Questions regarding typing vs writing in cursive

[snadig]

Hello Ladies.

Well I have been doing some thinking regarding typing vs copying in cursive. My son (who just turned 10 in March) is doing Preparing and is on unit 24. He doesn't like to write and can get overwhelmed by having to copy long paragraphs, but we have made strides in this area. He switched to doing all dictation in cursive after Christmas, and is doing fine with that. I think maybe I have taken, dare I say it the "lazy" way and have been letting him type things out (he doesn't type well, more fingering punching). I have been letting him type his science bible verses and photo copy the picture for science. He types up his written Narrations, creative writing, and science answers to the questions in science. We do most of English out loud, and every so often he will write a very small section. He doesn't usually have to do many vocabulary cards, if he can give me the definition of the word I call it good (we do extra vocab. orally) He is doing pretty good with Drawn into the Heart of Reading.

So my question is: Should we slowly shift gears to following the directions exactly regarding "copy in cursive" ? I am looking at my daughters CTC notebook pages and wondering how he would do with writing in these boxes. We are a ways out from starting CTC for him, as we will take a break in a week and switch to a summer schedule of Math, typing, Spanish, cooking for church.

So what do you think? I feel like maybe I should have pushed more writing. I so hate having so many tears and battles. He can write, but boy does he get worked up. Maybe for these last 2 weeks before summer schedule would be a good time to start asking him to write more. That way he sees what is coming, but will also have a break coming too.?

Well any advice will be great.
Thanks, Stacey

[LynnH]

If you are sure there isn't any disability such as dysgraphia then yes I would start pushing for more writing. From a physical therapist viewpoint the only way he will build up his fine motor muscles is to use them. My son does have dysgraphia due to Cerebral Palsy and in Preparing he did type some, but I made him write all the copywork in cursive as well as draw the notebooking pictures. I am glad I did that because I do think writing uses a different part of the brain than typing and it was good therapy for his hands.

[snadig]

Thank you for the response.

I don't think he has a learning disability, but something to think about. Here is an example: He wants to play a video game(only gets 30 mins a week) but if he has to write something before he can play, he just sits down and plows right through it. It doesn't always look pretty or in cursive, but he gets it done. I am thinking some of it is "I don't want to" "It is too much" " It will take forever". It seems more attitude than anything, but I also want to be sensitive to anything that may be making it hard. How would you know if he had a disability?

Thanks,
Stacey

[LovingJesus]

Thank you for the response.

I don't think he has a learning disability, but something to think about. Here is an example: He wants to play a video game(only gets 30 mins a week) but if he has to write something before he can play, he just sits down and plows right through it. It doesn't always look pretty or in cursive, but he gets it done. I am thinking some of it is "I don't want to" "It is too much" " It will take forever". It seems more attitude than anything, but I also want to be sensitive to anything that may be making it hard. How would you know if he had a disability?

Thanks,
Stacey

I would have him do the writing. If he can go through it quickly, when there is a reward, and go through it slowly without a reward then in my thoughts I would consider attitude as being the issue.

My ds10, who just turned 10 last week, has some of the same attitude about writing. He doesn't like to do it at this point, because it honestly is still hard to do. He rather not do it. Copying a paragraph is a challenge, but something he definitely can do. Like your son, when he is motivated, I am amazed at how fast and how much he can copy!

If it helps any my ds11 went through the same thing with writing. It just took longer for those fine motor skills to develop then for my daughter. I would say this year, in 5th grade, is the first year he has honestly enjoyed writing. It is also the first year where a program like CTC is truly possible because he can easily do a good job with all of the writing in cursive and no longer resists it.

I am glad I stuck it out with my first. I have never had him type anything at this point. I just kept at having him write all of his assignments. I know it was hard to do when he was 8, 9, and 10. He made it through it. So with my second born I just keep having him write knowing the reward at the end, which is beautiful Italic writing in small print and being able to easily produce a paragraph a day if needed in one area or another of the program. I really am glad I stuck with it, and just kept telling him to do his best.

So my thoughts would be to have him do the writing knowing that it will get easier the more he does it, and with time.

[snadig]

Thanks ladies. It really helps to hear from others doing the same thing!
Stacey

Keep running the race the Lord has for your reward is waiting!

[StephanieU]

I just want to say my daughter is similar to your son. If she is motivated, she has no issues copying and writing things. But, most of the time she balks at any writing. I have decided to make sure we do Bigger basically as written, going half speed at the beginning until she can handle all of the writing. The only changes we are making are (1) doing Rod and Staff 3 instead of 2, (2) doing Spelling You See instead of dictation/copywork, and (3) doing a different math. I would maybe slow things down at the end of the year and really focus on getting him able to do the writing he should be able to do. It will be very helpful when he gets to college, as there have been studies showing handwritten notes are more helpful than typed notes.

[4Hispraise]

My son was like that in Preparing....and CtC. He strongly dislikes writing. He would rather type, print...do it orally - honestly, not do it at all . But, I pushed him. In order for him to grow in to the next year and be able to complete the work, I discovered it is better to address the problem sooner, rather than later. Good habits and not allowing excuses was sooo hard in those younger years because my son is extremely strong-willed and our life felt like a constant battle. I will be honest, some days I wondered if the battle was worth it. I just wanted to quit, but God always gave me the strength to continue. Only by His grace!

This year, my son completed WG and attended college classes. All those battles were worth it now that I am seeing the fruit! I read your post and thought, "Oh, I remember those days of struggle." So, I just want to encourage you, all the discipline and love that you are pouring in to these formative years are going to be fruitful in the future. I know it is hard right now. I know that it is easier to let him do things that do not require you to battle. But, unless there is some learning issue, I would encourage you to press on to complete the guide as written. It does so help to develop good habits of completing a "job" as assigned rather than setting his own standard for completion. I used to have all kinds of chats with my son about "cutting corners" and doing things the easy way rather than the right way. It also made it easier as he became more independent. My son KNEW that I expected him to do EVERYTHING as written, no cut corners, no lazy days, and no excuses! This will become more and more important as your ds continues in to the older guides and becomes more and more independent.

And just know, you are not alone.

[snadig]

Thanks Ladies.

I think I knew what needed to be changed. I realized it when I was reading another post. I felt bad I had let things go, but thankfully the Lord helped me see what needed to be changed. I just needed some other advice. Sometimes we are too close and are missing the bigger picture.

So today he had to do the "I" box for history on unit 24. He asked can I type it, and I said no. He was upset and had to take time out, but came around real quick. I made sure he had the right chair/desk area to make things go well. He wasn't to happy about it, but when he was finished (in cursive) and got some stickers, he was proud even though he didn't say much. I could tell he was proud of his work.

We still have some ways to go, but one step at a time.
Thank you so much for your encouragement!
Stacey

[MelInKansas]

Keep up the good work! Encourage him as much as you possibly can too. My DD was the same way in Preparing. I had let her off too easy most of the way through Bigger. We did not do much of the vocabulary written (I believe we talked through them) and I did not make her do a lot of the notebooking. I was doing R&S written at that time and have since switched to mostly oral. R&S 5 (in CTC) I think actually has a reasonable amount of writing required for the age so she does do it now, but we are also over a writing hump. Near the end of Preparing she finally was able to do the writing work that was asked of her without having very emotional moments before starting. Whenever the activity involved writing (more than just dictation, for which I am much less picky about the quality of the work done as long as I can read it) she would melt down before even starting.

While yes, I acknowledge that this was partially an attitude problem on her part and we talked about that very frequently, I had to admit that 1) I had put her partially in that place by not making her do the work all along so it would build up gradually and 2) the reason she disliked it was because it is in fact difficult for her. Listening to read-alouds is fun. She even likes math (even though she has to write for that and her dad has made her improve her handwriting there too). I tried to be gracious and understanding without lowering the standard. I made sure I was right there to help out if she got discouraged, needed help with spelling (which was one thing she disliked, being unsure of the spelling), or whatever. This was difficult for me as I have several other kids to manage, but that was part of what I felt I needed to do to get her through it, to be there as an encouragement to her that she CAN do it and that if she needs help I am there for her. And to keep her on track . It is much much better now. As others have said, just keep on going and try to keep it as positive as you can.

HOD has a good amount of writing, but not too much. I know that in the world today most things are typed, not written, but it is still good for them mentally to do the writing, and I know I have read posts on here that kids shouldn't start typing a lot of their work until at least 12? Because of hand size and coordination, etc.