My children have terrible penmanship

Question

 My children are in 7th and 8th grade. Their penmanship looks like a 2nd graders work. Is it fixable or is it too late?

Answer 1

I believe anything is fixable.  Sometimes children get in such a hurry that the thoughts come faster than their fingers can write.  There are easy fixes to some of the issues.  But learning to write neatly is mostly about easily holding the pen, posture, and proper formation of the letters.  Practice will be a big part of the work.  But, think positive.  I tell my students, "Writing is about communication.  How can people know what you wrote if they cannot read it?"

Answer 2

I have recently learned that students are taught how to write in cursive in the third grade and then it is forgotten.  The good news is that it's never to late to improve handwriting.  One thing that you can do as a parent is to require that they put all requests in written form including reasons why they want whatever it is and valid points as to why you should let them.  Want to: have a friend to spend the night, join the football team, go to a move? Then put it in writing. If you can't read it the answer is an automatic no until they spend the time to write legibly. Tell them that you expect them to practice with their handwriting and that a written request in no way guarantees they get what they want, but it does guarantee that they will be heard. If you're really lucky their penmanship and their writing skills (mostly persuasive) will improve. After all, practice makes perfect. 

Answer 3

It's fixable! It will take daily practice, but if they consistently work on it they will improve. If you've already tried penmanship books, you should probably consider a tutor or signing them up for a course. There are 3 major components to good handwriting: 1: how the pen/pencil is held, 2: posture/body position, and 3: character formation (how they write a letter or number). A book can give general instructions on 1 and 2, and very good instructions on 3. A tutor / class will be able to trouble shoot incase 1 and 2 aren't being done properly and can help to break bad habits for all 3.