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I'm curious to know other people's opinions of A Reason for Handwriting K. We plan to start LHFHG in the fall. I have a lefty who has some fine motor delays, i.e., he thinks handwriting/coloring/drawing is a waste of time and has no interest in it. We put him in 3 day Pre-K this past year and his teacher was concerned about his fine motor skills. She wanted to have him evaluated by the school district. We went ahead and had an evaluation done. I was very torn on this decision, but I didn't want to pull him out of preschool on a bad note and have it be a bad experience, so I agreed to play their game and jump through the hoops. The psychologist, occupational therapist, special ed teacher, speech language pathologist all agreed that he is teachable and bright and didn't think we had any major issues going on. However just based on the preschool teacher's concerns they went ahead and approved him for services and wrote an IEP for him. What that has meant is that someone comes twice a month, sits with him in class, and helps him cut, color, write, etc. as he needs more direction, encouragement, and one on one attention in this area. We plan to homeschool in the fall and they want to continue his services for the fine motor skills... I would take him up to the public school twice a month. This is all parent-driven and I am unsure what to do. I don't know if I should continue with the services or just pull him out since I will be working with him one on one every day. I'm also concerned that if I pull him out, we will somehow get "flagged" as homeschoolers and get checked up on. That probably wouldn't happen as we live in a low regulation state and none of the homeschooling families I know have ever been visited or inspected or anything like that. But yet it is a concern of mine.

OK well I guess I'm rambling now. But my question is, will A Reason for Handwriting be a good option for a kid who has these fine motor issues and who isn't fond of coloring? I understand that I need to expect him to stretch himself and do things that he doesn't want to do, obviously he is not the boss and this is an area where he needs to improve. Another option I am considering is Handwriting Without Tears- I hear it is very lefty-friendly and good for kids with fine motor issues. Just curious if anyone has an opinion. Thanks so much! =-)

Sarah,
I will address your many concerns as I have personal and professional experience. My dd had a language delay as she didn't seem to talk like her 3 older siblings. She was evaluated by a team like your dc was. I am an OT with 13 years experience so I know a few things. Well my dd was dx with autism and attended a public preschool 2 days a week. I had her privately evaluated and the team did not give that dx. Well went back to school district but the wouldn't remove the dx for 2 reasons 1) she wouldn't qualify and 2) that was their criteria (not medical criteria ). My dd would be homeschooled for k and had an IEP and would go to school for therapy 2x/wk. I didn't like this idea so we withdrew her from IEP and said we would get private therapy. We did this for 3 months but insurance wouldn't pay unless she had autism which she didn't. We had to pay for entire therapy cost of 2 x/wk and didn't appply to insurance deductible. Ouch! We withdrew from private therapy and provide at home.
My dd has thrived at home under 1 :1 tailored instruction. She is in Girl Scouts, co op, church and has excellent social and communication skills now. This never would have happened without God, prayer, and her mommy as teacher. You can so do this. Work on your dc fine motor skills LHTH or LHFHG plus some extra activities that are fine motor play. Examples-Legos, sewing cards, cutting magazines, putty, bright lights to name a few ideas. Don't spend 1 minute dwelling on what you should have done because we know who originates those thoughts. Start today! Dc will thrive!
For my concern about *authorities* I joined HSLDA. I haven't been bothered by authorities and dd is finishing up 1 st grade.
My ds has struggled with writing and I learned a few tricks/ skills from Dianne Craft that I have implemented with my ds.
Tammy

Well, chillin'inandover has already given the most amazing answer! We are incredibly blessed to have ladies such as chillin'inandover on our board to share their wisdom and encouragement. I think her advice was excellent. I will just add that we have done "A Reason for Handwriting" three times - once with our ds who took to writing right away, once with our ds who did so-so with writing, and once with our ds who did not take to writing at all. It has worked with all of them wonderfully well. There is more than enough space on the page to write the letters well. The start dot is very helpful. The amount of writing is kept to a nice amount for little ones. The picture can be colored, but it is completely optional (two of sons colored them, one did not). I also love that the follow-up to "K" is "A Reason for Handwriting A," and Bible verses are written. Such meaningful writing! HTH!

In Christ,
Julie