For 2 weeks now, Jayden has been going to Ja'Duke preschool. He went last year around the same time a couple days a week before we headed to Poland. As our busy summer has finally ended, Adam and I both decided it was best for Jayden to go back to preschool at Ja'Duke until we figure out Adam's next move. Jayden absolutely loves it there and we are happy with our decision.
And hear comes the sad part.
Adam and I trade mornings driving Jayden to school. I tend to just put his stuff away, say good-bye and leave (I am not one of those Mom's who hang around for 30 minutes). On Friday, Adam and I were dropping him off and I heard the teacher tell Jayden he needed to "sign-in on the morning board." I looked at Adam and was mortified because I know he can't write his name. He certainly knows how to spell it as he screams it perfectly at the top of his lungs when anyone asks but I haven't worked on his writing all summer (bad Mother, I know). So I sat back and watched. He tried so hard to make letters, which he thought spelt Jayden but looked more like six circle-things. I was literally almost in tears. He is in the 4 to 5 year old classroom so he is the youngest one in his class but still. So needless to say, I am determined to help Jayden learn how to write his name sooner than later. In 2 days, he has learned the J - A - and Y. I am hoping by the end of the week he'll be a pro!
What do YOU think is an appropriate age for a child to learn to write their name?
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
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5 comments:
Age appropriate? or Developmentally appropriate? I think somewhere between age 3.5-6 most children are ready and able to learn to write.
Amari just now is forming letters that look like his name and sometimes they still are not readable. I am ok with that. He has to "sign in" to school daily, but the teachers do not require that it be readable, only that he learn to recognize his name and try. They work on writing during the day, and I know the fine motor skills will come (as do his teachers). I don't see any need to pressure Amari to learn it more quickly than he is interested, which for him has only happened in the past few weeks.
Maria,
You just put me at ease. I just felt awful when he came to me and told me he didn't know if he knew how to write his name and some of the other kids did. Sometimes I forget that Jayden is only 3.5, even though socially he seems older to me.
He seems interested now because the other kids are so we'll see if it last!
We ended up buying Amari a set of wipe off lined boards to help him. When he asks us to write his name at the top or put dots down we do, but mostly we allow him space to free form it (the other side does not have lines). Sometimes all he does is write A over and over and over again. He'll learn.
To be honest, when the teachers told us during welcome night that the kids had to write their names, I looked at them like they were crazy, but then they explained about not needing to to look like anything really and the purposes.
Don't worry-- Jayden will learn this and many other skills. They come no matter what, so long as his love of learning is encouraged (I could write a book on that, but others already have). I worry about the "big" stuff-- Amari's character, loving God, loving others. When those things happen, the rest will follow. ;-)
Not sure what methods your using, but the wipe-off board helped Matt learn his name, address and phone number. We use a permanent marker on the board and he traces it, then tries it on his own. Good luck! :)
I am with Maria. I guess I am kind of old school in this way, but I feel like children are being forced to learn so much earlier these days (not that Jayden's preschool is doing this, but just in general). It used to be that kindergarten was the time to get ready for school and now it is pushed even earlier! Now kids need to go to a good preschool in order to be ahead in kindergarten! Seems silly to me. I think kids should be kids and spend their early years playing. If they are interested (Abby was really into learning...I think that is just her personality) in learning to write their name, great. But Elijah is almost 4.5 and is not interested, so I don't push it. He likes doing preschool workbooks so we do that stuff, but I figure he will have enough years of work ahead of him to press it now! The only things we teach them purposefully at this age are the truths found in the Bible, but that is in an informal family setting. S Otherwise we do things like counting and colors, etc. as we play and live throughout the day. o that is how we operate:)
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