When it comes to boys and the mechanics of writing, I have used different methods with different kiddos over the years.  Some, if not most, boys just plain aren’t ready until they are older.  This whole concept of teaching kids to write their names by the time they enter kindergarten would not have gotten very far at my house.   And cursive in 2nd grade?!   With boys?!   Well, you can just shoot me now and put me out of my misery.  I tried that with the first one because that’s what the curricullum said I had to do, but never again.   We backed off and tried later in 4th grade. Things went much smoother, including the appearance of his script.  And today, that same child has beautiful handwriting.  Poor guinea pig.

However, if a child expresses an interest or desire, far be it from me to hold him back.  Jonathan will be 6 in April.   He has had no consistent formal schooling at this point- just some casual phonics lessons and maybe a math lesson or two involving legos or trains or hotwheels cars. Most of his “school” has been absorbed by just living life with playdoh, tracks, blocks, crayons, age-appropriate chores, 6 brothers, and a lot of being read to.

But recently, he mentioned he wanted to start writing his letters.  I came across a laminated placemat in Wal-Mart that fit the bill.   It could be used with a dry erase marker and had  a  Sesame Street theme. Not only had it the letters with the proper spacing of solid lines and dotted lines, but it also had DIRECTIONS for how to make each letter.  I thought I was in love.

Being almost 6 years old, I only needed to go over the instructions with him once.  He took off with flying colors. If I had treid to do this with my four year old, it would’ve involved blood, sweat, and tears.  There is an enormous difference from 4 years old to 6 years old  in  hand-eye coordination, fine motor control, concetration, attention span, and emotional readiness. ENORMOUS, I tell you.

He still needs to work on holding the pencil (marker) correctly. But since he has thoroughly enjoyed this experience and is not the least bit frustrated with writing, correcting his pencil holding will not be met with an emotional meltdown.   As a bonus, my 4 year old observes that Jonathan enjoys this and looks forward to it. So, I am already ahead when his turn comes’ round. 

Now, if they could just cook like those chefs on TV…..

Wuz