When I was in second grade, I was in a Catholic grammar school. For those of you who know Catholic education, you know that penmanship classes were a regular part of the curriculum of Catholic grammar schools at least up to the late 1970's. Pages upon pages of lines, loops, circles and curves took us from the Zaner-Bloser method of printing through the D'Nealian method of cursive. For many folks, all it takes is one look at their signature and the reader knows they were a product of the Catholic school system.
Sweet Son #1 is in second grade, but in a public school. Where they don't have penmanship classes on a regular basis (read: ever). His handwriting is, at best, illegible and at worst, atrocious. Sometimes HE can't even read what he wrote! Of course, he knows how to navigate around the internet like a pro, but that's a rant for another day!
At the parent-teacher conference last week, SS's teacher, Mrs. G. gave me some writing paper and tips on how to help him improve his printing so he would be ready for cursive in second grade. This was, of course, after I ranted for a bit on why exactly it was that the school district waited until SECOND GRADE to decide that handwriting was important.
But I digress. So SS #1 has been somewhat willingly practicing writing his spelling words three times each with no backwards or capital letters. Nana sent him a wonderful practice book and told him that for every week of practice pages he completed, she would send him $5 to put into his Disney spending account. Told him that he had to do one activity every day, including Saturday and Sunday, and if he completed all of them, by the time we go to Disney World, he will have FIFTY DOLLARS to spend. To a 7 year old, you may as well have just told him he'd have a million dollars!
So far, the bribe (I mean, incentive) has been working pretty well. Do you think she'd strike the same deal with her daughter?
Cheers!
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