dd in year 1, a few tiny concerns about writing/letter formation, would appreciate some advice!

[Furminator]

My d3 is in year 1, in a mixed class with year 2's. She is a sweetheart and very imaginative and thoughtful, however the teacher has raised concerns that her number formation and some of her letters are often back to front. I was a bit taken aback because at 5 (not 6 until May) I thought that was normal? Her handwriting and spelling don't appear at first glance to be as 'good' as her peers in a lot of cases, this doesnt worry me unduly as I know they develop at different rates. She loves writing little stories in her notebooks at home and is constantly asking me to spell words out for her, I think her reading is very good for her age although I think some of the books she brings home are TOO hard (the Usborne appletree farm books which are quite long and she needs help with). I am not sure really how I can help her get her letters straight although I do correct her a bit at home when she is writing - interestingly it doesnt seem to happen as much at home, I am presuming because she is less under pressure?

My Y1 son is in a class with Y2s and many of them (Y1 and Y2)reverse letters and I was told it was normal.

My son doesn't write much so I am hoping that the more he writes, the better he'll get so I am not going to worry until he's older although I will correct his letter formation if I see him writing incorrectly

My dd1 is in yr 1 too & still does letter back to front sometimes. I raised this at parents evening (as ds, 2 years older never did this,) and I was concerned & they informed me it was fine. She's on the gift list for English, so I'm sure that if was something they considered to be a problem at their age then she wouldn't be on the list, iyswim.

I suspect your dd makes more mistakes in school as they are encouraged to work faster & get more down on paper, but has more time to check at home. Incidentally if you encourage your dc to write the letters the right way (starting in the right place etc) then they are more likely to get them right, so perhaps you could have a look at that. Also, with regard to correcting them at home, I've often found the best way is to get them to check their own work. When she's finished I'll read it over comment on the content (positively of course,) and then ask her if she thinks there are any letters the wrong way round, you can then praise her for finding them.

My ds is in yr1 (he's 5.8) and his writing isn't brilliant, but average for a 5yr old I think! He started writing some letters and numbers backwards since going back to the school after the summer hols (bad mum not enough practice ) but the teacher wasn't too bothered by this when we spoke at parents evening. I bought ds a writing and spelling practice book and he is really enjoying working through it at home. We've practised his letters a lot and he is a lot better at writing on the lines and a bit smaller than before. The book I got started off really simply which gave him confidence. I think by practising at home he's started to improve at school too

As a teacher I would be bothered ... yes it is common for children this age to reverse letters and numbers but allowing it to continue actually serves to reinforce the problem

For the sake of 5 mins practise for a couple of weeks I think it is worth doing some hand writing practise so they can

1. write without it taking too much effort
2. they have start and finish points
3. they get the letters and numbers the correct way around.

Mine have both done little practises every 4 or 5 months to just tidy up every now and then. My current year 1 child looks like he just has better fine motor control than my year 3 but they both at least have the basics. I will definitely start doing it with my third in reception as I really believe it is something that doesn't take much more than a little organisation for just a week or two......