Recognising letters, writing name, etc

[sparkleshine]

My DS will be 4 in December. He can recognise his own name but apart from that he doesn't actually know or seem to remember any letters.
I've heard from other people that by 4 years old they should be writing their name.
He also struggles with numbers from 10 upwards. Sometimes if I ask what letter it is he might say a number. He gets confused with 5 and S which I suppose is quite normal.
He's never been big into colouring/drawing/doodling and would rather play with his trains and cars.

To be honest I've not really put any effort into him learning this unless it's in play etc as he goes to nursery so really they should be helping him with this also.
I've started to get him to copy me/ tracing and buy learning books as I'm getting worried he is behind on this. Should I concerntrate on both capitals and little letters? Should I speak to nursery about it? They haven't mentioned any concerns.

Should I be worried or just let him learn when he's ready to?

[noblegiraffe]

My DS has just done some homework tracing his name - he is in reception.

School will teach him to read and write. You can do stuff with him to build up his fine motor skills (stuff like clothes pegs and threading and peg boards) but I wouldn't rush to get the books out.

[Jellyandjam]

I wouldn't panic about it. Many children start reception unable to write their names and your son has a long way to go before he starts school yet. A lot can happen in this next year, just think of where he was a year ago and I bet a great deal has changed! I didn't really do an awful lot with my two on this, my dd started doing it at 3.2 and my ds at about 4, they just did it when they were ready.
You sound like you are doing the right thing with keeping it to play, you don't want to make it into a chore for him and put him off.

[CecilyP]

Your DS will be taught all these things when he starts reception which is 11 months away. If you teach him to write letters, you might find the school has a different handwriting style anyway and it is far easier for them to teach from scratch than unteach something that has been taught differently. You would be best teaching him to count real objects rather than writing numbers. Other things to develop fine motor are good and if he is persuaded to do some pencil and paper activities, try and teach him to hold the pencil properly.