Learning to write: maybe it's just having the right tools
Yesterday I bought the younger son some triangular markers and crayons, hoping that it would help his pencil grip. He used them a couple times, drawing in the Kumon tracing workbook.
I'm intrigued by this series of workbooks. I ordered the younger son two maze books for Christmas. One was titled "Kindergarten Mazes" and the other was "Amazing Mazes", a Kumon book. I shouldn't have bothered with the kindergarten mazes because he immediately flipped to the back of the book, the "very difficult section", and whipped through them. Mike was nearby when this happened, and I mentioned this was a "very difficult" maze, to which the younger one responded, "No, it's not! It's easy!"
The Kumon workbook, however, is apparently in the middle of a bunch of maze books designed for kids in the pre-school and early elementary levels. The younger son adores it, and I've actually gotten him to hold a pen for a couple of the mazes himself. (He also did for the other book, but he apparently thought they were too easy and would make his line go through four mazes at a time, so that it was supposed to be one more difficult maze.)
After looking into it, it turns out that Kumon has all sorts of workbooks, and some of them looked really awesome for the younger one. (In fact, I really wish they'd had these when my older one was a kid. Getting my older one to do exercises necessary for the physical development involved in writing was horribly difficult, and I don't think I was ever able to do an effective job of it.) So I got a couple more on cutting, folding, and tracing along with the triangular writing devices. He tried them out the tracing book a couple times yesterday and today. It was funny to watch him: he would just run up and grab the book and markers, do a couple exercises, and then walk away until a little later where he would repeat this. It didn't take much from me, other than showing him once how to hold the marker.
This afternoon, we went to campus to see a friend and so that I could get my textbook for my spring class. As I was talking to my friend, I heard a screeching noise. I turned around and saw my younger one writing on the chalkboard in the hallway. He had written his name...and I could actually read it.
I'm intrigued by this series of workbooks. I ordered the younger son two maze books for Christmas. One was titled "Kindergarten Mazes" and the other was "Amazing Mazes", a Kumon book. I shouldn't have bothered with the kindergarten mazes because he immediately flipped to the back of the book, the "very difficult section", and whipped through them. Mike was nearby when this happened, and I mentioned this was a "very difficult" maze, to which the younger one responded, "No, it's not! It's easy!"
The Kumon workbook, however, is apparently in the middle of a bunch of maze books designed for kids in the pre-school and early elementary levels. The younger son adores it, and I've actually gotten him to hold a pen for a couple of the mazes himself. (He also did for the other book, but he apparently thought they were too easy and would make his line go through four mazes at a time, so that it was supposed to be one more difficult maze.)
After looking into it, it turns out that Kumon has all sorts of workbooks, and some of them looked really awesome for the younger one. (In fact, I really wish they'd had these when my older one was a kid. Getting my older one to do exercises necessary for the physical development involved in writing was horribly difficult, and I don't think I was ever able to do an effective job of it.) So I got a couple more on cutting, folding, and tracing along with the triangular writing devices. He tried them out the tracing book a couple times yesterday and today. It was funny to watch him: he would just run up and grab the book and markers, do a couple exercises, and then walk away until a little later where he would repeat this. It didn't take much from me, other than showing him once how to hold the marker.
This afternoon, we went to campus to see a friend and so that I could get my textbook for my spring class. As I was talking to my friend, I heard a screeching noise. I turned around and saw my younger one writing on the chalkboard in the hallway. He had written his name...and I could actually read it.