What to do with this child...

[Koerarmoca]

Dd 4 will be 5 in Nov. She knows the basics, shapes, colors, can count to 20, knows all her upper/lower case letters by sight and sound, can do simple math with manipulatives, and can read some cvc words.

 

BUT (you had to know their was a but right?)

 

Handwriting is going nowhere! She can write letters, and her name but never in order lets call her JANE well she will write NAJE and fight with me tooth and nail about how correct she is. She never wants to write and I don't push to hard because we fight and fight and good golly I just don't have the time to debate with a well spoken, opinionated 4 year old.

 

I am not interested in purchasing some fancy handwriting program and have done pretty much every gel bag, shaving cream, letter shape, busy bag, pintrest activity out there. She enjoys them but pull out the handwriting tablet and pencil I'm surly getting into a fight or getting a drawing..

 

She is very bright she picks up things super fast (she eavesdrops on lessons..heck, she can recite the preamble of the constitution)

 

Is this a maturity thing? A stubborn thing? A LD?

 

Where do we go from here?

[Embassy]

LOL, my daughter (almost 5) has done that too - insisting that her order was correct. I haven't done too much with handwriting and have mostly just done gentle reminders about the correct order of letters. As she has grown she has started putting her writing in correct order, but it is still a work in progress. I think progressing with reading has probably helped her understand the importance of the order of letters.

 

I would just keep on and it is likely that over time it will fix itself. I wouldn't think much of it unless she was still doing it in a year or two.

[SilverMoon]

It's not an LD, stubbornness or a lack of maturity. It's normal.

 

FWIW, my dd who could read Magic Treehouse books at 4yo still wrote her name wonky, and in all capitals even. Today, as a second grader, she spells it right every time. It didn't last forever. ;)

 

Where do you go from here? Just practice it occasionally. Perhaps put her name in big letters on the wall for her to finger trace. Sandpaper letters are even more fun.

[Tanikit]

If she can read cvc words and her name is phonetic I would show her how to sound it out after she has written it. If her name is not phonetic then I'd probably teach her the phonics behine it even if it was advanced phonics and then get her to sound out what she has written. It seems that she needs to understand that all writing goes from left to right and is sounded out that way - something that will come with time. Otherwise just get her to copy things in order - maybe a few shapes or different lines and then finally copy her name so that it looks the same as your example. If she's writing everyday she could also write her name daily - sometimes its just continuous practice that helps. My DD at 4 was adding extra As into her name all over the place (her name has a lot of As anyway so maybe she just thought it needed more). She writes it correctly now a year on from then.

[ZeeMommy]

It's normal. My 4 year old son knows the letters of his name, but writes them backwards "HCEZ" instead of "ZECH". My 6 year old daughter likes to write, but her handwriting looks sloppy and she still doesn't hold a pencil the right way. Neither one has any LD; daughter has gone to vision therapy for amblyopia ("lazy eye").

[wendyroo]

My 4 year old like the HWOT Wet-Dry-Try app. It is expensive ($5), but coaches him through proper letter formation and is endlessly patient when he tries to buck the system and make the letters his own way. Unfortunately, it only does upper case letters (and numbers), but if they were to come out with a lower case app tomorrow I would gladly fork over 5 more dollars.

 

Wendy

[dontknow]

I'm with the others saying it's normal. Our daughter went through this phase as well. We (and school) Just had her keep writing it daily. We'd also ensure we gave her the spelling on a laminated paper we could hang up for her to copy which was at her writing table. She can now do first, middle and last without looking. Practice, practice, practice.....

[The Way of My People]

My youngest is almost exactly the same age and has the same issue! It drives me CRAZY. I've discovered that he loves doing mazes (with me watching closely and making a buzzer sound every time he goes off the path, seriously...) and tracing words that I've written in dotted letters on handwriting paper. He still can't/won't write on his own, but I figure all this pencil-control practice will help eventually.

[tampamommy]

Relax and give her time to learn. This is normal.

 

I would abandon the paper and pencil. She is likely frustrated even if she doesn't realize it. Go outside and give her sidewalk chalk. Just work on the different letters of the alphabet (or draw) and don't pay any attention to ordering those letters. Have her twist her body into letters. That is big fun. Don't bring out the dreaded paper and pencil. Let her be her age.

 

To be honest, I'd guess a child as bright as yours also is very good on picking up on the stress you feel because she can't write her name properly. So relax. Take a deep breath. She is fine.

 

So many people nowadays seem very concerned if their 4, 5, 6, 7, etc year old has difficulty writing. In my experience, most children don't have the fine motor skill coordination to write relatively small, quickly and easily until...age 12. Really. And that includes very artistic children who can draw very well. Go figure.

[IceFairy]

My DD will be 5 in June and writing is very hit and miss with her. She can write her name but often forgets how to form other letters and numbers....I have to say the A is like a tent, touch the top together, make the pole straight.... the D'nealian styke seems to be easier for her and we are progressing a little quicker than we were with the ball and stick style.

[celticadea]

my daughter (4.5) insists on putting a period in the after the first 2 letts of her name....? weird. I tell her that for "school" she needs to practice the way other people can read it but she can write whatever she wants when she's playing. *shrug*

 

(a cheaper app to look at that also does lower case is the fundanoodle app. )