Teaching my son with Down Syndrome to write letters and numbers has been a long, slow process. But little by little we’re getting there! Many schools and homeschoolers use the wonderful handwriting program by Learning Without Tears (formerly Handwriting Without Tears.) But I have needed to adapt some of their materials in order for Junior to be successful.
Continue reading “More Handwriting Worksheets for Children with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
Here’s a cute set of handwriting worksheets that will help your child learn to write lowercase letters. Similar to the uppercase set, these have dots which show your child where to begin forming each letter. In addition, each worksheet comes with verbal prompts to help your child learn the order of strokes.
Continue reading “Let’s Learn Letters: Lowercase !” →
Tracing high-interest words is a meaningful and motivating way for my son to practice handwriting. So, I made these Christmas and Nativity-Themed Handwriting Tracing Pages for Junior. He definitely enjoyed these more than his usual handwriting sheets.
Take a look:
Continue reading “Christmas and Nativity Themed Handwriting Tracing Pages” →
As I mentioned in my last post on Handwriting Skills for Preschoolers, here is another set of handwriting sheets. These are meant to be used once your child is proficient with the first set of Let’s Learn Letters and is ready for narrower (but not too narrow!) lines to trace.
Continue reading “Let’s Learn Letters 2! – More Handwriting Worksheets for Preschoolers with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
This past fall, Junior and I really began working on early handwriting skills in a consistent and systematic manner. It’s been fun to watch his progress. Not only are his hands getting stronger, he is also developing better dexterity. Little by little. So today I’m sharing with you some of our favorite resources and methods for building handwriting skills.
Continue reading “Handwriting Skills for Preschoolers with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
Last spring, I began teaching Junior to write letters. The more I work with him, the more I realize that he is capable of so much — I just need to find the right materials for him and/or make adaptations.
When all my other kids were preschoolers, we used materials from Handwriting Without Tears. However, while Junior is able to use the Wood Pieces Set for Capital Letters with ease, but he is not ready for the other materials.
So I made my own handwriting worksheets for him:
Continue reading “Let’s Learn Letters! Early Handwriting Skills for Preschoolers with (or without) Down Syndrome” →
This year has been a struggle getting one of my sons to write neatly. Sometimes his handwriting is so atrocious I go cross-eyed trying to decipher his hieroglyphics. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But he does like to produce chicken scratch.
In the beginning of the year, we had some real battles… Feisty and I. He would give me a scribbly assignment and I would make him rewrite it. (That’s what tiger moms do, even lame ones.) You can imagine the griping and fuming that ensued. But I would hold my ground and he would have no choice but to rewrite that assignment in a legible manner. And then he would hold his ground: the next day his handwriting would be as messy as ever.
I needed to find a way to end the daily struggle. And little by little I did. Now Feisty’s handwriting is legible about 70% of the time. More importantly, he’s sincerely trying to write neatly… when I remind him. But here’s what helped:
Continue reading “The Chicken Scratch Solution: How to get Your Kids to Write Neatly” →
Mercy for Marthas