how do u get a 4 year old to write?

Crystal - posted on 02/05/2013

My 4year old has just begun to write. What I did to get him interested was I got a peice of paper gave him a peice of paper I woul put out certain letters like A for example, I would tell him it was a game to see which one of us could write that letter the best. I would let him win most of the time. "Having small prizes for the winner doesnt hurt either" lol.

Seema - posted on 02/03/2013

hi I m feeling so bad by hearing what u said. my son is 4 and i feel the same why there is so much of pressure. you can reapte this year of ur child so he can cope up in next year....

Samantha - posted on 03/01/2011

Just remember not to push him hard and don't get frustrated. If you do don't show him, just be supportive. Both my sons were like this and eventually it will happen. I have seen some great advice on here though

Jyotsna - posted on 03/01/2011

Hi,
just read ur comment and felt like u r absolutely correct on ur side. Ur five year old if doing well in the past can surely do better with the given syllabus. I think he requires more of reading with phonics. Becoz i was facing a similiar problem with my child regarding performance in school when compared with other kids. I even got an opportunity to b in the class. I dont believe in competition at this age at all when i saw the other kids with excellent handwriting. It is all because their parents r maintaining the consistency of study with them. Of course kids need a lot of support at the basic level. But sometimes we have so many things to do that children r negelected in studies. n the other work can b very genuine too. So my suggestion would b to give ur child a practical idea of the concepts taught in school. Giving live examples too in day to day activity. If possible make him do worksheets to practice. As he practices he will get more idea of writing correctly and what he has to do. For that even reading is essential. Phonetics should be gud. Once he gets the interest of reading things will get simpler with him. For maths practice is a must. Every day a little half an hour educational game or little dictation or writing would do wonders. But b regular till he picks it up. Making him study 3 hrs a day will burden him and he wouldn't like doing it himself and vice-versa. Becoz kids take time to set the concept into their heads. They forget things easily. n u feel like what i taught has all gone. at this age the attention span is also less. So no point makng him muggin up for hours. It is of no use. Read along with easy to read story book to make fun. Then ask him to b ur teacher and vice-versa. Speak to him. He will surely respond on the happier side. The more fun the study the more he will easily pick it up. and u will feel relaxed too. As too schools..yes u r right ..it is mostly the parents efforts that r shown out in the form of results. So getting frustrated or tensed won't work. Relax and give him time everyday..things will change..be consistent for sometime. Good luck great mom..

Deepti - posted on 02/28/2011

he is still 4 and young .. u can engage him activities like pasting pictures and making a scrap book of his own and over that u can write his name.. also u can draw one big figure like an apple and along with him u can paste red pieces of paper inside the figure.. this will improve the eye hand coordination dont pressurize on writing..instead introduce other activities like vegetable printing.. take a lady finger or an onion and dip in water color now make him put the print of that in a figure... these things excite the child and motivate him.. also u can invite a few friends of him to home and indulge them in some activity like coloring... he may like to imitate his pals.. all the best
visit:http://perspectiveofdeepti.blogspot.com/

Deanna - posted on 02/28/2011

Ok. I am sorry but writing is just not going to be fun for some kids and for some you can't even make it that way. So for my oldest when she had this problem, and still does, I used finger paints. I would just strip her down to an old t-shirt lay a sheet under her little table and give her the paint. let her go at it for hours. I didn't say one word about writing.

Then about 4 months later she asked me what I was doing when I was writing a letter. I pulled her up on my lap and showed her. She asked questions and seemed curious. I pulled a new sheet out and put the pencil in her hand. She didn't want to hold it so I moved her fingers where I wanted them and held them there. we did it every day, 4-6 times a day until she started tracing on her own. She moved on to writing on her own after that. She still doesn't do it unless she has to but she does write. Just back off for a little bit and come back to it in a month or so. Then make them start writing. they may not like it but in kindergarten when they can write like everyone else they will thank you.

Amy - posted on 02/28/2011

when I was younger, i had a teacher put finger paint inside a plastic ziploc bag. don't know if she just zipped it or glued the zip thing. ?? but i could "write" designs in the paint. It felt cool on my hands, watching the stuff squish away from where I pressed was neat, and then there was no paint where I pressed it down with my finger. pretty soon we were practicing letters on it and drawing kitties and stuff. It was just fun.

my daughter won't try and write. She does however love to trace shapes. so right now I just draw hearts or write her name and she glitter crayon traces over it. she does excellent at tracing, but won't write on her own still.

Pratibha - posted on 02/28/2011

My son is in the last month of pre-kindergarden . Today he had final exams after which next month he will be promoted to Kindergarten, when he also turns five. His handwriting is just okay, not so bad. But other kids of his class especially the girls have great handwriting. Some are also a year older to him.

Their class syllabus itself is so vast. It started with a-z small printed letters, then cursive letters a-z, then three letter words and a few sentences. They also have Hindi and in Maths they need backward counting, forward counting, ascending numbers, greater numbers, smaller numbers and addition.

He did well in the previous exam which was held in October in all subjects, which their principal made it a point to mention. But after that their course was so vast and it went so fast that he hasn't been able to cope up. No other mothers complain. Most kids in his class are keeping up and doing well to my chagrin. But I know their mothers are almost behind their studies night and day.

I feel children should be free spirited and we should not put so much pressure on them just yet. As it is he manages to write three letter words of all the vowels (like ban, cot, win, jig, wet) and spell them correctly orally, so that is just fine with me. But today the principal called only me out of the all the mothers of their class. She remarked that he didn’t write anything and so questioned me why. It seems he was blank most of the time whether it was dictation test, or small cursive letters ‘a to z’, or prepositions like ‘in/on’ or ‘he/she’. Maybe he got scared or didn't have the confidence, I don’t know.

This upset me although I shouldn't be. Considering for a 4 year, 11 month child, on the weekend before the exam he studied for 3 hours at a stretch during daytime and intermittently two hours in the evenings. (sigh)

I don't understand why so much pressure is given to children these days even when they are doing so much. And sadly I am the only mother in my circle who feels that way. Other mothers think it's the changing times and you have to go with the flow. In fact even if I say something on these lines I find most of them giving me a lecture or patronising me for the same. It really irks me. So I don't even vouch the topic in front of them. And it's always so disheartening to see remarks such as 'improve your handwriting' in his homework book more than often. Leaving aside the fact that they are given two pages of homework every week day and more so on weekends. The homeworks stress me out more than my son, believe me!

Schools are minting money by giving huge syllabuses and making the kids study at home while they get a good reputation! And all the hard work are done by the mothers instead of the teachers. For stay at home moms it's okay but mothers who work and who also have an additional child (like me) it can be really so challenging. Any comments or advice is really welcome!

Thanks

Donna - posted on 08/20/2010

Dont make this a stressful event, make it fun....grab a stick and write in the dirt, sand etc. Go painting together and so on. Once he understands the skills and contol needed to handle a sitck, paintbrush, it will be easier to adjust to pencils, textas etc...but make it fun and he will feel more relaxed. remember all kids learn at different paces and in manners that they relate to. And also......relax he is only 4....enjoy this time together and good Luck! Cheers Donna

Tina - posted on 08/19/2010

My son now 7 did`nt show any interest in writing before he went to school, once at school he was very keen to learn and very quickly learnt how to write each letter. His teacher told me when he started school boys often don`t show interest until there around 8. Although my son is doing well he would rather be playing computer games or riding his bike, but at 4 i certainly would`nt worry after all that what schools are there for.

Dara - posted on 08/19/2010

I am a teacher and have used Handwriting Without Tears, and it is a fantastic program! You can use play dough to shape letters, chalk, tiny little wet sponges, magnets on a little magnet board, and all kinds of great stuff. It's really fantastic.

Krista - posted on 04/04/2010

I have a four year old daughter in pre-k , she is one of three youngest in the class and has trouble writing her name or any letter of the alphabet. I feel like I haven't done enough to help her, but get frustrated easily. So now she is going to be held back in pre-k next year. I think my daughter is very smart she catches on fast with new things all the time. She just has no inerest in writing. I know children learn at different paces, but its upsetting to know that most other kids are writing by her age and she isn't..

Jolie - posted on 11/12/2008

Your child is only four. Research shows that some 4 year olds just don't have suffciently matured motor skills to write. Also 4 year olds are stubborn and if pushed, will push back, so forcing doesn't work.



Better idea is to use other methods to develop fine motor/had strength - such as playing with play dough, etc. Or try enticing, with Disney themed coloring books etc.



Also talk to the teacher - my four year old daughter is in a very academic private school and they do not even formally teach handwriting until K so chances are the school won't care.

Julie - posted on 11/12/2008

if your son plays pretend a lot see if you can get him to right things down while hes pretending. if he's being a teacher let him write on the chalkboard, if they are playing its dinner time, let him take your order. that is how my son started liking to write.

Donna - posted on 11/11/2008

I had trouble with getting my son (now 6) to write when he was youhger and still sometimes now. Boys brains don't work like girls brains and they tend to have a bit more trouble with intricate tasks than girls. I just left him to it as the more I tried to help the more frustrated and upset he would get. They feel stink that they can't do it and get the vibe off their parents that they should be able to. The don't need to know how to write before starting school as that is what school is for! I recommend just letting him do it his way or may never want to write otherwise. Hope this helps :)

Coral - posted on 11/11/2008

Try a computer or leap pad game that lets you write on a pad and see it on a screen. My four year old loves to surf the net and play computer game s. she finds sites(that i have saved to a desk top folder) and prints and colours. She finds these kind of games very exciting...She thinks its absolutely magical that a scanner takes her pictures and puts them on the screen...if it is just lack of intrest maybe these can help. but i would speak with his teacher and get ther opinion because most kids in that age group are already excited about "growing up" learning and doing big kid things

Mindy - posted on 11/11/2008

We had to make it a game for my 5yr old. I started getting her to write letters when she was 3 by writing a letter myself then having her copy it. So not only was I spending time with her, but I was showing her how to write each letter and the steps that go into it. I tried to teach her how to hold the crayon right, quickly realized she's 3, who cares. So I let her do what worked for her for then with her little hands. Now that she's 5 I'm starting to show her the right way to hold a pencil and its much easier with her bigger hands. She really had no interest in coloring or writing, wouldn't even scribble. But now she writes stuff all the time and draws pictures.

Rebecca - posted on 11/11/2008

My son 7, hated writing, it was in year 2 at school when his teacher talked to him that we found out it was because another child in his class would make comments about his writing being bad!!! my son has since been diagnosed with dyspraxia, but he has got a lot better, I do lots of work at home with him, things like getting him to write the shopping list etc.

Steph - posted on 11/07/2008

i would look at whether he uses a paint brush, and paints. i have a friend, who has a daughter of 5, she also doesn't write very much, but used to be never, my friend found out that she has a phobia of wood

Jessica - posted on 11/07/2008

thank you so much i will try this!

Tracye - posted on 11/07/2008

Fine motor skills (like writing and coloring) are the last thing a little boy is concerned with. He wants to jump, run, play, not sit and fill in lines. I have 3 girls and have had trouble with the last one wanting to sit and write. It is a tedious task and she doesn't have the patience. To practice spelling words (she is in second grade and we are still struggling a bit) I put aluminum foil on the counter and stole my husbands shaving cream. She had a blast and didn't mind writing at all. Have him write his letters in the dirt with a stick, but do it first so he mimic you. At 4 he is just learning his letters and their sounds, I wouldn't worry about it too much unless his teacher is concerned as well. You might be surprised to find out she has a classroom full of boys (or girls) that don't like to write either. Give it some time, it might just be a maturety issue and when he gets into Kindergarten or first grade and understands what is expected of him, he may come around.

Jill - posted on 11/06/2008

Does he have any trouble holding a crayon or pencil? If not making it fun for him might help a lot. Sometimes simply taking him to the store to pick out special writing tools can help peak his interest.

Mari - posted on 11/06/2008

My 4 (soon to be 5 yr old) didn't like to write or color. He would scribble sometimes but that was it. When he started Kindergarten this fall he really took off. Now he doodles all the time. We just didn't force it. He is working with an occupational therapist now to correct his grip and what not but I think they make it fun for them and that's why he's so into it now.

Kaytay - posted on 11/06/2008

My son to this day struggles with handwriting. He's 8. I recently went to a handwriting seminar actually. Work on things that will improve his fine motor skills and that will strengthen his hand muscles. Using fun big pencils & tripod grips can be good. Don't have him write for too long either. A GREAT program to consider would be Handwriting with No Tears. Hopefully his teacher is not too critical of him either. If u r concerned with him learning his letters etc., having him draw letters in the sand & sandpaper letters can help. My son learned all of his letters when I posted a large Alphabet poster on his wall next to his bed. We went over the letters every night & it really helped. Good luck ;)