What age should I expect my son to develop dexterity in writing?

[talk2ham.1]

My son is going to be 5 in June. He is really very capable in learning: great with math, memorizes beautifully, listens and comprehends plenty, can recognize all the letters and sounds, etc. But I feel that our day is slowed way down by the struggle to learn writing. He takes FOREVER to write one letter, and it's usually not very good when he's done. He doesn't complain about it, and I'm trying not to push too hard; but I'm wondering if I should pause for a while before it becomes a frustration issue. What can I do to help him develop the dexterity necessary for writing skills until he can do this better? At what point do I need to start pushing him to try harder?

[FO4UR]

There is no point in "pushing." Just keep at it at a pace of one letter a day until that becomes easy for him. Add another letter until both letters become easy for him...add a third...and a fourth...make some simple words....add more letters, make more words - *at whatever snails' pace HE needs.*

 

Meanwhile, keep working in the other areas free from writing.

[justamouse]

All my boys ahve been like this.

 

The CM method has worked well for me. One or two letters done perfectly, and that is all. No pushing for a page, a line, whatever. One or two.

 

For developing that dexterity-it could be just time that cures it-but meanwhile I'd make him color every day. My kids that colored were *much* better at fine motor skills than those who didn't.

[ChrissySC]

Dang, five is way to early to expect any sort of neatness. Long ago, I wrote at length about handwriting, or my philosophy as it pertains to writing.

You could search the board for that lengthy post, LOL.

 

I would suggest some tracing paper. Have him start tracing pictures from the coloring book. Work on coordination skills like jumping rope. Visual perception and hand-eye coordination are needed.

 

 

I would not try and use lined paper if it is too cumbersome for him. Use a chalkboard or plain white sheets.

 

HTH!

 

Note: My dd, at the age of 10, only now has legible handwriting this year that I can easily read, both cursive and print. She is in the fourth grade, LOL!

 

I think he is just fine. :D

[talk2ham.1]

Dang, five is way to early to expect any sort of neatness. Long ago, I wrote at length about handwriting, or my philosophy as it pertains to writing.

You could search the board for that lengthy post, LOL.

 

I would suggest some tracing paper. Have him start tracing pictures from the coloring book. Work on coordination skills like jumping rope. Visual perception and hand-eye coordination are needed.

 

 

I would not try and use lined paper if it is too cumbersome for him. Use a chalkboard or plain white sheets.

 

HTH!

 

Note: My dd, at the age of 10, only now has legible handwriting this year that I can easily read, both cursive and print. She is in the fourth grade, LOL!

 

I think he is just fine. :D

 

Tracing paper! That's a great idea! I forgot about that, but I used to trace lots at his age and thought it was the greatest fun.

 

Thank you also for the tip about not using lined paper. I think that is a big part of the problem for us, but I felt like I was "cheating" if I didn't teach him to use the lined paper.

 

I'm glad that I shouldn't worry about it. My SIL is using A beka with her kids and doing the video thing and sending their work in to be graded. When she sent the handwriting parts in, they were really tough about the neatness expectations for K level and it made me nervous. And that was with cursive in Kindergarten, which kind of boggled my mind that they would have such high expectations when they were asking the child to do something so difficult at such a young age. I got to thinking that my little guy would have no chance in the handwriting arena.

[warriormom]

I thought it was 9-10 years old, but every child is different. :glare:

[OrganicAnn]

What I think you are really asking is "Is this age appropriate". I think someone would need to look at his writing in comparison to some norm. Age 5 kids are still really getting used to writing. So I would not expect too much at 4 going on 5. But 5 going on 6 you might want to pay attention. Can he make a good circle? Can he make a triangle?

 

Our DD has issues with writing, so we've experienced this. We kept looking at her writing and saying isn't that what all 5 year olds writing looks like. But it wasn't. When she kept having problems, we had her tested and she has 'dyspraxia - fine motor skills only'. There are several different issues kids can have that affect their writing. Boy in general have more issues with writing/fine motor skills. Or are slower to develop fine motor skills. You need to figure out if he is within 'normal' or if there is some specific issue - dyspraxia, dysgraphia etc.

Edited April 4, 2011 by OrganicAnn

[Margo out of lurking]

Small motor skills such as writing are developmental. Your instincts are correct, and I would encourage you to not push the small letter formation at all for now. Instead, work on his large motor skills. Have him draw (invisible) letters as big as he can on a door in your home, using just his finger. Give him a tray of shaving cream to draw (big) letters in the pan. Put 1/4" of rice in a square dish (such as tupperware); let him draw his letters on sandpaper. If you have a sandbox, let him draw letters in the sand.

 

Let him draw big letters with chalk outside, or make letters inside using yarn on the floor or shaping letters with playdoh at the table. Have him bend his body into letter shapes.

 

You can also let him play with anything small--legos, beads, card sewing kits; let him become proficient with scissors, and encourage him to color, using crayons, paint, markers, colored pencils, whatever he chooses. All of these use small motor skills and will help to develop and fine tune as he matures.

 

Have fun with the different activities, and choose just a few each week. Your son will enjoy the variety, and I bet you will too!

 

Your question about this, and your surprise at your sister's children's school's expectations show that YOU are in tune with your own child's needs. (Honestly, bah to a school that would demand perfection in a kindergartner's letters!)

 

:001_smile:

[talk2ham.1]

Thank you for all your encouragement and ideas! I'll keep all of this in mind! I like the chalk and shaving cream and bending the body into letter shapes and such. And I will definitely focus on getting him to trace the letters (big) with his finger in the order that we would draw them or even just forming the shapes with sticks and playdough and such instead of perfecting his letters for now. Meanwhile I'll keep handing him his coloring books, maze books, dot to dot exercises, etc. to keep him focusing his skills little bits at a time.

[Trish]

It isn't an understanding issue. My very bright 9 year old still struggles with handwriting, and he was just terrible as a 5-year-old. It's a fine motor thing.