Hi. My son will be turning 4 in 3 months. He goes to daycare 4 days week (has been going since he was a baby) and this year he is the preschool class where there is stricter curriculum that is followed and more emphasis on the educational things. He's doing great. They are learning to write their letters. Started out with learning to write his name and he's gotten pretty good at it. Recently he has really taken an interest in writing and drawing. His favorite thing to do now is get his notepad and a pen and write letters. He asks me how to write letters he doesn't know, how to write this word and that word, etc. I'm am very excited about this because he had been showing zero interest in learning letters or writing or anything of the sort. So his letters are clearly recognizable but I've noticed that he does not make them the "right" way. For example, his name starts with 'A' so to make a capital A he draws an arch and then puts a line through it, he makes the letter "o' by starting the circle at the bottom. So now I went to Catholic school in New York State and I remember handwriting being a VERY big deal. When I was in 1st grade I remember getting "graded" on the neatness of printing and spending a lot of time practicing letters - always starting at the top and making sure lines were straight. I was good student and did everything the right way then. Now my handwriting has evolved into something that is quite messy but I always make sure to print the "right" way when showing my son. My husband has no memory of getting graded on handwriting when he was in elementary school. In this preschool class they seem to be introducing them to writing but not neccsarily spending the time to teach them the "right" way. So my questions is, do they teach handwriting in school and is my son picking up bad habits that will be difficult for him to correct once he is in Kindergarden? Should I correct him when I work with him at home or just let him enjoy what he's doing? Is anyone ever going to be critical on how he makes the letter "A?" I know that we are living in a digital world now so I believe handwriting is not as relevant as it use to be. Kids should be able to write their letters but hardly anything is handwritten anymore. I want him to do well in school but I don't think the fact that he makes his letters incorrectly will set him up for faliure in life.
Hold up. He is not even 4. I would just let him have fun and enjoy himself. The teachers will teach him the "right" way to write his letters and his name. You can have him practice or ask for the teacher's input though. You can also ask them to send home workbook pages so he can practice. But right now, it's all about learning is fun and laying the foundation for those tougher times when learning is not fun.
I honestly believe the best handwriting curriculum is "Handwriting Without Tears" and it's very inexpensive. You ought to see my six year old's handwriting...it's beautiful. Not only is it legible, she writes her letters correctly (you are totally right...correct letter formation is very important for speed and fluency later on) and her handwriting almost looks like type, it's so uniform.
Check out their website...I honestly love this program. I recommend getting a teacher's guide at least once, because it offers all kinds of suggestions for fun ways to teach the correct way to write letters. My daughter really enjoyed the course.
I think if he's enjoying writing letters then that's great. If he loses interest or does it wrong, I think he has plenty of time to catch up on that later (ie 1st grade and beyond). For now it seems to me the most important thing is to foster his love of learning, his interest in the written word, and his desire to fine tune some of his manual dexterity. Showing him how you write will give him a good model and bolster his enthusiasm. If he seems into it, maybe getting him a dry erase or worksheet type book on tracing letters.
I think you should let him be. In preschool, recognizing the letters is the importance. Being able to write them is just a bonus, so don't cause him to be disinterested by picking at the WAY he writes them. In Kindergarten, they will begin to handwrite letters but in 1st grade there is a huge emphasis on handwriting and making letters the right way. Yes, my daughter got graded on her handwriting in 1st grade, and her 2nd grade teacher is VERY strict about it as well. There will be plenty of time to teach him the right way, just let him enjoy what he is doing now! Sounds like a very smart little boy!
Yes, school is going to teach it, and you should definitely correct bad habits so he doesn't have a hard time when they do. Just do it cheerfully and let him know that for "A" he starts from the top and makes two straight diagonal sticks. Grab a light marker and draw letters he can trace. Put a green dot where his pencil should start. Zaner Blozer has a great and affordable first handwriting book for kindergarten (or younger if he's ready) that will show the best way to print letters and give him lots of practice tracing as well. If he resists and doesn't want to write, that's OK, don't push, but don't let him get "Attached" to writing letters the wrong way. Kids today by NO MEANS skip handwriting because we usually type. He will be doing lots of writing. My daughter's K4 had a very formal (and fun) approach to teaching proper writing and she was way ahead in kindergarten. Correcting him and helping him doesn't have to be mean and won't "crush his desire" imo as some say. My daughter loves writing and has been corrected NICELY for lots of stuff.
I think you and him are doing great!
Keep doing what you are doing, he will have the basics of the writing down and they can fine tune him they think they need to.
My daughter's preschool uses the Handwriting Without Tears program and she's doing very well with it. She is 4.5 and can write most letters if she can see them and copy them. She can also write her name. Sometimes, depending on their fine motor control, just holding a pencil or crayon the right way is a challenge. You can make it more fun by having him trace letters in flour, sand, etc. In my daughter's class to emphasize starting at the top, going left to right, etc. but they are also trying to prepare them for kindergarten. Sounds like your son is not quite there yet but for now I would just continue to encourage his enthusiasm for writing the letters and not get picky about technique. His teachers will correct anything that needs correcting when they feel it is necessary.
My daughter, also 4, has been writing since she was 2 1/2. My SIL runs her preschool. My daugher makes her letters different every time she writes them. I have never seen her make an E the same way twice. My SIL said that at this age it is perfectly normal for them to experiment with their writing and that when they get to grade school, they will emphasize the right way to write.
I would not be concerned about it. Just be proud of the fact that he knows his name and is picking up on his letters and has an interest. The rest will fall into place.
I'd leave him alone.
Right now, he's just perfecting the fine motor skills he needs for handwriting.
He is exactly where he should be and if you draw attention and try to "fix" his writing he will lose interest in it and may never want to do it again. He is totally normal for his age and maybe advanced some.
He is doing it with the motor skills he has right now. As they develop more his writing will get better, right now I would not butt in too much in his "writing", because next week he could be interested in something totally diffrent and not wanting to write anything at all. He is only 4....still lots of time to learn " the right way".
