you have to have good print to do cursive, but it isn't true, and if she learns the right way to form the letters, her cursive may be much better than her printing. If your younger is around 6, it is perfectly reasonable to re-start print with her. Since you have tried other methods, I would consider buying the teacher's guide for each book you get, it has tips about how to use the program best and how to teach them to form the letters.

 

[MyLittleWonders]

We love it. Your six year old is perfect for the first grade book; you could also start with the second grade book (the print/font is smaller as are the lines for writing). There is more writing, so it depends on if her fine motors skills are developed enough that the smaller lines won't bother her and if she is already doing some reading/writing, it might be a nice start. My ds#1 is only a month older than your dd; he is finishing the first grade book right now and then we will start with the second grade book. He still has a tendency to write big and I'm not sure how he'll do when using the smaller lines, but I think he's developed enough in his fine motor area to be able to transition well.

As for your eight year old, you could easily start her with the second grade book and do every few pages as good reinforcement/reteaching and then start the cursive (third grade) book at the turn of the new year. Ds#1 is actually so interested in cursive that I told him we'll work hard on the printing (I do believe that good printing can make cursive easier though it is not a prerequisite) and then start the cursive after Christmas. But the program itself is really good and I would recommend it. (And actually, you could probably start your 4 year old/5 year old son - not sure when in August is his birthday - in the Kindergarten level HWT book. Ds#3 is just a few months younger and he "plays" in the preK HWT book and enjoys it. His fine motor skills are such that he'll probably be ready for the K book after Christmas.

 

[Mama_Leah]

Thanks ladies! I looked into it online tonight. I think tomorrow I will print off a couple of the sample sheets and see how the girls do.

My son just turned 5 today.

So far we had just been using the general little work books like you can get at Wal-Mart for him to "work" in during school time. He is wanting to write more though lately so I will look into it for him also.

 

[ftlmom2001]

We used HWT for both the older kids when they were younger ages 4-6. The program is great and your 5 year old will love it. As for yor older one I think your plan will work just fine. Start her off with the printing book as a review and the come January see if you are ready to move on to cursive.
Good luck and keep us posted on how everything turns out.

 

[vicnoe]

I'm using HWT for my 8 year old and my 4 year old (there are a lot of activities to get them ready for writing but very little stress on making the letters).

Elle has pretty bad handwriting when she's printing, but her cursive is nice and neat. She taught herself to write cursive last year, so we went straight to the cursive book instead of going over her printing. Her only complaint is that it doesn't look like my cursive (I learned to write on a slant and make loops in my letters, this program doesn't do that).