What is your 5 yr olds handwriting like?

[Marvel101]

I though DS had nice handwriting but he was assessed by an OT recently as having motor problems that effect his hands. His teacher mentioned his handwriting is not as good as the rest of the class.

Is this normal?

• if I keep practising handwriting every day he seems to remember how to do most of the letters - but there was a break of about two weeks where I was sick and couldn't practise and it's like he's taken a step back and needs more reminding about how to do the letters. When I was practising everyday his handwriting was often quite neat and most of the letters looked perfect enough to me.
  

--He doesn't write very fast. He slowly draws the letter saying the steps needed. I presume he'll get quicker with practise.

-- He often puts the loop for the J or the g going the wrong way

---Some letters are too big -but he gets them to a more normal size after a few attempts.

[KipperTheFish]

My six year old (yr 1) handwriting is very poor - often barely legible. I don't particularly make him practice (although I have, just not daily by any stretch) and I think he'll get there in the end. I think that motor skills are still developing and I'm trying not worry about it too much. He's an excellent reader however, and so I just think they do things at different rates.

[Ferguson]

If he really does have fine-motor problems, don't worry too much about writing. Let him draw, colour-in etc with chunky pencils or crayons, and just do shapes or stick-men to build up control and strength.

Ask the OT what the problem is and what is the best course of action for you.

Many children don't have adequate writing skills till Yr2 or Yr3, some even later.

[EnidAlexandraRollins]

A thread I posted recently has a picture of my 5 year olds (Y1) writing on it - 5th post down.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/primary/2351504-Random-question-about-what-age-stage-you-think-this-writing-is-at-Thanks-in-advance

[Marvel101]

That writing is amazing Enid!

I'm just worried if he's slow at writing - and it will take time for the OT to improve it - that he will get left behind in school.

I'm not sure how quickly they need to write at ages 5 and 6 - or how much.

He can slowly & carefully write his letters and little words.

[missmakesstuff]

my dd, just turned 5, has writing that sounds very similar to your ds, it's sometimes barely legible, mixes capitals and lower case, is all over the place etc, but she enjoys doing it, is always writing. She reads well too, and never stops talking, with quite advanced language I think, she's like a little old lady I think they all just do things at different times, dd isn't able to ride a bike properly yet either, so maybe slower with her motor skills, I think if she were offered help I'd feel a bit worried but ultimately it wouldn't do any harm either.

[EnidAlexandraRollins]

I really don't think they are expected to do that much writing at this age. It's much more about giving them some space to get the fundamentals right.

IMVHO concentrating on their ability to read is much more important at this age as it helps them keep up.

My son (now 10) was rubbish at writing - slow, illegible, very 'scratchy' - until all of a sudden literally overnight on Y4, it transformed into this amazing neat cursive style. Honestly.

It's early days - I'd just take all the help that is offered at school and use all the old tricks at home - writing out menus for dinner, football scores tables on a Saturday, writing each other secret notes, getting him to think up a treasure hunt, wrote the clues out and lay them out around the house etc. etc.

Good luck :-)

[Wideeyedcarrrot]

My ds's handwriting is abysmal. He's a young year 1, not 6 yet. Is your ds year 1 or reception? If reception I wouldn't worry too much as he's very young.

Ds has the worst handwriting in his class, he is left handed and has problems with his eyesight. His fine motor is poor and in addition I think he's likely not academic in any way.
I don't know what the answer is tbh. I despair.

[ChaiseLounger]

You practice handwriting with your da every day?

Goes to the back of the class!!

Ds2's is awful, but I don't really mind. He'll get there, they all do.

[Marvel101]

I practise it everyday with him as he has motor problems and I want to make life as easy as possible for him in school.

I get him to write the same 3 letter word about 5 times - like cat, dog and bus. I think he needs the daily repetition - because of his motor problems the OT says he struggles with remembering the procedure for doing physical things.

I don't think he'd get there in the end without help from me and the OT.

[Marvel101]

DS is age 5 and a half. It's his very first year in school. We're in Ireland so children start school between about age 4 & a half and 5 & a half

wideey have you got an OT to advise you how to improve your son's motor problems? Apparently what they do really makes a difference

[Wideeyedcarrrot]

No, I guess I think some kids are just going to struggle and ds is one of them. They can't all be academic and I just don't think he's going to he very good at writing.

[mrz]

There is absolutely no reason why your child can't develop beautiful handwriting with time and effort.

[Cedar03]

My daughter's writing was mostly illegible - some good formation of letters but very inconsistent. We were looking through one of her work books from Reception the other day and she was saying how awful it was (she's now 8).
This year (Year 3) they have placed more emphasis on good writing and it has improved so much - she is thinking about her spelling, the way it looks and getting the formation of letters correct in joined up writing. It comes with time for most children.

We did lots of things with her to encourage her writing which weren't school related - we'd play restaurants and she would write up the menu and then take our orders. We'd play shops and write prices for things. We'd encourage her to write stories, comics, etc. in her spare time. She's like doing things like write out a recipe.
Also colouring and painting help with the basic motor skills.

[Lovewearingjeans]

See if the school does gym trail, or something similar. This is a booster group for children with motor difficulties. A small group of children are taken to the hall or the library and will do activities to help improve skills, such as balancing, skipping, catching, moving along a trail, or they might play a game, do threading or other fine motor activities. This ideally happens everyday for about 15-20 mins. Before children can have control over their fine motor skills, they need to have control over their gross motor skills, so lots of big arm movements, painting with water outside, using their whole arm to 'write' letters in the air will help. Look on Pinterest for finger gym ideas. These are activities that encourage fine movements with fingers. You might find the exercises the OT gives may be similar. One of my favourites is to get a small colander and thread pipe cleaners through the holes. He will get there, some children take longer, especially boys.