Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DS's school does not do writing with them until 4. They believe before that they are not ready and it is detrimental. That said, I am reading differently on here that it is a skill they should be developing at this age. DS has no interest in it at all and I am just wondering what the norm is. He can write his name but, only b/c I taught it to him.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

As an educator, I have to say that I find it strange to hear that writing on any level is a detriment - particularly because children today don't write nearly as much or properly because of computers and texting. In fact Id go so far as to say that I find it disturbing. JMO.

Are you asking about grips (holding writing implements properly) or are you asking about their ability to create/copy letters or numbers?

That being said, Abby is 2 and a half. She does not write letters, but she is about 75% close to holding wrting implements properly. Her fine motor skills are exceptional for her age. She can recognize and identify letters, numerals and shapes, but she cannot yet reproduce them on paper.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DD is 3...she can hold a pencil/marker/crayon properly but cannot really write yet. once in awhile she can trace something, but not well.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

My 3.5 year old can hold them correctly and she can write her name and most of the alphabet.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

when my daughter was 3 she could write all her letters..did she hold the crayon/pencil the incorrect way then no but i didnt push it..but shes 4 now and school has helped her hold it correctly and so now she does it right

Message edited 4/3/2011 1:54:10 PM.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

According to the OTs that I work with- actual "writing" is not developmentally appropriate until about 5. At 3, pre-writing skills should be encouraged (circles,'x's, horizontal and vertical lines) but things like actual letter formation and especially grip shouldn't be formally targeted.

I had a conversation recently with one OT who said she feels the reason we see so many children in school with handwriting issues is because we push them to start writing before they are mature enough to develop an appropriate tripod grasp.

At 3 yo letter recognition is way more important than formation.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

BTW- my almost 4 year old has a good tripod grasp when "writing" and coloring. She has been imitating writing for some time, but can only make an M, D, and C freehand when asked to.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Message edited 4/3/2011 4:23:36 PM.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

I am not sure about the finger strength thing, but two of my friends had their DC's sent for OT evals based on the fact that at 3-3.5 they were still using their whole fist to hold a pencil/crayon. Right or wrong, both kids qualified for OT.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DS is 3.5 and gets OT. They work on him using the correct grip and they want him to be able to draw 6 different shapes by 4.

He does like making "E"s though. all the time.

One thing that we work on with him is taking a shape and making it into a picture . (circle into a cookie or face - square into a cookie jar or house, etc)

short and stubby tools are best...golf pencils, crayons, short markers.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Landon will be 3 in 2 months. He does not hold the pen/pencil correctly but he does write some letters. He is getting good at circles. I didn't show him any of it... everything he is doing right now is all on his own. Maybe 3.5-4 I will start working on it with him more but now I feel he is too young.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Oh god I hope not My DS is still learning how to hold a pencil/crayon correctly and how to copy circles, lines, etc. He does get OT though and has some fine motor delays.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

My 2 1/2 and she's been holding a pen/pencil/crayon with a perfect grip since before she was 2. I know that's not common at all, it's just one of those things she picked up on very early. She would watch us write and would imitate our grip perfectly. She doesn't form letters at all yet but can make pretty good circles and can meticulously color within the lines when she wants too.

Message edited 4/3/2011 8:20:16 PM.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DD is 3.5, but yes she holds her pencil correctly and writes A and M.

I think it's great that she can write those 2 letters. At school, I think they copy what they can to the best of their ability and are praised for trying.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

My DD is 3 and she holds a pen correctly. She got her first box of crayons back when she was about 15 months old for Easter and she mastered her grip within a year after that.

The new day care she is in practices writing letters so she's just starting now. She likes writing E's F's and H's... E's and F's tend to be backwards though.

I definitely don't discourage it... and as far as her handwriting, she's left handed so she doesn't have a chance of decent penmanship anyway (says her mother who failed handwriting in the second grade).

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DD is almost 3.5. I'm going to to watch her next time she writes to check her grip - I can't remember!

She recognizes a lot of letters, like "her" letter (an E) and numbers. She had handwriting homework (tracing letters and numbers) 4x a week from daycare and is doing well with it.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

My DD holds writing instruments correctly naturally, she has since she started using them regularly, probably around 2.

It didn't even dawn on me that they have to be taught until I had a babysitter (who also works with special needs K students) tell me that most of the K students don't know how to hold them right yet. She's a true left-hander so I don't know if that has something to do with it.

She hasn't started writing letters until very recently (she's 4). I bought a wipe off tracing pad over a year ago but if she got bored with it, we moved on. She just got interested in it on her own and attempts to write letters on everything.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DS is alittle over 3 now. He has taught himself to write many letters including his name Chris (minus the S)
However he doesnt grip properly. But honestly I havent ever corrected him.

He has a few dry erase books where you trace the letters and he really enjoys doing them...

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

Message edited 4/3/2011 10:49:44 PM.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DD will be three at the end of the month. She can trace letters, write a capital A, draw circles, makes stick figures and tries to draw pictures. She does this on her own without me pushing her. Some days she holds the pen/pencil/crayon correctly and others she doesn't. I do not push it but snce she has such a strong interest, I do show her the correct way to do it.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

No...my son doesnt but he has a severe fine motor delay related to this, so we do work on it more then a typical 3 yr old might.

Re: Does your 3 yr old write? hold the pen/pencil correctly?

DS is 3.5...he holds a pen/pencil correctly....

He can draw a circle, square, & triangle on his own.

He can correctly COPY all the letters of the alphabet...(If I write his name on a piece of paper and tell him to now write his name he can do it. If I ask him to write his name he cant.)