copywork help

[Hot Lava Mama]

I am toying with the idea of having my ds9 do his copywork on the computer. That way he can improve his typing and still do his copywork. Those of you who do copy work on a regular basis, do you think by skipping the "handwriting" part of it, he will be missing anything? Has anyone done this and regretted it?

Thanks for your help.
Hot Lava Mama

[Jules]

We have never done copywork this way, but it is an idea. I do use Startwrite to formulate sheets for our copywork and that works out great. To learn the keyboard, we just use computer games....sorry I can't be of much help!

[Plaid Dad]

I haven't done this with a child, but in my own experience, typing and writing by hand aren't at all equivalent. It might work if your goals for copywork are limited to practice with spelling and punctuation, but if it's memorization you're after, I'd stick with handwritten copywork. For typing practice, maybe your ds could create copywork sheets for himself?

[dragons in the flower bed]

Those of you who do copy work on a regular basis, do you think by skipping the "handwriting" part of it, he will be missing anything?

If his handwriting is great, and his typing lousy, I could see doing that. If his handwriting isn't so great, I wouldn't risk it. The relationship between brain function and handwriting is just starting to be mapped, but we're starting to be able to make hypothesis that handwriting trains the brain in ways we don't expect.

[MerryAtHope]

It might not be the same but I think it develops useful skills. And it's very practical--I have to copy things into the computer frequently, I use this skill a lot.

Plus I've always wondered about whether typing/keyboarding strengthens that connection between the right & left hemisphere of the brain because both sides are accessed to tell the opposite hand what to do. But that's just me hypothesizing with no research done whatsoever!

Merry :-)

[ELaurie]

If his handwriting is great, and his typing lousy, I could see doing that. If his handwriting isn't so great, I wouldn't risk it. The relationship between brain function and handwriting is just starting to be mapped, but we're starting to be able to make hypothesis that handwriting trains the brain in ways we don't expect.

:iagree:

I once heard a knowledgeable professional say that learning cursive is so important for neurological development, that even if the child moves directly from printing to keyboarding, s/he should still learn cursive handwriting. I I can find a link to the research he cited, I will post it.

[Amy from WT]

I'm a big fan of doing as much schoolwork on the computer as possible IF it makes things easier for the child (meaning it improves the quality of their work, lessens temper tantrums, etc.) BUT if it means skipping out on that handwriting completely, forget it!

I recently realized that my 6th grader and 9th grader were forgetting the cursive we had worked so hard to learn! When they needed to write things, their first choice was printing, and when I asked them for cursive, they couldn't remember it. YIKES! Back we went to daily copywork very very quickly - and while they sure complained about it, their cursive memory returned very quickly. I'm thrilled to see my 6th grader is now completing her workbooks in cursive without being asked to do so.

So...copywork on the computer? I guess I'm not crazy about that idea. I think the students should have some time each day when they are focusing on those fine motor skills. You can always fine tune the length of the copywork to their abilities....but I do think it should be handwritten.

[Carol in Cal.]

So, if you're thinking WAAAAY ahead, make sure that he is quite proficient at handwriting, too. Also, has he done a keyboard program yet? Personally, I didn't let DD work on the computer until she had achieved proficiency in touch typing on the keyboard. I didn't want her to end up a hunt and peck typist. IME, the way you first learn to type is the way that you'll pretty much always do it. Also, depending on your word processor, your son might get help that you don't want him to have with his spelling and maybe even punctuation, which largely defeats the purpose of copywork.