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Handwriting Without Tears – Use The Correct Approach When Teaching Left Handed Kids

In the last few years the number of left handed persons has increased dramatically. This is partly because left handed children are not forced to use the right hand for writing any more but are rather encouraged to use whichever hand the child shows a preference to. Previously a left handed child was always corrected and encouraged to use the right hand.

A left handed child cannot be taught to write using the same principles that are used to teach a right handed child. The normal and the more regular methods of teaching are more suited for a right handed child. Often a right handed person is not even aware of the problems a left handed person has to face.

Here are some of the common problems faced by a left handed child:

Push Vs Pull: When a right handed child is writing he or she is pulling the pen/pencil across the paper. This works well because we write left to right. Left handed children have to push their pen/pencil across the page. This is quite hard. This also makes the nib of the pen/pencil go deeper into the paper rather than flow smoothly.

Smudging: When a left handed child is writing on the paper his or her hand is following the pen/pencil. And this way it is easy to smudge the letters they just wrote. This can cause a real mess. The mess can be even more when a left handed person uses a proper nib in cartridge or a fountain pen.

Watch What You Write: Since we write from left to right (in majority of the languages), a right handed person can watch what they are writing as they are writing. This is often difficult for a left handed person and hence they can develop bad handwriting if not taught using the correct method and approach.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help a left handed approach:

Mindset: First and foremost never ever discourage a left handed child from using the left hand for writing.

Paper Position: Rotate the paper 45 degrees clockwise (top to the right). This way by moving the paper to the right (rather than the traditional approach of keeping it to the left) you are allowing the left handed child to view their writing as they write. This gives them confidence, makes them right faster and teaches them handwriting skills.

Pencil Position: Left handed children should hold their pencils an inch and half higher than right handed children. Encourage them to keep their wrist and hand below the writing line. If you find there is a lot of smudging then may be use a harder lead pencil like number 3 instead of a number 2 lead pencil.

Avoid Hooking: One of the main problems faced by left handed children is that they cannot see what they are writing. In order to be able to see what they are writing they tend to hook their hands above the writing line and write. This is a very difficult posture and cumbersome. Discourage them from hooking. A proper paper position and pencil position will enable them to see what they are writing. So encourage proper paper position and good pencil position and discourage hooking.

Special Products: There are special pens and pencils specifically designed for left handed persons. Make use of them and teach your children handwriting skills the correct way.

And finally Happy Handwriting to one and all…Teach kids handwriting without tears.

Tags: Approach, Correct, Handed, Handwriting, Kids, Left, Teaching, Tears, without

Handwriting Without Tears – Use The Correct Approach When Teaching Left Handed Kids

In the last few years the number of left handed persons has increased dramatically. This is partly because left handed children are not forced to use the right hand for writing any more but are rather encouraged to use whichever hand the child shows a preference to. Previously a left handed child was always corrected and encouraged to use the right hand.

A left handed child cannot be taught to write using the same principles that are used to teach a right handed child. The normal and the more regular methods of teaching are more suited for a right handed child. Often a right handed person is not even aware of the problems a left handed person has to face.

Here are some of the common problems faced by a left handed child:

Push Vs Pull: When a right handed child is writing he or she is pulling the pen/pencil across the paper. This works well because we write left to right. Left handed children have to push their pen/pencil across the page. This is quite hard. This also makes the nib of the pen/pencil go deeper into the paper rather than flow smoothly.

Smudging: When a left handed child is writing on the paper his or her hand is following the pen/pencil. And this way it is easy to smudge the letters they just wrote. This can cause a real mess. The mess can be even more when a left handed person uses a proper nib in cartridge or a fountain pen.

Watch What You Write: Since we write from left to right (in majority of the languages), a right handed person can watch what they are writing as they are writing. This is often difficult for a left handed person and hence they can develop bad handwriting if not taught using the correct method and approach.

Here are some of the ways in which you can help a left handed approach:

Mindset: First and foremost never ever discourage a left handed child from using the left hand for writing.

Paper Position: Rotate the paper 45 degrees clockwise (top to the right). This way by moving the paper to the right (rather than the traditional approach of keeping it to the left) you are allowing the left handed child to view their writing as they write. This gives them confidence, makes them right faster and teaches them handwriting skills.

Pencil Position: Left handed children should hold their pencils an inch and half higher than right handed children. Encourage them to keep their wrist and hand below the writing line. If you find there is a lot of smudging then may be use a harder lead pencil like number 3 instead of a number 2 lead pencil.

Avoid Hooking: One of the main problems faced by left handed children is that they cannot see what they are writing. In order to be able to see what they are writing they tend to hook their hands above the writing line and write. This is a very difficult posture and cumbersome. Discourage them from hooking. A proper paper position and pencil position will enable them to see what they are writing. So encourage proper paper position and good pencil position and discourage hooking.

Special Products: There are special pens and pencils specifically designed for left handed persons. Make use of them and teach your children handwriting skills the correct way.

And finally Happy Handwriting to one and all…Teach kids handwriting without tears.

Tags: Approach, Correct, Handed, Handwriting, Kids, Left, Teaching, Tears, without

Nurse Handed Over $400,000 to Web Scam Despite Fbi Warning

An American woman has revealed how she was swindled out of $400,000 (£269,000) by Nigerian internet fraudsters, in what is believed to be one of the biggest cases of its kind ever recorded.

Janella Spears, a registered nurse from Sweet Home, Oregon, said she started sending money to the scammers in 2005 after she received an email promising her several million dollars from a long-lost relative. In what is commonly known as a 419 scam – named after a section of the Nigerian criminal code – the fraudsters randomly contacted Spears over the internet, claiming they would offer her a substantial cut of $20.5m fortune in return for the cash injection which would help move it out of the country.

“I kept thinking it’s only a couple hundred dollars – I can get it back,” she told local news. Over a period of two years, the fraudsters strung her along and encouraged her to send more payments of up to $14,000 at a time. In the end she became obsessed and sent the fraudsters more than $400,000, which she raised by remortgaging her home and spending her husband’s retirement savings.

Despite advice from bank officials, police and even the FBI that the scheme was a ruse, Spears said she continued to send cash in the hope of a large pay-off. Even fake emails claiming to be from the President of Nigeria and US president George Bush could not dissuade her.

“I said how come you’re using this non-government address? ‘Oh, because our computer has a worm’,” she said. The 419 fraud is one of the most common internet deceptions, and like most similar schemes is reliant on sending millions of spam messages in the hope that they land in the in box of a gullible victim.

Although finding victims requires luck rather than judgment, the incredibly low cost of sending email means that such fraud can be highly profitable. A study by researchers at University of California showed that it took an average of 12.5m spam emails for each response – but that large operations sending billions of messages could make as much as £2m a year.

Although Spears is an exception she is far from being alone. Last year British police helped crack a similar fraud ring, which was holding fake checks worth more than £1bn, which had links to groups in the Netherlands and Nigeria.

Although it is difficult to calculate the value of such swindles because many victims are too embarrassed to report the crime, the government has estimated that such frauds could cost £3.5bn a year in Britain alone.

Spears claimed she was sharing her story now in order to prevent others from falling victim to similar scams. “You’re sitting there going ‘how can I fall for something like that’,” she said.

Tags: $400000, Despite, Handed, Nurse, Over, Scam, Warning

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