Is it too early to start teaching my son to write his name?

Question

He will be three this september and is starting preschool next week.

He knows what circles and lines are and can draw both really well, but still holds his pencil up towards the middle of it instead of closer to the bottom.

Should I wait until he learns to hold his pencil properly or can I teach him now? Will he even be ready now? Thanks!

Answer 1

It's never too early.  :-)  Even as an infant...when they are doing art work we turn the paper over and I do hand over hand as I say the letters in their name and then underline it as I say their name.  This way they experience name exploration a minimum of 1 time a day.  We write our names on everything we can.

I made name sheets and placed them in sheet protectors.  I changed them every once in awhile to keep interest and depending on development.  With 2 year olds I use large block letters (using the font that your school teachers) and they trace it...I also have a large area for them to practice "writing" their names.  Whatever they "write" is okay.  As they get better at tracing their name and start to write the lines in their name on the large open space I progress to using dotted lines to trace and an area to write their name.  Then I progress to tracing their name on "lined paper" and writing their name on large open spaces and then tracing on the lines to writing on the lines.  It works very nicely.  There are many a site out there that you can get fonts as well as make your own writing sheets.  

Remember that he can learn to write his name with more media than pencils and paper!  It's fun to have a thin layer of shaving cream and use his pointer finger to write his name.  Washable markers on the window/glass door. In a thin layer of flour or in corn meal.  Fingerpaint-with fingers or with craft sticks, painting tools, Rainbow crayons-by rubberbanding several crayons together, etc.  Provide a varying materials and writing utensils.

Good luck and have fun!

edit:  don't forget to do capital letter first and the rest lower case :-)

Answer 2

Not too early if HE is interested in learning to write his name. However, there are things that should happen first.

Pencil grasp will develop naturally for most children. I wouldn't try to change that.

He should recognize his name in print. If he doesn't, then that's where you should start. Most preschools find it helpful if a child can recognize his own name. Label things that belong to him at home. Buy him toys and things that have his name on them. Put his name on his door with some fun letters. Talk to him about the letters in his name. Make up a silly song to a familiar tune about his name (something like "J-O-H-N-N-Y spells Johnny")

Encourage him to do other things that require a pencil grasp, like drawing, scribbling, painting. Give him many opportunities to use pencils, markers, coloring pencils, etc. When he does art work at home, always ask if he wants to put his name on by himself. Praise him if he even attempts it or even puts one or two letters that come close to  looking like they should. You can write his name and ask him if he would like to try, too.

Answer 3

He will learn to write his name when he is ready to write his name. He will start to show interest in the letters in his name soon. At that point you can teach him. He is a bit young JMO

Answer 4

You could do it, but it would be a struggle. If you wait until he's older, and interested, he will  learn, probably on his own. he will get used to seeing his name on his preschool work, attendance charts etc. and go from there.Don't worry if he waits until he's in kindergarten. That's perfectly normal, particularly for boys. The point is to wait until it is a pleasurable experience.

Answer 5

as a preschool teacher (with a 3 yr old class!), it totally depends on your child. no, it's not "too early" to try and teach something like that, but it depends on your child's maturity level. some kids love things like that and will enjoy the process of learning how to do it. others will not be interested and would not enjoy learning it. not being interested would tell you that he's not ready yet - and don't push it. this will make the activities not fun and be more like "work" - and your child will rebel and avoid it. this will make the learning negative and will not be beneficial.

i have some questions before you begin working with your child. does your child recognize his name when he sees it? is it a part of the environmental print inside your home? if he does not know what his name looks like, then it's not time to start.

second question - does he know his letters and is able to recognize what they are in his name? if he does not know his letters then "writing" his name will not make sense.

the reason he holds his pencil the way he does is completely developmentally normal (which i'm sure you already know). small children hold their pencils or crayons that way because they are still developing their fine motor skills and do not always have the muscle development to hold those utensils the way an older person would.

if your son can draw lines, circles, knows and can recognize letters and his name, and shows interest in learning, then i don't think it's too early to start working on it - all this previous information tells you that he IS ready to begin learning.

some ideas to teach this:

1) make his name out of dots, like connect-the-dots, only fairly close together so that it's easier. you can do this many different ways. you could draw the lines and laminate the paper, he can use it over and over without you needing to redraw it. you could use a chalkboard or whiteboard, paint, anything where he can practice this technique. by varying the materials, you keep the practice from being boring.

2) you can google "name writing" and you can find lots of different worksheets that you can make or print to help.

3) make it a game by using shaving cream, finger paint, etc and practice this way. the sensory input from materials like these are hands on and interactive. you can wipe the surface and practice over and over.

hope these ideas help!

Answer 6

Not too early; I would've done it before now.  Teach him now . . . it is never too early for kids to learn anything!

Here's another way:  write his name large in print using yellow highliter and let him trace over that.

Answer 7

Show him his name first.  If he says he wants to do it, show him how.

Answer 8

I don't think so. First, write his name clearly in BOLD sharpie. Then you put a peice of paper on top of the paper you just wrote his name on. Afterwards, tell him to trace it. Then do that about 3-5 times a day. Until a month has passed, then ask him if he could write it out without the paper underneath.

Answer 9

No, not to early, I taught my daughter before she went to 3 year old preschool which she is doing this year.

Answer 10

i would start him now, let him know its his name, the best way i found was to do his name as a dot-to-dot and let him join the dots, show him how to trace it, he will learn,try to slide the pencil up while he is holding it ,most little ones hold the pencil the way your son does, he'll get the hang of it