Handwriting Without Tears

[HomeGrownBlessings]

What do you guys think? The website is great but of course I'm confused a bit since I've also heard great things about other writing programs. What I like about this is the use of the roll a dough and wood pieces. Shouldn't young kiddos have lots of opportunities to develop their hand muscles anyway? And doesn't hand eye coordination develop around 5 or even 6? :shrug

Or should I just wait till dd is a bit older? She's almost 5 but just loves to "write." She also likes to draw and doodle and she even likes to copy some of the books she is reading!

[jghomeschooler]

HWT is okay, but I honestly don't see the need to purchase the books/manipulatives. You can do the roll out dough without their books. I might would purchase the small chalkboard, for the dry, wet, try method- first you write the letter on the board with chalk (which, btw I had to buy at a teacher's store because wally world only had sidewalk chalk which just didn't work as well on the chalk board), then you take a piece of sponge that is damp, and either you or dc trace the letter you wrote with the damp sponge, then your dc traces the dark letter that's left by the sponge with the chalk.
ds is learning the letters without doing all the HWT stuff we have. It's okay, but it's much more fun to fingerpaint letters (they have more control over their fingers than a pencil) onto paper with paint, in pudding/etc on a plate (then they can eat it) , with shaving cream in the bath tub, etc.

You can draw a large letter on a sheet of paper, and have dc glue strips of yarn onto the letter. It's a great sensory item when it has dried. My kids LOVE rainbow writing (put paper on top of sand paper, and have them trace a letter with the 5 basic colors of the rainbow).

Glue cotton balls/confetti/scraps of paper/foam shapes/tiny pieces of yarn/fabric/etc to a letter shape/cut out.

But then, I'm all about doing things cheaply, and not buying unnecessary supplies. ;)

[CJ]

My DD's preschool just had all the teachers go through HWWT training. Suddenly, they are all writing everything in all-caps--a petpeeve of mine! They said that since DD already writes her name properly (using upper and lower case) they won't make her change it, but it still bugs me that everything she sees is in all caps. I read their website and found their rationale for doing caps first. I guess if you're in a hurry to teach something, it may make sense, but I figure if she has to learn to write using upper and lower case eventually, I might as well teach them correctly the first time--even if it takes longer for her to get it. Better than having to unlearn and relearn later, in my opinion. I teach my kids all the letters simultaneously, in context whenever possible--starting with their own name and the names of other family members and friends. We also have some magnetic letter things, bathtub letters, puzzles, etc around the house.

BTW I used to be a 1st grade teacher and it used to bug me when kids came to my class writing their name in all-caps. I thought it was silly to have to UNteach something so engraned wrongly the first time.

Other than that, what I can tell about HWWT seems good, especially with regard to helping them have a good grip. But I agree with PP that you can do a lot of great tactile things without buying a curriculum. Between that and integrating handwriting practice with other writing activities (eg, writing a thank you note to Grandma) you probably don't need to purchase a "program".

Also, I am convinced that there is some part of handwriting that is genetic, or passed-down from parent to child. My kids have a 50/50 chance since my handwriting is very neat and "teacherly" while DH's is well, not so good. My dss has horrible handwriting (he lives with his mom most of the time) both his parents have bad handwriting.