Handwriting problems in 11 year old - home remedies

July 7, 2021 1:51 PM

Asking for a family member: they need to help their 11-year old who hates handwriting get better at it before the start of the next school year in September. OT won't be available until at least October so they are on their own for now. Any tips from other parents?

The kid in question is gifted in maths/science and reads a lot / has a great vocabulary, they just struggle with the physical act of writing. Their gross motor skills are more than fine, they are a very active kid and quite coordinated (climbing, roller skating, outdoor gym). Never into crafts / drawing so I think their fine motor skills are just insufficient for the level of work they need to do.

Their handwriting is okay in terms of legibility but they get tired and frustrated easily. It's like they don't have the stamina for writing more than one sentence at a time. The past few months they refused to do homework that involved writing. They do sometimes write short notes or birthday cards to grandparents, on one occasion they even wrote a two-page story for grandma (with illustrations) but now the next year is looming and there is going to be a lot more writing and making notes and they are just not ready.

Another problem is that they get frustrated easily and just give up. If something's boring them, they just plain won't do it. If it seems hard, they won't do it. They like doing math problems for fun, so one thing we thought of is just having them do a lot of math problems with a pencil (after all, it's still writing, even if they are not writing full sentences). But it doesn't seem like enough.

I am looking for things we can do at home that will be fun but also give them a sense of progress. Traditional handwriting exercises are pretty much out - they'll just refuse to do them. But they do want to get better and they do want to do something about it over the summer. It just has to be something really low-key and not anxiety-inducing.

So, I am looking for

- ideas for at-home activities that are age-appropriate (lots out there for younger kids) that would help their hand motor skills and also be FUN and not look like HOMEWORK and make a real difference (so, playdough sounds good but does it really help?)
- specific products/supplies you found helpful (we're in Europe so ideally it'd be available on Amazon as many specialty online stores only ship within the US)
- apps (Android preferred)
- general words of wisdom/advice

I am NOT looking for

- websites or books - I've already googled / researched a ton and I am just overwhelmed
- advice on search terms (I'm just over googling already)
- advice to consult an OT (trying to but won't happen for at least two more months)

I really hope y'all can help. Thanks Metafilter.

posted by M. to Human Relations (38 answers total)

I wonder if the old "graffiti" input method may help?

Play store link

Instead of tapping the onscreen keyboard, you draw sort of a letter to input each letter. It's not "good" handwriting, but at least it's handwriting.

This was a thing back in the PalmPilot days.
posted by kschang at 1:58 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'd look into getting some pencil grippies (our school uses the Grotto brand/name as per our OT's recommendation) and encouraging their constant use. We use them at our schools when teaching writing to younger kids - it's really important that they write in the mechanically "correct" manner as it it will reduce discomfort and fatigue. A surprisingly large amount of students have what one might call a creative grip on their pencil; I've seen things like pencil between index and middle instead of index and thumb, straight up caveman grip, etc. If there is a problem with the hand mechanics of this kiddo, that's one of the first things I would start to address. The OT should help with posture and arm mechanics - having hand, arm, and body all in the proper position will make everything else they do easier.

Exercise-wise, a lot of kids enjoy onion paper tracing. It doesn't feel like writing but it helps with fine motor control and will increase their ability to put the mark on the paper where they intend to.
posted by _DB_ at 2:04 PM on July 7, 2021 [4 favorites]

Take the kid to the nice pens/markers section of a craft store, say "you can spend $30 (or whatever) to get anything in this aisle." Then get an inexpensive sketch pad with the appropriate paper for whatever they choose. It's fun to try new things, and even more fun to draw the calvin cycle with a metallic green gel pen.
posted by phunniemee at 2:07 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

Tell your kid what's coming with this next school year and ask them how they want to prepare for it.
posted by aniola at 2:35 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

What about writing to their local political representatives about issues they care about?
posted by aniola at 2:36 PM on July 7, 2021

To echo _DB_ yea, see if you can find pencils/grippies/whatever to help them have the best hold on the writing implement. Despite my teachers "wanting to make a special project of improving my handwriting" every damn year of gradeschool, and still having awful writing, I realized in my 20s that the problem was having oddly doublejointed fingers, so that any pen that needed pressure to make a mark would bend my first joint back and make it hard to do the delicate movements needed for good handwriting. I do better with a fountain pen, or mechanical pencils, anything that doesn't need to be pushed into the paper like a ball-point pen does.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:39 PM on July 7, 2021 [7 favorites]

You know, this could have described me at around that age. Indeed, I was pulled out of my regular classes during handwriting instruction and sent to the computer lab for typing classes, starting in Grade 4. I'm not sure how it came about, but I ended up using an Alphasmart to write my assignments at first, and eventually having dispensation to type them in the computer lab or on a laptop. I never had any sort of occupational therapy.

By the time I was hitting high school, things had been resolved in a few ways: First, assignments assumed typing was required the vast majority of the time. Second, I'd had time to get better at printing, even if I won't ever win any awards for neatness. I had a lot more opportunities for short pieces of printing over the intervening years, and eventually it was habitual enough that I didn't resent longer pieces, even if they were annoying.

At this point, I haven't written anything longer than a paragraph for anything but recreational reasons in the past ~decade, and I can't say that I think my lack of handwriting/messy printing has really affected my life at all.

So basically: accommodations. They were available to me in probably 2002-2003, so hopefully they are in this school system as well.
posted by sagc at 3:00 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]

My son went through some OT therapy to help with handwriting and pacing.

One of the biggest things the therapist introduced was the use of cursive handwriting. Her perspective was that cursive slows the writer down and makes them organize their thoughts a bit more clearly while writing. In my kid's case the thoughts were coming out faster than the hand could react which led to frustration and then physical fatigue.

If your kid's education to date has skipped or neglected cursive perhaps it's worth exploring more.

If you are looking for an OT that may specialize in more specific treatment, find one that is familiar with the "Learning Without Tears" material. It may be too young for your kid but perhaps the OT can adapt it for an older learner.
posted by JoeZydeco at 3:05 PM on July 7, 2021

This may or may not appeal to them, but learning and practicing different writing systems, like Cyrillic or Arabic or Chinese characters. Or making up a secret alphabet for themselves to write in (in their own language, just with different characters per letter, or sound, or combination) - you have to practice a lot to get to the point where you remember the characters well enough to write with them without looking them up.
On a similar note, calligraphy? Or maybe cursive, if they don't use it.

The idea in both cases would be just to work on stamina, in case that's the problem. FWIW I've seen this in some other kids recently, and my assumption was that they must be doing more of their writing on the computer and not developing the motor skills/capacity they'd need to write for longer. But that's just an assumption.

If they end up having trouble sticking with whatever approach you're going with, see if doing it more gradually would help: 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there, and so on, rather than starting with longer sessions.
posted by trig at 3:05 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Not a parent, but your description of your kid sounds a bit like me. I was diagnosed with dysgraphia in elementary school - have you looked into this with your kid?

The benefit of a diagnosis is that I was able to get certain accommodations in school. I qualified for extra time for any test that required writing, for example.

Writing remains a painful chore for me. Yes, pencil/pen grips help, but only so much in my case. But this hasn't held me back in any meaningful sense - I've managed to earn a humanities PhD, for which I had to do a lot of writing - thankfully I have no problems with typing.

So I'd encourage you to maybe pause on the handwriting exercises, and work more on making sure they can get accommodations. Now I teach at the college level, and students like me generally are able to take tests using computers at my institution's testing center, and their accommodation also includes being allowed to turn in all homework electronically.
posted by coffeecat at 3:06 PM on July 7, 2021 [9 favorites]

How about learning calligraphy for making pre-teen friendly post cards, invitations, birthday cards?
posted by Elsie at 3:14 PM on July 7, 2021

Would general art activities involving hand-drawing skill be something your kiddo would be interested in? Zentangle, an online anime/comic art class, a project in hand-drawn animation, a giant coloring poster?
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 3:17 PM on July 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

Accommodations. We tried the grips, have always encouraged crafts and drawing, and it is just not enough. Her hand hurts if she has to write too much. It has gotten better but typing is much easier. We have an accommodation to type all homework up and next year will apply for in-school computer usage.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 4:06 PM on July 7, 2021 [6 favorites]

Best answer: Your son sounds very similar to mine. In elementary school he was advanced in math/science, was reading well beyond grade level, but handwriting was physically exhausting for him. He had to keep a daily reading log, and it got to the point where he was choosing bedtime stories by picking books that had the fewest number of letters in their titles and author names.

We got him a slant board and pencil grips. Those helped somewhat, but he still could not get onto paper what was in his head. Starting around 4th grade it started to really impact his ability to do his school work. He had a lot to say, but couldn't say it in writing. This led to frustration and anxiety.

Things only got better when the school agreed to let him use a keyboard for anything and everything that involved writing. Since then it has not been a problem.

BTW, my son also had a terrible time spelling. He could read the Lord of the Rings but couldn't spell the word "from" without really thinking about it. Not sure if it's relevant in your case, but I mention it because it often goes along with handwriting problems.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 4:38 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

I got the lowest grades possible in handwriting class back when I was a kid in the 80s; my penmanship always was "needs work". I've always been fine writing mathematical formulae however; it's english sentences and words that are rough for me. I can't tell from your question if this kid falls in this category or not.

If they do, then yes, have them learn to type instead. I learned to type and was lucky enough to be able to do essay-style homework on a computer as a middle and high school student in the 90s; I still hand to handwrite for exams then and it was not great. But honestly being able to type fluently has been much more of a benefit than being bad at handwriting has ever been a detriment. Outside of inclass exams (for which, see about accommodations), there's really no reason they can't just type anything that is word-based.

For math and any writing you can't avoid, get them a good pen that's easy to use. Cheapo ballpoints are awful. I hate pencils too (yes, I have always done my math in pen. It's a much better habit than erasing whenever you think there's an error, at least once you get past middle school.) These days I use an iPad for most of my algebra, but for many years I used uniball jetstream pens. (I really liked their 4-color pens and they're the only ones I keep around today). I'm not sure how to solve the challenge of them not losing pens-- I sure would have lost mine as a kid.
posted by nat at 5:05 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

One more very practical suggestion: buy mechanical pencils and replace the standard #2/HB leads with 4B leads. 4B leads are softer, and they allow you to write clear dark strokes with less pressure.

This is one I just figured out recently. My son -- now in high school -- had to draw diagrams and then scan/photograph them for his remote school. His pencil drawings were so light that they could not be scanned. By getting him 4B leads, he was able to produce much clearer strokes with less effort.

If you decide to try this, make sure the diameter of the leads matches your mechanical pencils. The ones I linked to are 0.5mm, so they should work with these.
posted by Winnie the Proust at 5:11 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

I had sub-par handwriting in elementary and middle school, which finally improved when I was allowed to bring in and use my own pens.

I've always liked chunkier, thick-barreled pens that don't require much effort/pressure to write with. Pencils (especially the ubiquitous #2) are both too skinny for my fingers to hold onto easily, and require too much pressure, both contributing to hand cramps.

My favorite cheap pen these days is the Pilot G2, which has a rubber grip and is a "clicky" pen, so no cap to lose. But I'd second the idea of perhaps taking him to an office-supplies store and letting him pick out (within reason and with some steering) something he likes.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:13 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

My 11-year old is very similar - accommodations are important.

For the actual writing practice, what do they care about? I took my kid to an art shop and they picked out a fancy journal and pencils, so they could have a dream diary. They often wrote for 15 minutes each morning. Their numbers and letters are still often backwards, but they hate writing less.

Accommodations: their teacher let us send in an old chrome book this year, and they used it for writing.
posted by Valancy Rachel at 5:23 PM on July 7, 2021

Oh, another thing I actually enjoyed as a kid-- a calligraphy set. It came with a fountain pen and some inks and instruction on how to do a few different alphabets. My handwriting still sucks, but I can letter nicely when I need to and it gave me some piece of the physical writing process that I actually liked.
posted by nat at 5:25 PM on July 7, 2021

I've seen things like pencil between index and middle instead of index and thumb


At the risk of derailing the discussion, is this wrong?!

As for the question, what about getting some clay and working with it over the summer? It won't feel like "homework", but it can help build stamina in the little muscles in the hands, which is helpful for handwriting. There are special "OT" clay and putty type products available online, but even just building stuff with modeling clay or taking a pottery class could help. Maybe the whole family could hang out and mess around making little doodads out of clay or Model Magic in the evenings. Make a game of it. Everyone makes something and the others have to guess. Take requests and build them with clay. Something lighthearted and fun that doesn't seem like "practicing handwriting in the summer" would have been very welcome when I was a kid.

I think other fine motor activities like stringing beads or even painting would be useful as well. Depending on the kid, braided string friendship bracelets might go over well, and they have the added cachet of being tradable with friends once school starts up. Some of the designs are super intricate and would be great for building fine motor skills.

Some of the more advanced Lego sets have tons of tiny pieces and snapping them together requires quite a bit of dexterity. There is a Lego set for everyone these days.

There are great YouTube videos available for drawing, painting, and coloring. Alcohol markers are super fun to use and with only a little bit of practice, can make "professional" looking drawings. Does kid like anime or manga? There are pen sets specifically marketed for manga-style art and lettering, and it might be fun to draw and color in an original manga or comic strip.

Even if kid doesn't seem interested in art, what about getting an assortment of writing instruments? Glittery crayons, pastels, charcoals, scented markers, beginner friendly fountain pens, watercolor pencils...go wild picking fun and varied things to write with. Different paper types and textures could be neat to try, too. Maybe combine the math problem idea with different writing utensils. How many math problems can you fit on a page when you write with a thick marker? What about with the super fine pen? Challenge each other to timed math quizzes (if that's the kind of thing kid enjoys), but everyone chooses a different thing to write with. What about a dry erase board? Sometimes the novelty aspect is key. Let the kid choose all kinds of stuff to write with. You want to try a quill pen like Harry Potter? Sure, let's see how it works! What about the fancy Japanese brush markers? Let's see how they look! Help Mom or Dad or Grandma write out the weekly grocery shopping list using the writing instrument of your choice, and try not to repeat one all summer! There are lots of resources for fun and "exotic" writing utensils online; I personally drool over the offerings at JetPens whenever I have the chance.

What about learning another alphabet? If the kid in question is interested in other cultures, maybe they might like to see how to write in another orthography. Start with kid's name, branch out to simple words, let it grow from there. Make (removable) labels and label everything in the house in a new language, even the cat.

Would kid like to try keeping a journal? Maybe they'd like to pick out a nice notebook and pen, something special and a little grown up, and take a few minutes every day to jot down thoughts and happenings? Definitely not like "we're going to practice writing for x minutes every day", but something like "you're old enough to have Important Thoughts, and it might be cool to have a private spot to write them down". I feel like this one is highly personality dependent, but I would have felt so worldly and adult with an Actual Journal and a fancy pen. Maybe if an adult family member does the journal thing or is willing to start, it would be more appealing.

Origami is another fine motor building skill. You could suggest trying to fold as many paper cranes (or really any other paper thing) before school starts.

If you have a sidewalk or patio, sidewalk chalk is fun, although at 11 it may seem too babyish. There are chalks made especially for making chalk murals, though, with smaller sticks for detail work and more varied and vibrant colors. Way more fun and satisfying than the basic fat sticks of pastel chalk. Honestly, if you cannot get these in Europe, Memail me and I'll be happy to order some and send them.

On the mural note, what about getting a large roll of paper (butcher shops, newspapers, grocers, and other businesses that use them may be willing to give or sell you one), rolling it out on the floor or wall, and writing and drawing all over it? Who wouldn't want to draw all over the wall? Make a treasure map! Draw a mural! Write and illustrate a very long story! When I was a kid, my grandpa was a mechanic in the machine shop at a newspaper, and he'd often give us rolls of newsprint that were slightly damaged and wouldn't run on the presses. It was always such a treat to have a huge expanse of paper spread on the floor to cover with whatever doodles we felt like adding. We'd leave it in place for days, adding to it whenever inspiration struck.

Word games, like Mad Libs, crossword puzzles, or Hangman are a fun way to write at least a little bit.

There are also lots of YouTube videos for basic OT "handwriting warm ups" and stuff. My only hesitation with those would be attempting any exercises or techniques that aren't totally straightforward. You don't want to establish bad habits or incorrect mechanics and have to unlearn them once professional OT is available.

Any relatives who might like sending and receiving letters? Grandparents, cousins, an aunt or uncle? You could try finding the most offbeat or weird postcards and sending them to people!

I think it probably depends on the tolerance of the individual kid. You likely will need to take care not to make it feel like a chore or punishment, especially during summer break. That could set it up to be a huge battle for years to come. It sounds like kid is not unwilling, but honestly needs to build stamina in their hands to write comfortably. It could actually be super unpleasant for them to write at the moment, so I'd be super careful not to push too hard.

(Ugh, can you tell I have had a slight office supply problem since childhood?)
posted by easy, lucky, free at 5:25 PM on July 7, 2021 [3 favorites]

An OT that presented at the school where I teach shared that writing by hand requires strength in your core in order to hold up your arm, plus strength in your arm to hold up your hand, plus hand strength. If any of those are lacking, it can lead to fatigue. One fun thing that can strengthen all those muscles - monkey bars!
posted by mai at 5:49 PM on July 7, 2021 [2 favorites]

Can you find some kind of written puzzles to decipher? Have them come up with a secret code? A pen pal? Kid crosswords? I used to have books with math puzzles when I was that age, I wish I remembered what they were called.

One game I loved was picking a long word and making small words from all the letters - you can compete to see who comes up with more words, and it requires fast writing and thinking. I still play that game by myself when waiting for appointments, or sitting in boring meetings.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 6:16 PM on July 7, 2021

Forgive me if you've thought about this and I've missed it, but have you considered that this might be more than just the physical tasks involved with handwriting? Your child sounds a lot like mine, advanced academically in most respects but finding it extremely difficult to engage with extended writing tasks. In the case of my kid, it wasn't just the physical writing part, it was also executive functioning issues which made it difficult for them to get their thoughts into a written form. Having writing tasks broken down into smaller pieces, and formulating a strategy for completing them have helped immensely.
posted by mollweide at 6:56 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for the great answers so far!

As many of you have pointed out, the kid will need a more comprehensive evaluation and accommodations, and big picture thinking.

Your son sounds very similar to mine. In elementary school he was advanced in math/science, was reading well beyond grade level, but handwriting was physically exhausting for him. He had to keep a daily reading log, and it got to the point where he was choosing bedtime stories by picking books that had the fewest number of letters in their titles and author names.

This is almost uncannily similar.

He could read the Lord of the Rings but couldn't spell the word "from" without really thinking about it.

*cough* their spelling is fine per se but it still very much rings a bell

For the time being, I try to bring in fun stuff to do (for the whole family, not just this one kid) - we do crafts, science projects, chemistry experiments, kid-friendly apps. They have expressed interest in clay modeling, so we'll try that. They are very into math/word puzzles, thankfully (and into video games, any idea how to gamify that?)

I got a lot of helpful answers already but if you have any more suggestions for low-key, fun activities we can try this summer, I am all ears.
posted by M. at 8:25 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

If the child is a reader, see if making a "commonplace book" would be a form of practice that could help

https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n13/erin-maglaque/ten-small-raisins - has more details of their history

My handwriting is, was and will be disgusting if I am writing for myself. If I am writing for anyone else, first I choose a good writing implement, which rarely is a biro as pushing a pen distorts my handwriting. Using a fine mechanical pencil and trying to write really small improved my speed and legibility - until I consciously started to try and make my letters as small as possible, I did not realise how much time was wasted in making big letters.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 8:40 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

My handwriting is horrible, but I type 85 wpm. :D

But then, I'm an older adult.

Maybe one day you can introduce the kid to various types of writing instruments, from pencil to mechanical pencil to ballpoint pen (different brands and different sizes), felt-tip pen, and even fountain pen (there are disposable ones), or every economical ones. Maybe even calligraphy pens. The idea is to feel how the different types of writing instruments work on different types of paper, basically. It's not a test, just let him draw, doodle, or whatever on any paper he chooses, with the idea of trying all of them at least twice in different combinations.

Not saying he'll like writing after this, but perhaps the kid will feel less... "restricted", or at least understand there are different combinations.
posted by kschang at 8:48 PM on July 7, 2021

If there’s access to an iPad, can you set your kid up with an Apple Pencil? It requires a much lighter touch than physical media, and can be used with any app, not just drawing/writing ones. Sponge-tip styluses can also be employed with a tablet or phone, but aren’t super enjoyable to use. (I’m thinking about mazes, games like Operation)

As an artsy person, I’m biased, but I’d say emphasize drawing more than writing, especially if he’s into any kind of comics. Tracing is an extremely valid way to start out with drawing—you want him to practice making marks. Print out fanart from his favorite shows or games and get a pad of tracing paper.

Similar to getting softer (B-class pencils), get a variety of felt tip pens and markers. They might not make the tidiest lines, but they make a big impression per ounce of effort.

Look into activity books or workbooks that might be relevant to what he’s into. Or peep Keri Smith’s catalog and see if one of her books might inspire him.

Overall, I hope you can find ways to offer him low-pressure options that he can see as fun ways to experiment with drawing and writing. Yes, it’s a skill that can make other parts of life easier, *but also* there’s a lot of freedom and empowerment in being able to manifest on paper ideas that you have in your head.
posted by itesser at 9:02 PM on July 7, 2021

If they’re gifted in math and science, how about something in the realm of circuits, soldering, or robotics? No Starch Press is a great publisher for intro books/manuals for kids on these topics, some of which are available on Amazon like this one. Lots of small detail work that would be good fine motor work but also fun.
posted by bananacabana at 9:06 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

I have several students who despise writing but dearly love to make comics. Maybe that would help? Many different kinds of printable comic paper are available online, so there’s a low bar to entry. If he’s into clay modeling, maybe stop animation? He can even use the comic strip papers as storyboards, if he wants.
posted by corey flood at 9:39 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]

For writing practice how about a pen pal? Could be a friend or relative. Could start with fun postcards and work up to longer letters with drawings.

I know these are smaller writing tasks but they could be useful as practice.

Write up a menu for a meal. Or a list of choices for a meal with boxes to check off to indicate the choice.

If you are going to the park or on a hike make a list ahead of time of animals or other things that you might see.

My grandkid (a little younger than your kid) tends to like to make lists and charts. Some examples are lists of trees that they know, the names of characters on a favorite team, movie or series and the character's attributes, use whatever your kid likes. Write the shopping list.

Make a map with place names and legend.

Take whatever stuff your kid is interested in and do some fun writing about it.

Often we take turns writing so it is more fun!
posted by goodsearch at 9:49 PM on July 7, 2021

Cooking / baking requires fine motor skills. So would an age appropriate chemistry set (lots of pouring and stirring) or other home science kits. Magnetic or desk toys (e.g. Buckeyballs) can be fun. (Also construction kits like tinker toys and legos). Keeping a lab notebook of science experiments conducted. Perhaps the youth in question would be receptive to learning how to write the Greek alphabet, because of its utility in math/ science.
posted by oceano at 12:52 AM on July 8, 2021

Oh! And there are physical elements of Role playing (e.g painting D&D figurines) or board games. Perhaps there is interest in world building a la JRR Tolkien (making maps, languages, etc.) I know you said no books, but do consider Beast Academy, which is a math series with a narrative).
posted by oceano at 1:09 AM on July 8, 2021

Best answer: Easy, lucky, free, there is not a damn thing wrong with a between index and middle grip. I've been told that's what they use in China, and one of my profs taught herself it to reduce joint strain. Also quad grip vs tripod has no impact on speed, legibility, etc.

I am an OT. I am not your OT. I would have a lot of questions and want to see a lot of things (that there's something wonky with the motor-planning of writing seems likely, for example) But the answer to what you specifically asked is that you're not so much looking for fine motor skills, if legibility is tolerable.You're looking for fine motor endurance, which is different.

So, looking at things where you can build up how long he works at a stretch. A running log of personal best for how many math problems he can do without stopping, for example. Kneading bread is one of my go-to recommendations. Maybe learning to speed-solve a Rubik's cube? Or learning the ASL alphabet and fingerspelling every sign he sees? It's like building endurance in any muscle group: it takes time, both per "session" and over days and weeks.
posted by DebetEsse at 2:35 AM on July 8, 2021 [5 favorites]

Something that I learned and was an "a ha!" moment was that writing uses your whole arm. Some people just use their fingers, or just their wrists, and that's tiring. I used to tell my students about this and would notice an improvement in legibility.
posted by freethefeet at 4:22 AM on July 8, 2021

For the time being, I try to bring in fun stuff to do (for the whole family, not just this one kid) - we do crafts, science projects, chemistry experiments, kid-friendly apps. They have expressed interest in clay modeling, so we'll try that. They are very into math/word puzzles, thankfully (and into video games, any idea how to gamify that?)

What about doing some home chemistry experiments and writing up a "lab report", just as real scientists do? Keep a lab notebook and record the steps taken for each experiment and a summary of all of the observations made.

For video games, perhaps kid would enjoy writing and illustrating a new story set in the main universe of their favorite game, or a mashup of games.

I love the kneading bread suggestion! There are so many bread recipes floating around the internet, especially after bread baking surged in popularity during the early days of the pandemic-associated lockdown. Since kid likes sciencey stuff, you could help them establish a sourdough starter and keep a daily log recording observations about its growth and care. It's kind of like having a pet, but more delicious! Bake different kinds of bread, write out the recipe and a personal review, and collate them all in a notebook or on index cards. Have family members or friends do a taste test of your handiwork, and write out a little scorecard for each person to record their opinions of each recipe.

You could even try tying the bread baking in to kid's favorite book or video game. What kind of bread does x character eat? Get imaginative! Bake a bread from the country where a favorite book takes place. If kid is into Lord of the Rings, for example, the internet abounds with lembas bread recipes.

(Thank you, DebetEsse! I spent a few puzzled minutes holding a pen last night in an attempt to figure out what the "right" grip is. I hold my pencil with both index and middle on top, which I guess is the "tripod" grip? I never knew it was not the way everyone is taught. I always get a blister/sore spot on the top on my ring finger when I write a lot, and I think I might have figured out why!)
posted by easy, lucky, free at 4:27 AM on July 8, 2021

Just to clarify, the so-called Chinese grip is for Chinese calligraphy brushes, aka "maobi" 毛筆 where the brush is held VERTICALLY so it can be moved in all directions without "bias" in the stroke.

There's nothing wrong with the grip between index and middle finger, and it seems to help some writers avoid cramps. It's sometimes called a "death grip" (hahaha).

It's in the book "Improve Your Handwriting" by Rosemary Sassoon
posted by kschang at 4:33 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

I just want to point out that I am an actual (amateur) artist and my handwriting is terrible, so art activities do not necessarily translate to improved handwriting. Slowing down translates into better handwriting for me, and also one of my big problems (for both art and handwriting) is a deathlike grip on my writing utensil and a heavy hand that makes it harder to control the implement and tires my hand out very quickly.

I'm helping that right now by having a sudden deep dive into the fountain pen hobby world, where you can't press down, and using fat pens that I don't have to grip tightly so changing up what they write with may help.
posted by telophase at 9:12 AM on July 8, 2021

I have a Samsung tablet that uses a stylus, now I can just write and easily erase what I'm not happy with i find I'm using my tablet more and more for notetaking and hand writing a lot more than I used to. There are even a few games and coloring apps and all sorts that take advantage of it everything from creating art to simple animation and numerous writing and note taking apps.
posted by wwax at 1:30 PM on July 8, 2021