Any teachers/parents of yr2 children around- how behind is my Yr2 child’s writing?

[Hollyhead]

DS is the kind of child who is very engaged and eager to learn when he wants to it is interested but has really struggled with the bread and butter learning of KS1, he says it’s boring etc. he’s reading really well (on lime level), and maths not so much of a problem but writing he really struggles. Last night he wrote this off his own steam, is he very behind or is this the sort of level where he might suddenly leap forward? In case anyone needs to decipher, it says ‘Australia is home to some of the most deadly creatures in the world like saltwater crocodiles and the England taipan but it does not compare to the green anaconda.’

DH and I are wondering if a tutor might help.

I suppose to add, I don’t think this is his best work where he was very focussed on the writing so I so this as his current natural ‘level’

Hi my DS is yr2 and I think this is ok writing. My DS struggles with handwriting and I'd be amazed if he wrote a paragraph like that off his own steam. I think ks1 is too young for a tutor.

That looks pretty average to me.

Thanks @AllKnowingGerbil , it’s good to know that others are facing children that don’t get every thing perfect straight away - I need to stay away from some of the private educated threads etc where children are expected to write teams for the 7+!

Are the school concerned? I think if he worked on finger spaces between his words it would instantly look much better. I really don’t think it looks that bad.
If the school are not concerned I wouldn’t worry.

@RagzRebooted thank you, that’s useful
To know as he was ‘working towards expected’ at the end of year 1 and I can’t see much progress but then as he’s very reluctant I don’t have much to compare to!

Looks good.
Just needs little tweaks like the spacing and knowing that letters like " g " go under the line.

@Dinosaursdontgrowontrees it’s very hard to get specifics out of school, he was only ‘working towards expected’ at year 1, so I’m keen for him to end year 2 at an expected level.

Try not to worry, he's not had a full year at school yet, interrupted reception year, interrupted y1, only midway through y2.
I'd argue that his last uninterrupted educational year was probably way back in nursery, even if you did home schooling over the pandemic.
It's great he's choosing to write stuff off his own steam too x

I teach Y2.His sentence structure and vocabulary are good. Spelling is passable and most mistakes are phonetically plausible. I agree that clear finger spaces should be the first priority - it will instantly look better then. Letter formation is definitely the weakest area. I have found handwriting a major issue with this cohort. They missed the summer term of reception when this would have been consolidated and most parents found writing the hardest thing to support at home so many children missed out on the essential fine motor skills development during lockdown.

You’re right @Slimemonster it’s so easy to forget how much was missed and home learning didn’t work for us as I was working full time with no support from DH who was out 12-14 hours a day as a key worker, I prioritised my older child’s learning as he was ks2.

@lumpofcomfort thank you for your insight, it’s reassuring to know that it’s not awful, and learning letter formation is something he is very resistant to as to use his own words ‘it’s just so so boring’ . I’ve got some cgp workbooks for handwriting so I could do some bribes for completing them!

My DD is Y2 and slightly ahead of this. Hers is - according to teacher - "the worst in the class" so I'd say behind if you're looking for honestly. Not hugely though.

Get some of those wipe clean handwriting practice books

Year 2 teacher here. It isn`t hugely behind. A few things to improve but some children just aren't naturally neat. Work on formation of letters first. Look up curly caterpillar, one armed robot, long ladder and zig zag monster. These are letter families. Work through them in order and ensure he is starting letters in the correct place. E.g. he is most likely starting his d at the top and looping around rather than starting his d like a letter a (which is what we want)

Correct formation will help him write a little easier and join up when the time comes.

Has he got access to lined paper at home? I bought my daughter some exercise books for her own use and it developed her ability to write in straight lines. Practice would help and I would opt to encourage him with praise for the content and ignore the handwriting for now.

Looks pretty normal to me, I wouldn't start the stress of tutoring so young, a full day at school is enough at that age.

I’ve got a year two child and their writing is like this. They’re strong at spelling but still get letter formation wrong. So I wouldn’t worry too much!

Thank you everyone this has been so reassuring, I will stop stressing about whether we need a tutor.

@Applesandpears23 lined paper is also a really good idea - we do have it in but I bet he doesn’t know where it is!

When is his birthday? What are his motor skills like generally?

Lined paper all the way, yes. Copying you. Lots of praise.

Could you try a 'special' pencil and an electric pencil sharpener that he gets to use before he does letter formation practice? My class love it

I've seen better and I've seen worse, both from children I would consider in the range of normal for Y2. Lots of phonetically plausible attempts at spelling, great vocabulary and sentence construction. Handwriting is a little towards the lower end, but that's not untypical for boys and he'll probably mature physically over the next few years which will help with that.

I don't think he needs a tutor or any intervention - just lots of reading together and enjoying the sort of fact-finding research he's clearly into, and lots of fine motor activities (lego, small world play, knex, etc) to develop his writing muscles and control.

It’s not great but it’s not terrible. I too have lived the “behind” child and offer the advice that things usually normalise so actually the best thing to do is relax and give them time! My “handwriting problem” kid is in year 4 now with lovely penmanship.

I’d agree with the finger spacing, and I’d add give him loads of different types of pens to practice with. Really thick highlighters, tiny fine ballpoints, loads of colours. It’ll keep him interested and mean he gets used to drawing the shapes of the letters, rather than focusing on the content of the writing.

All great ideas @Goooglebox he’s May birthday so not super young in the year but at the younger end. He has very good motor skills for things he’s interested in - complicated transformers for instance or Lego. But they haven’t transferred so much to handwriting!

Some great ideas here thank you.

I've just asked my year 2 child to write the first bit to compare, she's 7 at the end of the month.

The main difference to me is the finger spaces, writing on proper lines also helps, dd's school is really pushing cursive writing which I find quite hard to read, especially the letter s.

I don't think your son's looks too bad at all.