Issues with writing

[JammieMummy]

This is a difficult one and I am not sure where to post this. DD is 3 1/2 she is quite capable and when something interests her she will happily do it for hours BUT if she has no interest hell and high water won't get her to even consider whatever it is the person is talking about!

So she loves reading, has wanted to read for over a year now and knows all her phonics, can read most phonetic words and can spell most phonetic 3 or 4 letter words you give her BUT she cannot write. I don't just mean it is messy I mean she cannot form letters. Today she wanted to write letters in her "fun time" (time where she gets to pick anything she would like to do). So we pick "e" she goes over dots (dot to dot style) a few times reasonably (you can recognise it is an e) then without dots I help her hand form the letters (holding gently and guiding) then comes her turn! OMG I have no idea what it looked like but definitely not an e. No matter what I do she cannot write letters on her own.

This wouldn't bother me at all (she is only 3) but she is getting distressed by it. She wants to produce a recognisable letter and she knows she is not.

I tried taking it back a few steps and realised her colouring in and dot to dot work is really poor too. She had no concept of pressure with a pen/pencil and she does not produce fluid movements; it is all jerky and hard angles.

Is this normal for 3 1/2 and eventually physically she will catch up with her mental ability? or is there something else underlying here? I am dyslexic so I suppose I can't quite get it out of my head that she may have similar issues or it might be a sensory processing issue.

[NigellasDealer]

sorry but i have no idea why you are stressing about a three year old writing.

[JammieMummy]

I am not stressing about her writing I am wondering if this is normal or if I should be concerned. I accept she is a PFB but it is thatcher physical ability doesn't seem to match up with her cognitive ability.

It is not an inability to write it is a total inability to colour in, copy a shape or make any fluid motion with a pen/pencil (draw a square and ask her to draw one, but she can't. Even though she clearly knows what one is).i am just wondering if this is normal, I have zero experience of other 3 year olds and so don't know of this is normal or not.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

you could try doing some work on finger strength and fine motor skills as it sounds like it is pencil control related. there are plenty of children who start reception struggling with pencil control and I think it is a development thing, some children have stronger muscles and better fine motor skills at that age than others. someone on here has posted before some fine motor skills exercises, things like picking up peas.

[MeanwhileHighAboveTheField]

Have you tried different ways of writing, like a tray with a thin layer of sand and she uses her forefinger to "write" the letter?

[JammieMummy]

Thank you both for your suggestions. I will try them out definitely :)