Boys and writing....ugh!! Do you know any boys who have nice handwriting? It's just part of their nature as boys I believe not to write nicely or even care about it. But the way of the world is going more toward writing and verbal expressions of ideas. When we began working on our writing, the boys were against it and it was a struggle. Therefore, we've tackled writing from a lot of different directions.
First, we've used the old style manuscript papers. The boys begin by tracing the letters, then writing them on their own. This is boring but important to learning their letters and how upper and lowercase are formed. We don't do this everyday...if I did I would have a revolt on my hands!
Once a week I also give the boys a short Bible verse to copy and then we recite it everyday and talk about its meaning. This week's verse was No one can serve two masters. Matthew 6:24. It also gives us another opportunity to work with numbers. We've also learned how to address envelopes and of course, sign cards to put in those envelopes, as another way to incorporate writing.
I also ecourage the boys to write on the sidewalk, the basement walls (concrete blocks), garage floor....almost anywhere. I want them to like to write and feel comfortable with it long before they hit a structured writing curriculum in school. We've been at this for well over six months and the boys are doing so much better. They are confident in what they can write and, in the words of Yap "I concentrate and go slow so I don't make a mistake!" I don't think I can end on a better note than that!
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