Help for the boy that HATES printing

[clarinetlaj]

Hi all. Im a mom of 5 (some with delays/special needs) and im trying classical education for the first time this year. My autistic 7 year old boy has done Kindergarden at home this year (and kindergarder again in the school the year before) so we are starting at SC2. My only real concern is ALL that penmanship. My son HATES hates hates printing anything. He wants to quit after one word. He is learning to read and do math ok, but his printing is awful. He shapes his letters strangely and the wrong size. Plus he seems to form them weird (like making a circle, then adding a giant hook for the letter e??

How do you handle this heavy workload for a child that barely makes it a few words before frustration sets is?

[jen1134]

It may be different due to his diagnosis, but the general advice is to place to their lowest "R" whether that is reading or writing. How did he place on the Simply Classical parent assessments? https://www.memoriapress.com/curricu...l-needs-about/ (bottom of the page)

[clarinetlaj]

Yes he scored well. The main ones he was "missing" were ENJOYING writing, and 3-4 step directions (he is currently receiving therapy for this very thing so it is emerging). There are some areas we are shoring up, but this was the main deficiency. I did not want him to do kindergarten a THIRD time if could avoid it. Especially because he can do the math and reading.

[howiecram]

*raising hand to doing K 3 years in a row* it is not desirable, but you really want to meet him where he is at. What did he do for homeschool K? Did you already purchase SC2? Just a few questions to help you! Can he read well cvc, cvcc ccvc words, silent e?

no worries about math, easy to adjust any direction.

[clarinetlaj]

Hey there, sorry for the delay. We did a hodgepodge curriculum. Veritas phonics (still finishing up), Math-u-see primer, various workbooks (logic, science, etc) from timberdoodle and a graphic novel bible. We are currently doing classical phonics/FSR D (just that book) to make sure he is competent enough in phonics for SC2. We havent purchased it yet, but the 200 dollar difference would be a big problem since we've already planned the whole budget. Plus I re-went over the assessment and he really is testing for that level. Its really JUST the printing problem.

[cherylswope]

If he is doing FSR D and Classical Phonics with the SC 1 lesson plans, this may be enough printing related to academics for now. But also use the beginning pages of your SC 2 Copybook right now. You will see several pages for practicing the early strokes and then more pages for practicing letters. Use these while you teach FSR D.

I would not add FSR D and the printing exercises to SC 2. Too much!!

So …

1. Work through FSR D, Classical Phonics, and stroke/letter formation from SC Copybook ONLY for now. You can confess you mixed up the order a little bit and you will focus on this first. Then you will resume SC 2 when these are mastered. This might take a month or two, especially with five children! That is perfectly fine.

2.. If you think he might have genuine difficulties with writing, look into an OT evaluation while you finish FSR D. He may need some support for this.

3. Look at the front of your SC 2 guide. Add into his day one or two of the non-writing tips designed to strengthen fine-motor skills while you teach FSR D and stroke/letter formation.


When you're ready to begin SC 2 again, do this:
1. Circle ahead of time only 3 of the items to be printed. For example, with R&S Arithmetic, circle three "1's" and tell him he must write three good 1s in this lesson. If they are the first three, he is finished! Watch him. Place a star by the first three 1s he makes carefully. You may do this in his Cursive as well. If he writes three good "L's," he is finished.
2. Modify where needed. If he needs to answer orally in SC Storytime Treasures, he may do this. If he needs for you to help him write the answers hand-over-hand, feel free to do this. If you want to transfer any of his writing exercises to a vertical white board or table-top mini white board, you may do this. Sometimes the marker and white board is a friendlier version, because the marker glides more easily. (An alternative in the other sensory direction is to use a crayon for more feedback from the paper than a pencil might provide.)
3. Prioritize the writing. Your SC Copybook will be good for manuscript letter formation. If you need to set aside NAC 1 (SC 2 Cursive) for this year because he has never really learned to write, you can do this. Just save and substitute for SC 3 cursive. No problem! The good news is that when the time comes, he may find cursive much more enjoyable than printing. NAC 1 features a large font, and the SC 2 lesson plans that you already have will work well in a multisensory way to teach him everything he needs to be successful in cursive. This is worth doing; it just might need to be postponed till SC 3.
4. Post his good writing somewhere. Place on the refrigerator, create a bulletin board in your home, or send to Grandma. Begin to reward and notice his good printing.
5. Take your time with all of this. There is no need to feel rushed. Just remember, "first things first," and he'll be fine.

[clarinetlaj]

Hi there! Thank you so much for responding to me

Your response gave me alot of hope because i was altering his printing requirements currently but was worried that meant i was "failing" him. I will use your suggestions with him and possibly hold off on the cursive for a while.
amanda