Writing Question

[3sweeties]

Hi everyone!

We have had a great first week with Bigger so far! DS is loving all of the content, the hands-on activities, etc.! The only issue that came up yesterday and today is that about halfway through the day he has started complaining that his hand hurt while writing and saying, "Do I have to write more?", etc. I really don't feel that he is writing all that much...it's pretty close to what he was doing at the end of school last year. Funny thing is, when we get to Cheerful Cursive, he BEGS for more than one page! Go figure!

Do y'all think he is just adjusting to starting up school again? Should I really pay attention to how he is holding his pencil? (we are using the "skinny" ones, as opposed to the chunky ones we used last year and he has GREAT handwriting.) Is it okay for me to write down some of his answers for him when he is struggling or will that develop bad habits? We jumped into Bigger full-speed this week...should I slow it down to half-speed since he is in the lower to middle range of the guides (he is 7.5)? His ability to grasp the majority of the concepts in Bigger, R & S 2, and DITHR 2/3 is great, he just seems to be struggling to write down what needs to be written down. I appreciate any input!

[3sweeties]

BUMP Someone please help!

[Carrie]

3sweeties,

If your little guy seems to be handling the rest of the workload within Bigger Hearts than I wouldn't lean toward slowing it down to half-speed. You may want to consider doing it 4 days a week, going 9 weeks into the next school year to finish though (since he is on the young side for Bigger Hearts). You may not need to do this at all though, as the year goes on and he progresses. The first few weeks is always a settling in period.

I do think it is fine to do a portion of some of the writing assignments for him, however I wouldn't get into the habit of doing the entire assignment for him. Just make sure he writes at least a bit of each part. I would keep having him do the copywork assignments in full as much as possible. You could lean toward doing the writing in grammar and in DITHR for him (if he's doing those programs). If he's doing the copywork from the poetry in Bigger, you could omit that to make the writing less each day.

It does take time after summer break for the muscles in the hand to build up strength for writing again, so it's not uncommon for the hand to be tired at the end of the day! Hope that helps!

Blessings,
Carrie

[mskogen]

Word of encouragement here....My ds 7 was used to me doing some of his writing from last year. But I had decided he was ready to do all of his writing. We finished Unit 8 of Bigger today. In the beginning he would ask Mom, how much do I have to write? I would tell him all of it. I was tempted more than a few times to help him but I have stuck to my guns and now he doesn't complain or ask. Even yesterday he finished before older brother. Now that is a first I say if you feel he is really capable then stick to it and he will get used to it. Only you know what is best for your ds

[3sweeties]

Thanks Carrie and mskogen!!! I think I may try a 4 day week this week and see how that goes. Maybe make Friday our "extras" day? I have only done 1/2 to 1/4 of his writing for him and only when he says his hand is hurting him. We do most of R&S 2 on the whiteboard. I did buy him a pencil grip this weekend, so I'm hoping that will help too.

Thanks again for the tips and encouragement!!!