When do kids start writing letters?
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Anonymous
| At what age could you child write any letters/when did you (or their daycare, preschool, whoever) start trying to teach them? My son is only 2.75 years old right now, but I was wondering when most kids start to get the hang of it/can write a few letters (on average-- I'm sure there is lots of variation). |
Anonymous
| My child was writing sonnets at 2.75. |
DC_Teacher
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| It really just depends. I am a prek teacher - we had some kids in our class who had trouble writing any letters at all at age 4. At this point in the school year, all of our kids can write letters, but for a few of them they can only write a few letters. I would say 3 is when most kids can write a few letters - but it could range from beginning of 3 to end of 3. There will be outliers of course, but most kids will be able to start doing this at age 3. |
Anonymous
| I always insist the kids write their letters the same day they receive their gifts. That way the thank you notes don't pile up. |
Anonymous
| Mine at three and a quarter. |
Anonymous
I give mine a week from when they received the gift. |
Anonymous
| I think my sister has a great idea for her teenagers. . . when you write the thank you, you may have the gift! |
DC_Teacher
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There seems to be two separate threads going on here 
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Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for (some of) the replies.
I guess I should have specified letters of the alphabet (ha ha, PPs). |
Anonymous
| My two oldest started when they were about 3.5, I think. Both could write their name easily by 4. My youngest is 2.5 and doesn't write any letters. |
Anonymous
| Any suggestions on helping this along? My almost 4 year old still isn't really writing letters. We work on it sometimes, but I wonder if there's a particular approach I should try? |
DC_Teacher
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You shouldn't push your little one too much at this stage - children truly need to be developmentally ready to write and if you push them too much to do so before they are ready, they may develop negative attitudes towards writing.
The best thing to do right now is to give your child lots of opportunities to write without any pressure. Scribbling is great at 3! Show your child that writing is purposeful - grocery lists, messages, etc. Let them write and draw to tell you a story. Focus on drawing as pre-writing. For example, if you frequently encourage your child to add details to their drawings and support them in doing so, then they will be more likely to understand what people mean later when they tell them to add detail to their writing. Their drawing is their writing right now. If you want to work on letter formation, mix it up. Write in the sand at the park. Write with soap in the bath. Write with playdough. Focus on your childs name first - those letters are a good jumping off point. Good luck! |
Anonymous
| PP -where do you teach? Love your suggestions! |
Anonymous
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In utero DC is working on an exciting translation of Le Rouge et le Noir.
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Anonymous
| My 3.5yo dd just isn't interested in writing letters yet - she'd rather be doing imaginative play stuff. I haven't pushed her but I do see a lot of the other kids in her preschool writing letters. |