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JennGM
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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My ds age 4 cannot hold a pencil or crayon correctly. He never holds a writing instrument the same way. He's not doing a tight grip, just loose and not steady.
So that means he dislikes coloring and writing. He gets extremely frustrated because he knows what it's supposed to look like and it's so hard to make it look that way.
Now, I know everything I just typed is very typical of a boy his age. To encourage more writing I've been giving him mazes and connect the dots, tracing lines. I plan on getting the Montessori templates. I make sure our art projects don't require much coloring or else they will implode.
Next year he starts Kindergarten. Has anyone found Handwriting without Tears works well for this kind of writer or lack thereof?
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Jennifer G. Miller
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missionfamily
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 6:56pm | IP Logged
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I don't hav experience with HWOT, but I do have an almost seven year old boy for whom reading, writing, and letter recognition are quite difficult. What I have found is that the more I can find ways to pratice letter skills and fine motor skills without asking him to put pen to paper, the better off he is. He have sandpaper letters to trace, we write letters in a tray of rice, we form letters out of beans and bingo chips, we tape letters on the floor and walk them out. We spent one month making only the straight line letters using twigs. We spent this month making stick and ball lowercase letters using twings and acorn caps. When he does write, he loves the medium of dry erase and black board. I think they feel less permanent to him so he is less hesitant to make a mistake. He loves to draw however, so I let him do so as much as he likes. I am teaching him basic embroidery stitches to help his hand-eye connection and fine motor development. So, all his to say, maybe finding some ways to work on letter skills and fine motor skills separately would be less frustrating fo this child?
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JennGM
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 7:05pm | IP Logged
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Colleen, we do the sandpaper letters and he makes letters out of things all the time, but he doesn't even like to draw, although painting is fun (but that's not the same grip).
Good point about the separation of the motor skills. I'll delve deeper into that. Dh just keeps worrying about his grip on the pencils!
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Jennifer G. Miller
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 7:28pm | IP Logged
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Both my dc had that same loose grip. Finally we studied crabs, and I told them to pinch their pencils and crayons like little crabs. They loved that. Whenever I see them using that loose grip again, I say "Pinch, pinch, pinch! like little crabs!".
We talked about how crabs have to pinch to hold onto their food so it doesn't get away. We have to pinch our pencils so the letters don't get away. That makes them laugh, and it works for us.
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MarilynW
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| Posted: Feb 20 2008 at 8:08pm | IP Logged
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Jenn last year I got Matt the triangular pencils (from the Startwrite people) and all the Lyra art supplies which are also triangular - he has naturally got the right grip from these. I bought him the HWOT workbook (Get ready for school) and he has completed this. But he does equally well with the Zaner Bloser and traditional fonts. My older boys also do HWOT and I used this mainly because the fancy traditional cursive would not have appealed to them.
One of the things we did to encourage the right grip at 2 was lacing beads. Also using a dropper (Montessori activity)
I will write again if I think about what else I did - Matt now loves to draw and color.
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Maryan
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Oh Jenn!! You're describing JP at 4 to a tee. I had heard the same thing about boys too, but as we got closer to starting kindergarten, I had a very hard time being laid back about it.  But that's what worked.
We like HWOT -- I don't think it necessarily is the ONLY answer... I think other things could have worked as well. But it was a good tool to teach me how to present handwriting in a more fun and varied way to boys of many ages. (And I love Melinda's crab!!)
And I did/do what you suggested... choose writing, coloring, etc. that won't be too stressful. If it got to be too much we stopped. I do think this laidback method paid off because as a first grader his grip and handwriting is MUCH better.
He's not superfast, but he gets faster with more practice. And... because I've been patient he doesn't dislike writing -- which I think is key.
Oh... and after having boy #1 with writing issues, I did get the knobbed cylinders for the younger guys to play with to practice their grip!! They don't like the insets... that doesn't last very long. I must not have presented them well!! They're not super into lacing activities either. They like using tongs a little bit more, and that seems to work that grip too.
BTW - We have the HWOT stuff so come on over if you want to check it out. 
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Maryan
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Carole N.
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Jenn, I agree completely about being laid back in your approach. There are so many things you can do to encourage him to move along the right path to better handwriting. My ds (who was in public school) did absolutely no handwriting skills ... and they allowed him to spell phonetically.
When I brought him home, I decided that these were two areas we needed to work on. Mind you, ds is not academically inclined--he would rather be playing in the yard. So I purchased Startwrite (for all of the children to use). I can definitely see an hugh improvement in his writing.
As far as fine motor skills go, he could probably use some of the techniques that have been discussed here (I really like the crab idea), but unfortunately, most of those items are still in storage! I just wanted you to know that I think HWOT is a great program and you are starting early enough with your ds to not wind up in a situation like mine. Whoever heard of not practicing handwriting?
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vmalott
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Jenn,
I think using some of the Montessori exercises that help develop the pincer grip would be helpful. Have him work do transfer work using items like the bulb syringe then eye-dropper, and tongs then tweezers. DD 3.5 (Cate) has done really well with these exercises and holds her pencil or crayon correctly now (tracing is a whole other matter )
I really like HWOT and just started using the pre-K book with Cate. Her two older brothers (5 and 6.5) are using the K book. My oldest son (11) has done well using the cursive books and his handwriting has improved greatly this year with consistent use (which is key, I think).
Valerie
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KC in TX
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I've used HWOT with my son who has autism. He had such a hard time with coloring and writing. Finally at age 6 he wrote his name. It was such a big thing--I'm getting all teary eyed thinking about it. It's a wonderful program put together by an occupational therapist. I love it and have used it with my daughters as well.
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Jenn, can you teach him to knit? Knitting is a wonderful precursor to writing. It involves both sides of the brain, and really starts to work those fine motor skills.
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JennGM
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| Posted: Feb 27 2008 at 9:06am | IP Logged
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I really, really appreciate the responses to my question. All of you helped with the written question and even my implied questions!
I was specifically asking about Handwriting Without Tears just to make my curriculum choices for next year, but the other suggestions are invaluable! Thanks again!
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
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Willa
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To add to what Valerie said.
My 5 year old Paddy has trouble with his pencil grip and Aidan's OT recommended pinching things with clothespins -- picking up little toys and releasing them into a jar using first finger and thumb.
Also, large motor muscle development will help with the fine motor control. Not necessarily something wrong -- just immaturity in development typical of that age. If you have him stand in front of an easel and paint or draw with chalk in large motions it will transfer not immediately, but over time, to a better grip with the fingers and hand.
HWT is nice in many ways because it is inexpensive, has lots of suggestions that address difficulties behind the problems, and also quite an uncluttered page and fairly nice b&w pictures. The teacher's manual is especially useful.
(Edited because I misread what you said at first, Jenn, to say the grip WAS too tight). But some of this same stuff applies to a loose unsteady grasp, too.
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4Real Forums : Language Arts Come Alive
Topic: Allergic to Writing? HWOT
