Learning to write - Books

[grouchyoscar]

Ds (4.5 is learning to write at school. He isn't a confident penman, he only scribbles tbh and he is a bit clumsy and has limited fine motor skills (apparently but you should se him with a PS2 controller At the moment his writing is scrawly, formed backwards, upside down and of different sizes. I think he is concious of this and it discourages him to even try, even though I do all the positive things to help

Anyway, I was hoping someone could suggest a book that may help and any ideas you may have to encourage him to develop his writing skills please.

TIA

have you got the books that have the words you can write over?
from whsmith and the like...

He's learning and this sounds pretty normal to me. There are lots of practise writing books, libraries often have them for sale too. You could always write the words and letters out clearly on cards which he can copy, and give him a sticker for each one he does. But I wouldn't be too harsh about it, it's natural to get it wrong and scrawly. I remember getting p and q, b and d mixed up when I was learning; dd did too, and so do most of the kids. Talk to your ds' teacher. She'll almost certainly say they're all like that.

The most important thing is not to get worried about it yourself - or at least, not to let him know you're worried about it! That's the best way to make him lose confidence!

good post...

my dd is same age, - very young for school.. and i have discussed with the teacher that i wont be pushing her this year, so that means we wont be doing a lot of the homework every weekend, as she needs time to rest etc

because all that is important to me in reception is that dd gets used to the school routine and is happy to be going there..

dd1 was differnt she was oldest in her year and was ready to learn everything but dd2 has been very different

we did have some flash card type things from tesco which came with a pen for you to trace the letters then rub off the pen for next time

agree with chocolate spiders, Tesco do some great wipe clean words and letters he can practice on.

We got dd1 something like this - the one with the lettershapes that you can go over. Whiteboards are great because it doesnt matter if you make a mistake. I think the most important thing to concentrate on is the correct letter formation - I wouldn't worry about the size or neatness at this stage. The letters can be separated into groups that all begin in the same way - so cadgqosef all start with the same/similar shapes as do litujy, rbnmkp and zvwx so I would concentrate on a group at a time.

Also it's better to start with big letter shapes while he's practising - it's much easier for little hands. Is he left-handed - because that makes things so much harder for them?

DD1 had a writing box with lots of different kinds of paper, envelopes, pens, stickers etc in and she really loved using this to do play writing - obviously it is a bit girly but perhaps you could put a "boy" spin on it in someway.

I was thinking of getting some tracing paper or OHP sheets so he can copy/draw over words. Thanks for that.

Any other suggestions gratefully received

I know he finds it tricky. At the moment we have a deal, he's going to practice writing which he finds tricky and at the same time, I will practice the guitar as find that hard.

the school did give everyone faint letters on a sheet that had been laminated for us to use to copy over....
but to be honest dd prefer the tesco ones...
probably because they also have a big bright picture on them as well...
they are called wipe clean activity flash cards. you get 3 pens with them and a cloth to wipe them..it says on the box 26 double sided wipe clean flash cards
they are not tesco brand it says they are made by priddy books?
well worth the £4.99
dd just seems to help herself to them

hope this helps

Cheers Spiders

I have

Chalks and chalk boards
Whiteboards and markers
Crayons
pens
Pencils
a sheet with letters on that I print off for him to draw over

Looks like a trip to Tesco tomorrow

but more suggestions very much appreciated.

DS learned to read last week so I'd like him to be able to write too by the time he starts Year1

when i bought dd's they were with the children books

you can also buy handwriting pens which is sort of triangular and supposed to be easier to hold? think they are made by berol...

Great set of tips folks, thanks

He's made a good effort this morning. Just got to remember take it in little steps

Another good thing is my handwriting is getting better