Making writing fun and relevant

[tigrou]

My dd is 6 and in the equivalent of yr1 in an international bilingual school. Her teachers in both languages find her exceptionally, abnormally slow in writing (in particular, as well as other things), and surprisingly slow given how quick she is in understanding. When they are copying, she will manage 2 lines while the other kids have done ten, and when they are doing free writing she has a multitude of ideas in her head and only gets half a super condensed sentance actually down on paper. She is also very slow in getting her spelling right - although they have been working how to spell she/he/we and the correct spellings are on the board, she still puts 'shi', or funi instead of funny...
So, several questions actually. We need to find out what her blockage is so we can address it. Any ideas what could cause her to be so slow? I have had her eyes checked, they are fine. Is she just a bit lazy? Stubbon? Immature? I know she is dreamy. Could she be dyslexic (her English teacher thinks this unlikely as her reading is ok although not great and her understanding of what she reads is perfect)?
Secondly, I would also welcome any ideas of how to make writing fun and relevant for her. I have thought of keeping a scrapbook of memories with her, getting her to write postcards to her grandparents, writing out a list of ingredients to buy to make biscuits... Anything else?
All help much appreciated.

When we want our daughter to do something faster we often make a mock competition out of it (which she inevitably wins.) There is one drawback to this method that I've noticed which is that she doesn't necessarily speed up to a required standard. She's so keen to win that she insists that the rest of us slow down (which we do.) However, it successfully introduces the concept of speed into the activity at hand which previously was missing. But it's inevitably a work in progress.

tigrou -

If dyslexia is ruled out - it may be that working bilingually is somewhat slowing down her thinking before acting, if you see what I mean. She may have to think it out in one language and then translate, perhaps.

I would suggest colouring books. Great for journeys/ doctors offices/ other waiting situations anyway - but gets those hand muscles working. Go for more intricate geometric or nature designs (plenty on Amazon - just search geometric colouring books or colour and art series) - then buy in a nice set of coloured pencils (crayola now do mechanical versions which our girls like, and don't have the fuss of constantly sharpening/ breaking). This really helped both DDs develop better co-ordination.

In terms of ideas for real-life writing:

Postcards: send to grandparents, friends, teachers, etc... any chance you get (day out, holiday, just to say hello over summer holidays, etc...)

Thank you cards: send thank you cards for presents (it's old fashioned but a nice thing to do).

Home-made cards: encourage making cards at home and ask them to put in a nice comment (at first it can be small: Happy Birthday Grandpa - but then you can persuade them to write a little note: Happy Birthday Grandpa. I can't wait to see you next weekend. Get those fishing rods ready!).

Competitions: Most children's magazines have competitions. You can usually enter by e-mail but somewhere there will also be a good old fashioned postal address. Books also have competitions - The Rainbow Magic series definitely does and they send lovely 'prizes' in return. It's a great way to tell an author you love their stories or enjoy the illustrations, etc...

HTH

I had several children in my class that wrote very slowly, part of it was they pressed too hard or spent too long forming each letter or stressing about spelling. I gave all children a book and we would have competitions to warm up at the start of lessons. If we were writing about dragons they had 2 min to write as many words linked with dragons as the could and you add them up and write your score down before sharing and complimenting good ones without worrying about spelling. Do this a few times and they try to beat your and their own score but they get faster at writing. You can also get them to write the alphabet down the side of paper and choose a subject ie;colours and they have to write as many colours using the alphabet in a time limit (same thing with score keeping) Azure,Blue,Crimson - it really helps expand their vocab too and gives them creative words to use in their writing. My class love it.

Does the school have an Occupational Therapist? An OT assessment would look at all aspects of handwriting including letter formation, spatial aspects (positioning of words/letters), pencil grip, cognitive ability, Visual Motor/perceptual skills and attention/concentration. PM me if you have more questions.

In our school, the teachers have to do the OT assessment, and, thereafter, the OT activities. Only statemented children have the honour of seeing a visiting qualified OT.
Such is the nature of cutbacks.

mumblesmum - gosh that's outrageous. Whatever happened to prevention rather than cure? I think I would complain about that, tbh. Every child has a right to have their needs assessed by an appropriately trained professional and with absolutely the best will in the world, a teacher is not an OT.

Hypermobility can make handwriting difficult. DS has this, but also another muscle problem which we're in the process of getting diagnosed, so as yet are not getting physio (or whatever it would be) for it.

DS needs to work on his handwriting over the holidays too so I'm also thinking about things I can suggest to him. He really enjoys cutting out photographs from newspapers/magazines and writing made-up articles for them. They're only a few sentences each, but are hilarious.

He used to write a diary in the style of Wimpy Kid with illustrations, which I wasn't allowed to read but I couldn't help myself

His teacher recommended we imagine something at home isn't working properly - how would we write to the manufacturers to tell them about the fault and ask for a replacement/refund.

She said to make any writing task relevant, so that he can see the point of writing, so we'll also be sending postcards to his cousin.

I like the other suggestions!