Writing,letter's and First and Last Name

The Leapster 2 has a game out that allows kids to practice drawing and writing. It is called Mr. Pencil I think. You could look at getting him that and that will allow him to practice and then when he gets the letters or numbers correct it will congratulate him, so it makes it kind of fun and exciting to learn to write.

I have taught Kindergarten for 7 years. Your child may seem behind to you but is right on track. Just like walking some children master it earlier than others. That doesn't always mean something is wrong. Practice having him form the letters out of wet spaghetti noodles, tracing them in shaving cream/pudding, painting letters on the sidewalk with water and a paint brush. All to strenghen his hand muscles. Also, he can do things like cutting play dough with scissors. I would keep it as fun as possible at this point while still getting your hand exercise in.

At his 5 year old visit ask the pedi what he/she thinks. You can be evaluated by an occupational therapist to determine if there is any reason for concern. In Kinder most kids know the alphabet and many can even read but writing is hard for even the best readers sometimes. Left handed and a boy is also making it more of a struggle. My first thought is that your little man is OK but I would highly reccomend you bring writing samples to your 5 year doct apt or even crayons and paper so the doctor can see your child actually forming the letters. Hope this helps just a bit.

Nothing is wrong with this picture. He is on track to where he needs to be. I have 2 boys and a leftie girl, they all started writing around the same time, 5th birthday. As long as he is drawing circles, spirals and lines, using large pencils and crayons, I would say that he is right where he is supposed to be. DOn't force him to do things that he is not ready for, it will only discourage him down the road. Enjoy him while he is young, they grow up too fast as it is, don't rush it.

my daughter started with letters in pre-K (almost age 5) and got her first and last name down at the end of that year. In kindergarten they are still mastering the letters. Your son is on track.

Being left handed is challenging for a child learning to write so do some research on how to help compensate for that. Because we write Left to Right, you'll see the left handed person covers up what they have written so it becomes difficult for forming letters and spacing. Try turning the paper a little to the left and see if it makes a difference and see if there are different ways to hold the pencil to help as well.
Although I think your child is not behind in development, you know your child better than anyone. If you are very concerned you should check with your pediatrician also to make sure there is no medical issue like a vision problem, dyslexia, or anything else.

Okay I am left handed and for most of my life lagged a little in areas like that. The reason it is very hard for a righty to show and lefty how to hold a pencil and vice versa. I remember struggling to tie my shoes and not succeeding and being embarassed, then I went to a camp and an older girl, who was a lefty, showed my one time and I've been tying my shoes ever since lol. My daughter is right handed, so when she was learning I made dash letters and let her trace those. I didn't try to hold/guide her hand b/c when I did she could not get it. I let her hold the pencil how she felt comfortable and it worked. When he colors etc he holds it in a natural( for him) way. Let him start there. He'll adapt as he gets older so don't worry. Oh, if you know any lefties let them show him. Good luck!

***I just read the other comments and someone said turn the paper to the left a little, you actually want to turn it to the right. I always do that. I never write with the paper straight.****

Why do so many mothers want their 3, 4, 5 year olds to be 6, 7 8 year olds before their time? Small motor skills develop over three or four YEARS. Have him cut out shapes with safety scissors, color, finger paint and draw - all these activities will help over time, but it will take time. He is just fine where he is right now.

I'm not left handed but i love to watch left handers write and i have noticed that a lot of them write everything backwards. It might be that he just hasn't figured out how to write everything, especially if you are right handed, he might be watching you and trying to do it that way and I'm sure it just doesn't feel right. Just a thought, maybe somone who is left-handed can help him. Good luck