I'm looking for something different for handwriting, and I'm not sure it even exists. My DS9 has neuro-motor delays. He needs A LOT of help with handwriting (and any type of fine motor task, for that matter ... he still can't even hold a fork correctly.) He's been through Handwriting w/o tears, Abeka, and now is going through Pentime, but I'd REALLY like to find him something on the level of a 1st-2nd grader that doesn't "look" like it's for a little kid. His reading and spelling are college level, and boys who are turning 10 don't like pages with cute little bunnies on them and stuff. He's enjoying the later Pentime books (cursive paragraphs about interesting topics), BUT the problem is that those books are only in cursive, and the lines are slightly too small. He doesn't need giant lines like K-1st graders, but he does need step by step instruction like K-1st graders need (to un-learn some bad habits he has developed by writing too quickly when taking notes). I'd really prefer NOT to use an online/printable curriculum. People keep telling me he's better off typing everything, but handwriting is super important to me. I want him to be able to write legibly before applying to colleges (dual credit courses are a possibility in just 2 more years IF he can get over this hurdle and be able to keep up in class). Is there a curriculum out there that is specifically for adults or older, special-needs kids to help teach handwriting?
Not a curriculum, but I bet he'll find this very interesting: http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/gw_roc.htm
I found a book at the teacher store, from Instructional Fair, for Traditional Cursive, with reproducible pages. It begins with just letters, progresses through words and sentences, then ends up with paragraphs. I think it's meant for a range of ages, so it's not bunnies and chicks, although it does have some characters and illustrations. Is there a teacher-store near you? There are probably several choices. Or maybe look at Rainbow Resources. It sounds like you've tried everything but Getty-Dubay Italics.
http://www.rainbowresource.com/viewpict.php?pid=028154 This is a link to the Italics at Rainbow. They have tons of others.
I've never liked italic-style handwriting before, but now that you mention it, that MIGHT be what he needs. He's already tried regular print and cursive, and he has developed bad habits from being such a poor writer for so long. Maybe a new style would cause him to slow down and think? I don't know. Hmm....
Oooh! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the "Character Italics" series! And the science one is cool, too! *thank you for introducing me to these!*
