How can i manage a 6yr old child who doesn't like to write in school and at home?

Question

he is good in orals (spelling and reading) but when it comes to copying and answering assignments that needs to be written he refuses and says he is tired and doesn't like to write.

Answer 1

It isn't just that he doesn't like to. It is hard for six-year old boys because their fine motor skills usually develop later than those of girls. If he were older I might suspect dysgraphia, but at his age it is entirely typical. Talk with his teacher about the problem; s/he may be able to assign less written work as long as he is showing his comprehension and progress in other ways. And s/he may be willing to let him type on the computer instead of handwriting sometimes. My son had the same problem but entirely grew out of it. The computer was his salvation in the meantime. It helped him to realize that writing has two components, thinking and getting thoughts down on paper. Of the two, the former is far more important.

"I-come-from-under-the-hill"'s suggestions are also excellent. The rubber pencil grip or even an erasable pen could make a big difference for him. When I taught Reading Recovery, we also used whiteboards and white correction tape. Sometimes worrying about making mistakes and having to erase them can shut down the process of writing.

Answer 2

What helped with my sons was to have them read at least 1hr a day before he could do anything else such as play, watch tv or video games.  They both now love to read, they are 11 and 12 and love to write stories.  They both test very high in their reading comprehension and writing state tests.

Answer 3

My son is struggling with this as well.  I used to get a little more fussy about him doing written work, but now I just require he work with his hands to build his fine motor, and I take a lot of dictation.  We plan to just keep building up to the big stuff.  He vocalizes his answers just fine, and works above grade level in all subjects--just not ready for a heavy writing load.  Doing a lot of hand-intensive activities helps...  Playdough, scissors, coloring, drawing, whatever.

Answer 4

my suggestion is for you to come up with something fun to get him interested in writing. Maybe a song, or a story or something like that

Answer 5

I have a solution. A nice whipping with the ol' paddle. If he refuses to do something hes told, then hes not following your directions. He deserves to be punished.

Kids these days dont ever get paddled or punished and thats why more and more of them are violent, bad kids who dont listen to their parents.

Answer 6

Let him be a kid, and when he's ready he'll write.  Unschooling works.  Let him experience real life in the real world and there is no telling what potential you may unleash :D

Answer 7

A lot of 6yo's, especially boys, have significant difficulty with writing. Feeling tired is probably a feeling tired in advance of the effort that will go into the copying and writing. If you are homeschooling, ask him how much he thinks he can do. Accept whatever his answer is and praise him for when he accomplishes it. "You did it! You said you could do that much and you did. When you're ready, you'll be able to do even more."

A lot of boys struggle with the fine motor requirements. Make sure he can actually handle doing just individual letters before expecting him to do more than that.

Answer 8

First thing to do is determine exactly why he doesn't like to write. When I was in kindergarten and first grade I always avoided writing. Part of it was because I was blind (partially sighted, but not much) and writing for me ment getting very very close (less than an inch) from the paper, and being bent over like that all day was not fun. But vision aside at that age it was a physical strain as well. Little hands aren't used to holding a pencil properly, and pressing the tip to the paper hard enough to make a good mark. One thing my parents  did for me was get me a dry erase board to practice writting on in kindergarten. The thicker markers and the smoothness of the actual writing process made the task easier, and as i got faster at it we moved on to a marker on plain paper, and then a pencil. The entire transition took less than a wek, really. You could also try getting him a pencil grip... One of those rubber things you slip onto the pencil that helps him to hold it properly and comfortably. Coppying sentences and writing in answers can also become very tedious for some students. Try finding ways to make it more exciting for him. Buy him a set of really neat pencils for school (those glittery ones, or ones with his favorite cartoon character on them) and a cool kids pencil case to put them in, or maybe a fun notebook with a cartoon character on the front. Another idea would be to let him use one of those neat pens for kids with the colorful top that lights up when the point presses to the paper. This might make writing more fun for him, and give him some insentive to keep at it even when it gets hard.

Answer 9

Sometimes kids have a hard time tracking. If he is having to look at a sentence and copy the sentence, he might be having a difficult time remembering which word he is on. Try getting an idex card, cutting out a square in the middle and showing him how to cover all the words except for the word he is trying to copy. Also you could try reading the worksheet to him and then have him read it with you and then answer the questions.

There are also rewards you could use. Make a grid and for every worksheet he completes, give him a sticker to put in one of the boxes. When the grid is filled, give him a surprise. After awhile add on more boxes to the grid, or phase it out. Good rewards would be boxes or colorful activity books maybe.

Answer 10

Teach him to type.

Answer 11

My girl did the same thing. She would make excuses as to why she can't do it. It's a maturity and boundary pushing thing. She wanted to see if she could get away with not having to write and just not wanting to do it. After all its still a pretty new skill they're learning at six. Its not easy and now the teacher wants him to sit in class all day and write. What happened to the play of last year? Last year he was 5 and in Kindergarten ( I assume) and there was very little seat work but now he's in first grade and school isn't play time any more. You just have to be persistent and make him do it he'll give up pretty soon and get it done with. It took about 3 years to get my daughter to where she is now and enjoying writing (cursive now) and you'll get there too!

Answer 12

For a six year old I wouldn't require much writing.  I notice you say "in school" and "at home" so I assume that he is not homeschooled.  You won't have much control over what the teacher's at school require, but I would not add to the writing at home at all.

If you want him to learn to express himself and tell stories, a tape recorder works great.