'joined up' handwriting - should DD be doing this by now, YR2??

[debs227]

ok, i'll keep it short. DD year 2, she is just above average ability but in her class of 26 she is one of the top of her class (YR1 teachers words not mine).

Recently a new girl has joined the class from a different part of the uk and has rapidly become DD's best friend as they are both at the same level. They are the only two in the top set for spelling, which DD thinks is great fun.

DD keeps coming home asking to do 'joined up' handwriting like her new friend does.

My worry is that DD should have already started with 'joined up' handwriting practice?? Can someone help me out here before i put foot in it with the teacher.

It really does depend on the school. At my school, we teach joined up from the word go. At my mum's school they teach digraphs (sh, ch, ai etc) joined up, but print the rest until they start year 3.

I am a TA in Y2 and recently 2 girls joined our class from abroad and they do very curly swirly joined up writing.

We are teaching joined up writing and she could practise at home with o and a perhaps or s and h joined up. The school will not expect joined up writing til later so just do a bit at home.

dd is in P4 which is the scottish equivalent of Y3 and is doing more joined up writing this year. They did letters with a 'flick' at the end from when they started school and now they have started to join the letters together using the flick.

I work in year 2 and we don't start joined up writing til the end of the year. Mind you I work in a VERY deprived area and some of the Kidd are still working on forming their letters properly. What I mean, though, is it depends on the school.

DS has just started Y1 and they are starting precursive unjoined writing - though this week his homework sheet came home with doing the small words joined up eg. on, at, in. The school was Ofsteded at the end of last school year and one of the negatives was the standard of handwriting throughout the school so I think they are going to push it from very early from now on.

My son is in F1 class (3/4 years old) and he is learning cursive writing from the off.

Our village school starts joined up handwriting in the Summer Term of Yr 2. It is not in a deprived area and has an Ofsted outstanding grading - as to whether it actually deserves it is a whole different matter.

As I recall back in the mists of time when I was at school we didn't start joined up handwriting until yr 5 - so around 8 / 9 y.o.

Personally I wished our school would concentrate more on letter formation as we (and several other parents it turns out) were appalled at the standard of writing in yr1 and had to teach dd through the summer holiday between yr1 and yr2

My dd is in Year 2 and hadn't done joined up writing at all. Some of her letters had curls (sorry don't know the correct terminology) on them, but it wasn't worked on as 'handwriting' practice, just how they learnt them, but I don't think it was seen as being that important, she doesn't always take her 'long' letters h t etc., up higher than the others either, but no one ever, apart from me, has worked on this.

However, she has just moved to a Private school last week and they all do joined up writing, having started off with curls and having handwriting practice homework since Year 1. The writing books they use have a top line, a faint middle one and another that the writing sits on, this has been amazing, as she can suddenly see the letter size in relation to each other, which makes a bit difference.

Like your dd, her aim is be able to do joined up, as such she has been practicing on every bit of paper she can!! This week (second week in new school), she has managed to produce some quite good bits, but because not all her letters had curls, she has found it hard. I have just told her to do the easy ones to start with, but I have no doubt in another week or two she will have mastered it!!!

I guess it all depends on how they are first taught and the importance schools put on it but, get the curls right, the rest will come!

dd1 started learning a bit about joined up writing in summer term of Y2, but there was no formal expectation attached to practising it. They did have books with the three lines in, to try it in and to practice their 'curls' as KT says...

...she's now 3 weeks into Y3, where it is taught regularly, and yesterday she wrote out her spelling list in perfect joined up writing.

I wouldn't worry at all, but I would let her practice if she wants - maybe ask school for a 3-line book, or buy one for her if they can't provide one yet?