Year 1 DD and her writing

[aghah]

It’s just such a mess, unless you hover over her and make her correct it, constantly.

lots of letters the wrong way around. And also I’ve noticed if she wants to write ‘ is ‘, she tends to write ‘ si ‘ or if she wants to write ‘it’, she’ll write ‘ ti ‘.

I feel like the jump from what the expectation was in reception vs now is so high. I think she is getting better slowly, but left to her own devices, it just becomes a complete mess for read. Well, you can’t really read it. Her homework is all about spelling and writing stories and it takes forever to finish.

she does ok otherwise at school, it’s just her writing - I think she’s definitely behind other kids there. She’s really struggling. But she’s very good at art and drawing, so not sure why it doesn’t translate.

I am worried she won’t catch up until the end of the year and she also just can’t get the first letter of her name right - which kills me. We’ve been practicing for a couple of years. She’s very slowly getting it now.

are some kids just like this with writing ? She does enjoy it, so there’s at least that.

Sounds like she’s dyslexic.

Can you already call it ? I know nothing about dyslexia. She’s a good reader, not sure if that makes a difference ?

My youngest was the same - brilliant reader but spelling is awful. Speak to her teacher, although they will probably say “chance that she’ll grow out of it - we’ll keep an eye and screen in year 3” have a look into it because it’s not always “can read so not dyslexic” OP, it’s also not a death sentence :)

Actually reversals until age 7 are normal and not a concern.

Testing for Dyslexia should wait until age 8 at the very earliest.

Have you actually been told she’s “really struggling” or just speculating?

Well I mean no one said those exact words, because I don’t think they would. But she gets extra help at school.

OP, I wouldn't be concerned yet, it's only Year 1.
Some children take longer than others with skills like writing.
Keep an eye on it but don't be overly concerned yet

Lots will

my two did and now both at grammar school and flying

so what has the teacher actually said to you?

It really doesn’t sound as if she is dyslexic.

Writing stories is way too high an expectation for Year 1. Our Year 1s are currently writing dictated sentences that are matched to their phonic ability. The more confident children then use these sentences and write their own by simply changing one word.

Handwriting is hard - there is a lot to think about! Starting points, size, ascenders, descenders, where to position the letter on a line.

I would suggest concentrating on letter formation separately to the writing of stories. Fluency in letter formation will lead to confidence when writing.

Is she 6 yet?

My older dd did all of this. She’s now 9 and I don’t think she’s dyslexic, but she is a very messy writer and her priority is to hurry through it. In total contrast to her younger sister who takes time to carefully craft beautifully written letters. You perhaps were more like my younger as a kid, I know I was, so I’ve found the lack of interest in perfecting it a bit difficult to relate to. Where my DH gets that just fine!!

Anyway my older is doing great with literacy and mostly spells well, is a great reader - I just don’t think she’s ever going to be a super neat writer, it’s just not her.

@Blueandred1we have been told similar to how I’m describing it here, that she’s learnt to write a fair few letters the wrong way around and that she needs support while she’s writing. The teacher says she does well when she’s right with her and helping, but when she leaves her to it, it’s a mess.

she’s getting support and trying hard and her concentration isn’t the best, so they told us to try little and often. That’s what they do with her at school. Not sure what else they’re going to say.

All sounds very normal and unconcerning

I’m guessing your first born?

My husband and I feel that the homework is pretty hard. But it must just be the expectation. My DD does well, in general. She understands the concepts well but struggles to write well, without support. Sometimes it’s also more maths based homework’s depends on the week.

Yes haha @Blueandred1first born !

Writing is a combination of skills. There are tons of fun things she can do to improve her small motor skills, games, crafts, colouring and drawing. Also you can get her to 'write' with her finger or a pencil in sand, with paint, in soapy bubbles, write on each others back and guess the letter, anything really. The more fun it is, the more she will want to do it and the more her skills will improve.

I was constantly told at junior school that my writing wasn’t neat enough. Now people compliment me on it.

Mum got me some nice pens and a calligraphy book, so writing became a pleasurable thing.

One of mine produced very messy work all through Primary & still doesn't have great handwriting but got three good grades at A level & is at University now.

It's easy to feel concerned when they're young, I remember comparing both my kids drawing/reading/handwriting to their friends when they had play dates & then panicking about it.
But you begin to realise they all develop at different rates. As I say, keep an eye but don't worry too much yet she's still so young.

We had something similar with our DD who is now an engineer. We got lots of the handwriting practice books as they have letter shapes to follow, and the extra lines (think two middle for little letters and a top & bottom line for P & g etc). They really helped although it did mean making time for them every day / two days. I think it took us a year of working with the books to get her to a stage where her handwriting was ok.

We got the books in Waterstones I think, but I have seen them on Amazon too.

What you are describing is normal for a Y1 - the majority of them only learned to read in Reception, it's completely understandable that it will take time to master the written form. We are so hard on our kids these days. 5/6 year olds getting letters mixed up or the wrong way around is nothing to worry about

one of my children was like that. Well into year 2 couldn’t write legible sentences and reversed lettters were really common.

In year 5 now and it’s super neat. They just weren’t ready to learn (I felt) until they were about 7.