I always struggled with handwriting, although I can do a fair job of it today if I put my mind to it. My typical report card would be straight As and an “Improving but below standard” in handwriting.
We recently sold my 100 year old mother’s house. Upon removing her belongings, I found a packet of my old school treasures. Included in the box were 2 of my “autograph books” from 7th and 8th grade. ALL of my classmates wrote beautifully in cursive — even the boys. My grandchildren can’t write at all — even the college aged ones. They print in a childish hand.
Regarding handwriting, have you suffered from seasonal allergies or food allergies? It can make a child’s handwriting go haywire in spring and fall, just when they are judged the most strictly in school. Many kids suffer from the combination of milk and peanut allergies — just the thing many of us ate in school lunchboxes. My kid went wild with hyperactivity, red nose and cheeks and frequent sinus infections until we got his diet adjusted. Two other of my boy relatives had all that and bedwetting, too.