Should I require good handwriting on everything?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Ds11 can print beautifully (if he is threatened with a lead pipe:D) I've recently started to require him to use his best handwriting on his grammar work (Rod and Staff). So it is one sentence at a time - perhaps 12 sentences in the assignment every other day (the day between is done orally). Now for grammar, it is mostly recopying what was already composed for him in the book but with the addition of a few words). But his history is still handed in to me with his old mostly illegible writing. And with misspelled words. And with poor punctuation half of the time. I realize that in history his mind is having to compose the sentences (with the correct historical information of course). So, how picky should I be on form and legibility? For the record: on reports he hands in a rough draft, then it goes through a revision process where he corrects spelling, punctuation, etc. This question is regarding daily work for a sixth grader. The only other work he does that is handwritten is Latin - same problem with sloppy handwriting there though I do require correct spelling on everything.

[Joanne]

Since you asked, no.

I allow my kids to answer on the computer as soon as they master correct sentences, etc.

For *me*, insisting on perfect, best handwriting is not where I want to put my homeschool mother focus or my child their ability to focus.

There is a subjective point at which I issue a "do over", however.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I guess the difference is between legible and beautiful. I would expect that he could produce short written work that was readable. But it wouldn't have to be lovely except in some subjects. And I would be ok with long projects being done on a computer.

It may change in the next few decades, but I have spent too many hours writing essays in little blue books to completely abandon the idea of readable handwriting.

And I'm enough of a skeptic to disbelieve that we will always have computers and printers at our fingertips.

So legible always. Lovely sometimes. Computer assisted sometimes.

[frogpond1]

I think neatness is something that kids are capable of, but something that is a big challenge for moms to ask for. If it is any encouragement I realized last year that my kids were capable of much neater work and I had to buckle down and demand it. I personally think it is just as important as content because sloppy work won't get us very far in life and I think it really is a habit thing. My eldest son had sloppy habits and I didn't realize he could do better. When dh started teaching him he whipped him into shape. He is much better now and I realized I was doing him a disservice letting him turn in messy work. I want my kids to be able to take the SAT writing tests in high school and do excellent. That said, I haven't done much with cursive. They print very neatly. I decided that we would work more on cursive this year. I regret not doing that earlier too. (We use computers for published reports and stories and my kids keyboard on their own- no hunting and pecking.)

Go for the nice looking papers Jean. It is totally worth it. I won't get myself in that bind with my youngest.

[Kanga]

Ds11 can print beautifully (if he is threatened with a lead pipe:D) I've recently started to require him to use his best handwriting on his grammar work (Rod and Staff). So it is one sentence at a time - perhaps 12 sentences in the assignment every other day (the day between is done orally). Now for grammar, it is mostly recopying what was already composed for him in the book but with the addition of a few words). But his history is still handed in to me with his old mostly illegible writing. And with misspelled words. And with poor punctuation half of the time. I realize that in history his mind is having to compose the sentences (with the correct historical information of course). So, how picky should I be on form and legibility? For the record: on reports he hands in a rough draft, then it goes through a revision process where he corrects spelling, punctuation, etc. This question is regarding daily work for a sixth grader. The only other work he does that is handwritten is Latin - same problem with sloppy handwriting there though I do require correct spelling on everything.

No, not if you want them to take care of you when you are old!

[abbeyej]

Yes, absolutely. Not "perfect", perhaps, but clean and clear. Doing things well is a habit I want to cultivate, and I see no reason to allow a capable student to turn in sloppy work.

[klmama]

I think you should require legible handwriting on everything. I've started doing this recently and have been very pleased by the results, both in terms of quality of work and the pride the children seem to take in it. My standard for legible is that someone not familiar with my dc's handwriting should be able to read every word (or every number) without any confusion. That's going to be what they have to do in college and life, so they might as well practice decent letter formation now while they are still young. They get faster at it as they practice. Ask for cursive, if you really want it. Although my dc can print neatly when required, I find that they can write in cursive much more neatly than they usually print, once they are required to use cursive on all daily work.

Whatever requirements you choose, you may get some flack from your ds for raising the bar, but he'll get over it. When he says, "But my hand hurts" or "But it will take me a lot longer," nod your head sympathetically and say, "I know." Whatever his argument is, a calm, sympathetic "I know" is your answer (unless he says you don't love him or you're mean - then you calmly say, "Nice try."). I've been amazed at how well this works!

I agree with multiple drafts for history writing, since it can be hard to put down their thoughts and remember the mechanics of writing at the same time. When he hands in his history essays with illegible writing, bad spelling and punctuation, I would respond enthusiastically, "Great! You have a first draft done! Why don't you go outside now and run around for about 10 minutes, and then you can come back in and do your editing so you can rewrite it neatly. I'll bet you can get the finished copy done before I have lunch ready!" "But, Mom, that's a lot of writing!" You say sympathetically, "I know." :) I've found that the quality of the first draft improves significantly when they know I'm going to require them to rewrite it the same day. FWIW, I have a child who has a very hard time getting his incredible ideas down on paper, but even for him the desire to write less has gotten him motivated to do a better job with handwriting and mechanics the first time.

I hope something here helps!

[Plaid Dad]

So legible always. Lovely sometimes. Computer assisted sometimes.

:iagree:

Any work from my dd that is illegible is an automatic "do over."

For my school students, I give two grades for written assignments: one for form and one for content. Form includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, format (for word-processing: font size, margins, etc.), and structure (e.g., five-paragraph essay). The two halves of the grade count equally because outside of school, no one is going to bother to wade through stubby grammar or illegible handwriting to see if you have any worthwhile ideas.

[Jean in Newcastle]

But I have a hard time deciding if something is truly illegible! (I mean I can always read it even if someone else couldn't). Ds seems to have only 2 modes: picture perfect letters or a scrawl. Thinking aloud here - maybe I should have dh look at it and see if he can read it!

[abbeyej]

But I have a hard time deciding if something is truly illegible! (I mean I can always read it even if someone else couldn't). Ds seems to have only 2 modes: picture perfect letters or a scrawl. Thinking aloud here - maybe I should have dh look at it and see if he can read it!

If those are the options, I would require "picture perfect".

The writing needs to be something that any competent reader of English could read without effort. He should *not* be able to count on the fact that his mother is his main teacher, so she happens to be familiar enough with his "scrawl" to decipher it. (If he were 6, I wouldn't say that, but at 6th grade?!? Absolutely!)