My son is a total science geek (and I love it!!), is a phenomenal reader, and does just fine with math, although it's not his favorite thing. His nemesis is writing. Seriously, copying two sentences is like torture, or trying to get him to compose a sentence can send him into tears. Now, I know full well that this is often an issue with little boys. I don't push it. I don't have him write stories, I often let him complete workbook pages orally, and only rarely have him do any kind of copy work. As we move into 2nd grade, and I do more with my younger son too, and care for a newborn in a few months, I intend to give him a bit more copy work (a memory verse, a stanza from a poem, etc) as independent work, and I'm hoping that goes over ok. My question is...how do you know when they ARE actually ready for writing more? I don't want to get into the habit of letting things slide that he simply doesn't like because it's easier for me not to deal with the drama. I don't want him to learn that complaining + crying = I don't have to do it.
I have three boys -- only the youngest seems to have taken (more) easily to writing..it's not pretty, but it's there. My middle son adores writing...it doesn't come easily in any sense. We finally started script, which he loves, but will spend an hour carefully forming each letter on a few words. I kid you not. My oldest has been the biggest challenge in this area. Until he was partway through second grade, I basically never required him to write. Now, I had him trace daily -- That was not such a trial at all (for him or me). trace shapes, trace spelling words, trace "copy"work. For whatever reason, writing numbers never bothered him. This was a blessing, because he loved worksheets, so I could go online and generate a math worksheet with, like, 75 problems. He was happy for a while and didn't struggle with the writing aspect. Last year (fourth grade), I introduced writing in combination with composition. Basically, he'd write an essay, with length requirements from me (skip every other line, no less than the front of one page, no more than front and back). It went okay. His first few stories were really good...but I think it was still too much work to actually write, because the quality of his writing dropped off steeply. Plus, he was making all KINDS of mistakes (capitalization, punctuation) that I knew he knew better than. After a couple months, I let it for in favor of other things. we are almost sic moths through his fifth grade year. He spent a few months doing a literature workbook that went with a lit anthology he really, really liked. When that was done, I nonchalantly re-introduced the essay, only twice a week. WOW. What a change. I guess he just needed to cross some developmental threshold. Last week was the first time I read from one of his papers the same kinds of ideas that this child expresses verbally. I guess he just needed to be ready. I can say he is a voracious reader, and I think that helps with him knowing what he wants to write. But the physical process of writing, for him, has been a long time in coming easily.
My 7 year old has delayed motor skills. He's been working extremely hard with an occupational therapist for the past couple of years, because when he was 5, he couldn't even hold a pencil (literally). He still whines and complains about writing, but he's gotten up to a point where he can write 2-3 pages on the large, dotted-line paper. It takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r, but he can do it. Also, if it's something he WANTS to write about (not school... something like lists of friends or star wars characters), he has no trouble writing. That tells me it's mostly a mental block. I push through those, because his therapist does.
I have let my second grader type more this past year. If I ask him to write, I get three word sentences and a boring story. If I let him type, he gives me more substantial sentences. I still have him do some copywork for actual handwriting, but am trying to use the computer more since I know he is capable of composing more than he writes on paper.
One son didn't write until 4th grade. The other sons weren't very keen to write either. I introduced mine to typing early. I think children have a way of telling you when they are not ready for something by acting out. I often waited a while and came back to a topic if they showed signs (by bad behavior) of not being ready yet. I read a lot of books that say dictation is good for a child, but my children would never sit and copy, they found it too boring. And I always used a slant board to help with the correct positioning of the grip of the pencil.
My 7yo doesn't like to write, he is just starting to pick up a pencil or crayon to draw things on his own. I am taking this as a que that I can have him write a wee bit more, but usually work is done orally for him right now.
Sometimes handwriting practice can be more tolerable if you have them use sidewalk chalk outside, big markers and a whiteboard, lap-size chalkboard or markerboard, huge paper taped to the wall (the classifieds and financials out of the newspaper work well for this because turned sideways, the columns make "lines" to write within), fancy "grown up" pens. Or smooth out shave cream on a countertop for "fingerpainting", or actual fingerpaints and the slick side of butcher paper...
I agree with this! I was going to suggest dry erase markers on a small whiteboard. You can buy dry erase workbooks! My question is are you concerned about the physical handwriting or making up a sentence and writing it down? If it is the later, give him a science prompt and ask him to write one sentence about it. Don't worry right now about grammar and style, just get him to write something about what he likes. Give him a journal to write in or use one of the methods mentioned above! In time, you will see improvement in quality and quantity. Just make sure he has a prompt, don't just ask him to write about anything!
