2009
03.05
03.05
So a trick I should put into better use more often, is that if I put my phone on silent, then it doesn’t beep when I start video capture, which triggers extreme shyness, silliness, or both in the boys. I managed it this afternoon to capture Thomas’ frustration that his hand smudges anything he writes. This is particularly a problem with his “wipe-clean” writing book, as it doesn’t just smudge, it does, true-to-it’s-word, wipe clean. Any advice for how to train left-handers not to do this would be gratefully accepted. I remember at school watching the left-handers going through all sorts of contortions to not smudge the fountain pen, so I wonder if teachers are “trained” in “dealing” with this problem.
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fab video! he’s a cutie – and such good handwriting!
It didn’t really look smudged to me. It also think the writing is very good. When Thomas writes with a ballpoint, does that smudge? Could he practice with a pencil?
Almost all the lefties in my ken hold their hands rather like Thomas was trying at the end of the clip. The problem must have other solutions however since millions of writers of Arabic and Persian script must have the problem in reverse since they write from right to left. I think they tend to hold their wrists below the writing so that their forearms are perpendicular to the direction of writing and the wrist runs along the paper below the writing. This might need a bit more investigation.
Thanks, guys – sorry it took so long to moderate these comments. I’ve also had some really good advice from my most esteemed primary teacher friend, and also from the playgroup staff this morning, so, if I’m ever nearby when he decides to write again, I’ll try and put some into practice.