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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Could your dc write their name when they started reception?

71 replies

katalex · 19/12/2008 21:44

Dd is 3.9 yrs and will start reception next September. Her 4.1 yrs cousin makes fun of dd because she can't write her own name. Dd's name is 7 letters and her cousin's is 4 letters. Most of dd's pre-school friends wrote their own name in her xmas cards, although most of their names were only 4 or 5 letters.

A couple of times at pre-school I've not known which was dd's picture because the other children have written their own names and the teachers haven't written dd's for her. Are children expected to be able to write their name when they start reception?

OP posts:

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dingdongDOZYMAREishigh · 19/12/2008 23:12

DS1 started reception in September. He couldn't write his name, nor did he have any interest in doing so. Today, from school, he came home with a homemade chridtmas card that he had made himself "Dear Dozymummy and Dozydaddy, I love you very much. Happy Christmas love Dozycolt" Not tidy, but perfectly legible and tear making

Please don't stress, they will all learn to write when they are ready!

Tinker · 19/12/2008 23:19

My 3 1/2 year old can but we haven't taught her, her childminder has. It wouldn't have occurred to me to teach her. Her xmas cards have a mixture of legible and illegible "signatures" on them

D14 · 19/12/2008 23:31

No he couldn't (full name - 7 letters) on starting school he could write he shorten name (6 letters - not that shorten really is it!!!) sometimes and more often than not with prompting

He's 5 this coming Sunday and I had a very proud mammy by writing not just his own but his brothers too

She's got plenty of time to learn and as you pointed out her name is longer than her cousins - get her cousins to write your DDs name that'll shut her up (well ok this maybe a tad harsh considering her age

Also bear in mind DD friends could very well of copied thier names into the card

D14 · 19/12/2008 23:33

that should say i had a very proud mammy moment today by HIM writing his own name - i've been able to write it for a while

Lockets · 19/12/2008 23:45

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

PinkPoinsettias · 19/12/2008 23:59

dd is 3.11 and is sort of learning now.... only because she's interested and is asking me to show her, neither me nor her playschool could give a toss about teaching writing to such a young child and it's most certainly not expected for them to know when they start school next year.

in fact the playschool stopped teaching the alphabet and other simple reading skills a few years ago as parents complained at it being done so young.... the general feeling here is they have years of education ahead of them, playschool should be for playing and learning how to interact with other children

OrmIrian · 20/12/2008 00:00

Yes, yes and no.

Trafficcone · 20/12/2008 00:07

Yes. All children in the pre-school were expected to know how to write their first name at age 3 and then their surname at age 4.

SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore · 20/12/2008 00:08

DD1 could read her name and write her initials but not her full name. She is in her first term of reception now and can write her name and a few simple words i.e. cat, eggs, dog etc.

PortAndStilton · 20/12/2008 00:09

DS is 3.11 and can't -- or at least, it tends to be a few random-looking squiggles although sometimes he manages the last couple of letters. Of his nursery classmates, I think two or three of the girls can, but not the majority, and none of the boys (there isn't a league table or anything, I'm basing that on Christmas card signatures)

VanessaParody · 20/12/2008 00:20

DD1 was 4 (and taught herself and now at age 7 still doesn't form most of her letters correctly). DS1 couldn't write any letters when he started school but was only 4.3 (now he forms all his letter perfectly but his pen control is still a bit wayward). DD2 is 4.3 and has just started writing her name.

Our pre-school does not expect children to write their own names on their work. You have nothing to worry about.

Learning the letter sounds/phonetics is probably more useful.

Cloudhopper · 20/12/2008 00:27

Yes but only because it was drilled in at nursery. I think this is one of those things that they learn if you really try hard to get them to do it, but if you leave them then they learn it at school anyway.

Clary · 20/12/2008 00:30

All of mine could tho DS1's was very big and wobbly.

But IME plenty of children can't.

I bet yr DD will be able to do it by next Sept anyway - not that it matters, per se.

Lol at Ben and Eve doing it so easily - how true that is.

DS2 (in yr1) has a pal whose mum says he can barely write his name - tho unless his Christmas card is forged she's being a bit hard on him.

at yr pre-school trafficcone!

thatsnotmymonster · 20/12/2008 00:50

ds, 3.8 can but he's only 4 letters. He's been able to do the first 2 letters for a while now and just today he wrote the whole thing twice. It was backwards though (he is left handed which doesn't help either). However I think he's the only one in his class at nursery who can do it, most can't even draw anything, and we live in Scotland so he has another 18mths before school.

AlexanderSantasmum · 20/12/2008 01:31

I am a reception teacher. All of the children in my class attended a school nursery (majority attended our nursery).

We always hold an induction in the July for the new reception children and we usually give out a sheet with "This is how we would like your child to write their name" (i.e. in the school's handwriting style, which varies from school to school). At this point I would say at least half of the children can already write their name to some extent - but this is in the July before they start school. They mostly couldn't by this point in their year at nursery.

I personally would far prefer a child who isn't quite writing their name yet to one who had been taught to write it but in block capitals (for example). We tend to do lots of work on name writing at the beginning of the year, so no worries there, but your DD has LOADS of time to write her name between now and September.

AlexanderSantasmum · 20/12/2008 01:32

PS Given my nickname on here I am VERY worried when the time comes for my ds to write his name!

mrz · 20/12/2008 07:56

As a reception teacher I'd rather children couldn't write their names before starting in my class as it is really difficult for them to learn the correct letter formation if they have been taught differently. It can actually hold children back as much as a year so unless you are very sure you know how the school forms letters please don't

Yorkiegirl · 20/12/2008 08:13

Message withdrawn

OhYouMerryMerryKitten · 20/12/2008 08:17

The best thing you can do if you want to help is encourage lots of fine motor skills - cutting things up, threading beads, drawing in sand, that sort of thing.

Original poster

katalex · 20/12/2008 12:11

Wow, so many replies. Thanks for setting my mind at rest.

If dd's in the right mood she can copy her name but she loses interest really quickly. She did it once in her grandad's birthday card last month but didn't want to write it in her grandparents' xmas cards or my birthday card. I agree she's a bit young to be sitting her down trying to teach her something like that, especially as she's not that bothered. If she does suddenly take an interest then I'll make sure I get hold of the letter formation sheet.

Dd's cousin is mean to her. She's always telling her she's a baby and small and can't do things that she can, has better toys etc etc That's one of the reason's we're not applying to the same first choice school.

OP posts:

mummyofboys · 20/12/2008 16:08

Absolutely not and he wasn't expected to either (that's what his teacher said). He was just 4 when he started in reception and could write his name by the Xmas.

Piffle · 20/12/2008 16:13

dd could write her full name Emilia and her short name, Emmy but very large and not very well
She was oct born

needmorecoffee · 20/12/2008 16:13

no and judging from the Xmas cards from dd's classmates, only a handful can form letters.

ByTheSea · 21/12/2008 13:38

DD1 could but she was interested in doing it. DD2 couldn't as she had no interest. That said, she is now one of the younger ones in year 2 and is in the top sets for everything.

pantomimEDAMe · 21/12/2008 13:41

yes but they practised writing at nursery. It's normal for a 3 or 4yo not to be writing their name yet.

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