learning to write

[angelmummy]

Just wondered what age your lo could write their name fairly clearly and readable? My son is 4 1/2 in reception year at school. He can write all the letters in his name but they are very large and a bit squiffy so not that clear.

Just wondered what the norm was, thanks ??

 

[sabby52]

I think my eldest was in primary 1 when he writing was good enough to be read, he would have been 4-5 years old.

 

[alienbabe4321]

It depends on the child. My little brother who's five (six in Feb) has just moved on to slightly more complex words than cat, dog, daddy and mummy.

Once they get to grips with the shape of the letter and how the pen/pencil in their hand works, they tend to move on to legible writing very quickly.

 

[mommyof3co]

My oldest was about 5 when he could. My middle son was a little before 4 though, but he loves to read and write

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Mine started writing neatly towards the end of year R. They are both summer babys so age 5. Before that, it was a bit scruffy x

 

[magicvw]

My daughter is 4.5 and I am teaching her myself as they don't start school till 6/7 over here. She is really good at holding a pencil and can make very neat letters - but she can't remember what any of the letters "say" and only recognises "a" and "s". I guess all children have their strengths and weaknesses - being able to hold a steady pencil doesn't necessarily mean you can read/write! xxxx

 

[nada87]

my 4 yr old can write her letters fairly well. she isnt very good at keeping them on the papers lines but you can tell what all of them are. she even tries to spell words on her own. last week she tried to write "dino" but spelled it d-u-n-o

 

[Jchihuahua]

I teach reception and the majority of children can write their name by 4 but the letters are often large and unclear.

 

[magicvw]

I teach reception and the majority of children can write their name by 4 but the letters are often large and unclear.

Out of interest - at what age did they start to learn and how long does it take an average child to be able to do that from scratch? Thanks!

 

[Jchihuahua]

I teach reception and the majority of children can write their name by 4 but the letters are often large and unclear.

Out of interest - at what age did they start to learn and how long does it take an average child to be able to do that from scratch? Thanks!

Most start to learn to write in Nursery so at about 3 and a half. Most but by no means all children can write it during their Reception year. A few children started in my class in September and couldn't write their name. Most now can do it but the letters are large and unclear. By the end of Reception they will be writing it much smaller and more neatly.

 

[morri]

In Germany most kids only come to school at 6/7 too but some of them learn to write in kindergarten(3 to 6y)

 

[wantingno.2]

my son is 4 1/2 and it's getting better ... he can still be abit sloppy with it, but when he really concentrates it can be surprisingly neat. It's changed just in the last couple of weeks really. It will get better all of a sudden

 

[magicvw]

In Germany most kids only come to school at 6/7 too but some of them learn to write in kindergarten(3 to 6y)

So is it up to the kindergarten what they want to teach, or just that some kids don't learn much? At our kindergarten they are not learning anything really. I think they only learn the alphabet (Cyrillic) in the final k/g year.

 

[morri]

Kindergarten as much as I remember it is just play time, no teaching happens there at all. Some kids who aren't ready for school go to preschool though which s a mixture of studying and teaching and playing.
Many kids just learn to write their name by their parents or sibling in the time they are in kindergarten.