my daughter needs help with her writting skills?

Question

hi all my daughter is in the first grade and her writting is really bad either she writes to big or she writes off the lines and you cant read whats she is writting it gets really fustrating with her she is on a waiting list for therapy to help her im hoping there is a teacher out there that can give me some ideas as to how i can get her to write i show her how to over and over again but she still cant get it .and we both get really fustrated

Answer 1

Writing has one T. "Frustrating" has an R between the F and U. Contractions normally have apostrophes. I can go on and on. Long story short...YOU'RE talking?

Answer 2

Hello,
I am a kindergarten teacher and can give you some insight into your daughters struggles. Research tells us that although many teachers stress writing on lined paper it is not what's best for kindergartners and many first graders. Does her writing improve when she has the opportunity to write them on blank paper. Sometimes the stress of making the letters fit correctly on the lines can restrict the childs creativity and williingness to write. Our main concern should be the content and though process put into the writing. The formation of letters will come when the child in developmentally ready. I suppose that you have information on strengthening your little ones fine motor skills. This can be done through activities such as: stringing beads, cutting w/ scissors, etc. Anything that forces her to use the small muscles in her fingers. She can even use tweezers to place small beads into a glass. Strengthing these muscles will aid in her controlling the strokes of her pencil. Is she struggling in any other area. If not I would not be overly concerned. We want neat writing but sometimes a child is just not ready developmentally. You could not make a 3 month old stand up and walk just like you can't force her to write on the lines perfectly. Praise her ideas about writing, rejoice in her creativity, but please don't force her to erase erase erase. She will develop a resentment for writing and it's way to early in her educational career for that. I hope I have been of some assistance. Feel free to send more questions my way. My opinion is all I can offer, but that opinion is intended to be what is best for the child.

Answer 3

Make sure she's holding her pencil correctly and use a large pencil when practicing. I would definitely work on printing with large paper first. If it's still too hard, work on other ways to control her fine motor skills. I often have my 1st grade students who have similar problems practice making the letter shapes outlining it in trays of sand, shaving cream, anything fun and provides some sensorimotor.

Also keep in mind that some kids and adults just have a harder time with print. My husband literally prints like my 1st graders. For things that really don't require writing, have your daughter type things out. Some of my past students that had printing challenges did this for some unrelated writing activities. It may also be good idea to get her evaluated with a learning specialist to see how her teachers and you can help her to succeed.

Answer 4

hi! I am not a teacher, but I had the same problem years ago with my now 17 yr old son.
here is what I did.
first I got some double ruled lined paper. I sat down with him and started with the entire alphabet. we started with the letter "A" first. I had him write it ten times after I wrote an example "A" on the paper first. I told him to watch my hand as I started with the bottom of the "A" and then drew a line upward to the next line then down again. then finally crossing in the middle. I then put my hand on his hand and "guided him with his first one." I told him to think of it as art or a game and that if he got out of the lines, he lose's the game. if he stayed in, he wins! this seemed to make him concentrate harder.
when you start with only one letter at a time, then move through the entire alphabet it does not seem as overwhelming as writing a whole word. and the game part of it made him more interested in doing it. I hope this helps you. good luck to you.

Answer 5

First of all, keep in mind that she is only in first grade! She's got plenty of time to practice! Kids all learn different skills at different times, the important thing is to encourage her without forcing her to write. The last thing you want to do is make this an unhappy experience! Think about what a complex skill writing is - memorizing all those different shapes and forms, holding a pencil, manipulating a pencil in just the right way in order to produce the right curves and lines... that's a lot for anybody to learn!
I think the key is to make writing fun for her! Focus on one thing at a time. If you "can't read her writing", then begin by focusing on letter formation. Make it fun - make up rhymes or songs about how each letter is formed; practice forming them in lots of different ways - tracing with your fingers in sand or shaving cream, painting with brushes, and of course, a wide variety of pens and pencils. Let her pick the letters or words to write, so that she has an active role in the learning process. Write down songs or names of friends, or make up your own poems or songs together! Again, I think it's really important to focus on how much FUN writing can be, and truly make this a great experience for her.
As for the size of her letters, don't worry too much about it. Many first graders write "big", that's a normal thing. You could always start with paper with really large lines, and then SLOWLY introduce smaller and smaller widths. But again, first graders should not be expected to squeeze all of their letters into standard notebook paper sized lines! Letter formation is more important then size at this point.
If she's writing off the lines, maybe the lines are simply to small for her. Again, start out with big lines and let her practice with those, working on creating the letters on the correct lines and not worrying about size.
Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Your daughter needs to develop her fine motor skills (an occupational therapist can help with this). Does your daughter have an IEP (individualized educational plan) at school? Find out if she could qualify for one due to her fine motor problem. Don't be afraid to push the issue...it is your right as a parent. If she is able to get an IEP then the school will have to pay for an occupational therapist to help her with this problem. I urge you to be forceful with this with her teacher. If the problem is not corrected early it will lead to major problems such as a lack of self esteem, poor grades, etc.

Answer 7

It sounds like she doesn't have the fine motor skill development yet...so practice all sorts of things that require fine motor finger skills. Fill a cookie-sheet with flour or cornstartch and give her a chopstick for a pencil and have her practice writing with that (more fun that paper/pencil). Also try dry-erase marker boards - more fun that way too.

Answer 8

I'd buy her some of those writing practice books. You can find them at Walmart in the toy area.. where the books are.

It's just a practice, practice thing.. and teach her to hold the pencil properly.

Answer 9

RUN ON SENTANCE! jeeze, first u need to learn how to write. lol. anyway, get those really thick and big pencils, and maybe a ruler so she can stay on the lines. try that for a while

Answer 10

Start giving her weiting lessons and teach her to write good in a fun way.