Pre-K Writing and Learning Tools

Dear L.,

I can tell you want the best for your grandson and are very involved with him. What a lucky child!!

You may not like what I think, though. My opinion is that a4 and a half year old boy should be playing, building and running, not practicing handwriting. Hopefully with the "No Child Left Behind" curriculum requirements, he won't enter kindergarten until next fall because they require intensive reading and writing instruction. Most young children really are not ready to sit at a desk and write, read and spell. They are built for movement and creative, pretend play, not factual performance. Studies show that even the smartest kids usually don't do as well as the older kids in a class. If he is struggling now, maybe a break so that his brain and body can grow will make it easier and reduce the chances of him becoming resistant to learning to write.

I'm not saying that this may not be a problem later, but I think young children now are often missing a once in a lifetime chance to be a child because schools, government and adults got the idea that more and earlier is always better. There are some very important things young children need to do and learn that they will not get another chance at! Handwriting is not one of them in my opinion.

When he is a bit older, I know the program "Handwriting Without Tears" is a good one for home.

I hope I haven't offended. I am not criticizing your concern, just hoping to give you another idea to consider. I know worrying about my kids and wanting the best for them has made me crazy sometimes!

Sincerely,

L. C.

Dear L.,

Your Grandson's fine motor skills may not be ready to write. Start with a cookie sheet filled with corn meal. Draw a letter in the corn meal and then have your grandson do it. Shake and repeat. When all his letter are looking good, this may take a while move to a chalk board, No lines,and write on this for a while. Then move to paper and pencil.
Also do lots of clay and playdough to strenghten the muscles in the hand.

When I taught Pre-K the previous teacher only would allow the children to use a certain pencil. When I started over I put both small and large pencils in the basket some I placed a grip on the pencils and let all the children try all of them. Whichever was most comfortable for them to use I gave them to keep with there things for our writing time. Right now with the back to school sales starting there is a lot of variety of things. The grips that I got came in a package similar to the pencil top eraser packages. Also make sure that everyone who is helping him holds a pencil the same way. Most of my students held thier pencils in the traditional manner with the thumb and third finger on the side and second finger on the top. I had a student who held the pencil or crayon between her second and third finger and another one who gripped it in his fist. They both had a parent or grandparent that wrote holding the pencil differtly. Also try to make it fun. My oldest son always felt it was a terrible chore to write. He enjoyed it more when we had a variety of things to write with. Do you like the daycare he is in overall? If so maybe you can talk to the teacher about the handwriting issue. If you are unhappy with the center overall then you need to talk to the director about all the things that you are unhappy with. If you are truly unhappy with the center then it may be time to look into another center. Good Luck

My first comment....I hold my pencils 'wrong' and have my whole life, but it works fine for me and my handwriting is fine. Schools do NOT focus on the "right" way to hold a pencil now like they used to, no hard plastic triangles that hurt hands! Not sure wy he needs to learn how to hold one. We never ad to teach my daughter, because we allow her to hold it how it is comfortable for her and allows her to write well (she is 4.5).

As for the daycare, he should be learning something. If his parents are not happy with the curriculum there, they should move him. I would actually like to know what daycare it is. I am currently looking for childcare in florissant, and my oldest daughter has attended three, two of which I would caution parents against. Feel free to send me a message if you want to know which ones.

As for handwriting techniques, my daughter loves work books. We get her new Kindergarden level workbooks all the time, she even loves them for birthday presents. THey teach the correct way to draw letters and the order of the lines, but at their age, it is not going to be neat handwriting.

Oh and we find the books everywhere, bookstores, walgreens, target sometimes...

I bought my grandaughter a book that is geared for different grade levels and different subjects. There is a writing one and pre kindergarten one. Also talk to the school and ask them to work one on one with him at least 10 minutes a day. if they are not willing to do that then another school should be considered. Their is a great one in florissant on Howdershell that is great. Its a little house with red shutters next to a ball field and looks like catholic school. close to the firehouse and post office.

Anytime that you feel that the daycare doesn't fit the needs of your child (or in this case, grandchild), talk to the teachers or ask for a meeting with the director.

Maybe your family is looking for an Academy and I have seen several in the area. (I live in the Hazelwood/Florissant area.) I would suggest taking a look for a center that is geared towards more Pre-School Activities instead of just a daycare, if that is what you are looking for. Some centers are solely for the purpose of providing care for the child and that is it. Others have educational curriculums that they follow.

In regards to the abilities, maybe he isn't ready yet. When he is, he will get it. Something to keep in mind is that some kids tend to catch on with numbers quicker and others catch on to letters quicker. My 4 year old (early 4) daughter recognizes numbers, but doesn't write them very well. However, she knows her letters and can write them. Not perfect and she has her own way of writing the letter, that will get corrected when she is in Kindegarten or 1st grade. She can spell and write her name, Mommy and Maggie (our cat). She has been able to do this for about 9 months now. Maybe your grandson is a numbers kid. Try that for awhile and see how that goes. Just a thought.

Good luck!