Y2 Writing

[christinarossetti]

My Y2 ds is becoming more enthusiastic and confident about writing. He's a summer birthday and left handed, so I've never thought that I should do anything other than encourage his confidence and enjoyment of writing. He only got the hang of fingers spaces a few months ago, which is fine by me and his teacher.

However, I'm a bit concerned that he still is nowhere near consistent with ascenders/descenders, and still uses random capitals in sentences (usually the one which is the first letter of his name!).

Can anyone suggest a tool that I can use to focus on these skills please? There is a push at his school to do joined up writing (and indeed his older sister was more than ready by 6 years old to do this), but I think that he needs to get the basics of letter formation more secure before he starts doing this.

I could get one of those handwriting books and just do a few letters with him each night, but I wondered if there was something potentially more engaging for a 7 year old boy?

TIA,

Could you get him to write a story, choose a letter he needs to practise and have him put as many words starting with that letter into the story as he can?

I would point it out in his writing rather than practice it specifically. Lots of writing helps. We have a game, we write a story. Everybody writes a line, the book stays on the table. Just point of capital letters and praise any accidental joined up writing.

DC2: Once upon a time, there was a big green bear who was a great rider.
Mum: The bear liked riding wild boar or wolves, horses really are rather boring
DC1: Secretly, the bear wanted to be a wild boar and when nobody looked he dressed up in a boar skin
Dad: The bear was planning a trip around the world, packing his boar skin and all his saddles.
DC2: When he left he realised the boar skin was getting a bit tight because he had become fat from sitting around at home.
Neighbour: He decided he needed to walk the first 100 miles to fit his boar costume again
Mum:...

They do tend to be grotesque after two pages, but they keep writing without it being "work".

Thanks. You've both given me an idea actually. Given that he doesn't like being told what to do, but does like role playing being a teacher, I might get him to correct some of 'my writing'.

Oh great idea!

I bet my two six year olds would enjoy that too.