Writing the Letter y

Start at the middle line and slide down to the bottom line. Then pick up your pencil, leave a space, and slide down to the very bottom line.

No worries, there are lots of exercises that can be done to help them. Practice fine motor control by using different tools such as tweezers to pick up. For example, small pom poms and move them from one bowl to another. Practice threading beads onto a pipe cleaner or building and undoing lego bricks. Once they are ready to practice with a pencil, be sure the pencil is between the index finger and thumb and then rests the pencil on the other fingers. It might also be helpful for them to use a triangular shaped pencil or gripper to start with.

No worries, you can take it back a step and practice copying patterns and shapes such as circles and zig zags before coming back to letter formation.

Don’t worry too much about size when they are learning to write. It is best to encourage consistency in size between the letters to begin with. Continue using lines and practicing. The aim is to have consistent and legible handwriting.

If your child is just beginning to write, observe them and see which hand they use when they pick up their pencil. This may be the same hand they use to eat, brush their teeth, brush their hair etc. You don’t need to tell them which hand to use, they will naturally use whichever feels most comfortable to them. Make sure they have elbow room on the side they are using to write.