WWYD- learning to print

[DayDreamer]

My DD is in K. She has been able to write her letters, capital and lower case, since preschool. Well this year she is required to write her last name on her papers. Our last name has the letter "g" in it. When my DD writes the letter "g" she writes it like you sometimes see on papers. It's the g but has the little squiggly thing at the bottom. Like this g That is how it is on every. single. paper the teacher prints. Also the "a" is printed like this a. The papers that come home out of a book or whatever have the letters printed like she is "supposed" to be writing them.

So my question is, should I send a friendly note to the teacher pointing out that the font she is using could be/probably is influencing the way my DD writes her letters? She does make the "a" like she is supposed to, but she doesn't have to write that letter a lot either. I don't want to be a PITA about it, but I really think the teacher should pay more attention to these things.

What do you think? How would you word the letter IF you would write one? I would want it to sound friendly and not pesty. KWIM?

[lolar2]

Is she being marked wrong for the way she prints a's and g's? I sometimes print them like that myself, and no one ever objected when I was in school. I always thought they were a variant of correct.

[bdavis337]

Is it just that way on the worksheets and such? if so, there isn't much the teacher can do about that, if it's already in print. But if the teacher is creating her own paperwork (typing it into her computer and printing out), then she could use a font that would be more appropriate.

I dont' see my kindergartener having a problem identifying those odd letters, but he does something ask why they look one way in typeface and another in pencil.

[DayDreamer]

Yes, she is being marked wrong for the way she makes her "g". They have a paper where she has to write her last name 5 times and the "g"s are all corrected and she's not getting a sticker (big deal to Kindergartener). The paper she has to write her last name on is a self created paper from the teacher. All the papers that the teacher makes and prints out have the "g" in that form. All the workbook papers or papers NOT printed by the teacher have the "g" the way she is supposed to write it.

I was just thinking of pointing it out to the teacher, that she is using this form of "g" that she is correcting my DD for using. Just point it out simply and friendly.

[amnda527]

Now that you clarified a little, I definetly would speak up to the teacher. Your daughter is just being observant, trying to write it the way she is shown. Who knows what other children are having the same problem. If it was me, I would probably wait for the next paper to come home that was marked wrong. I would circle the incorrect g that the teacher types out, and put a sticky note on the sheet saying something like "DD sees this g and thinks this is how you want her to write it, since that is what is on this paper. Is there a way you can use the correct g that you want her to learn how to write on the paper instead of this one so that she is not confused and getting marked wrong?" Then I would send that back in with dd to give to her teacher. I would wait a day or two for a response, and then give a call asking if she got my note, and see what she says. Good luck!

[PiePie]

yes (since she is being marked down). are you sure your daughter hasn't mentioned it already? i confronted my 1st grade teacher on a similar issue; she did not take to it kindly. this would be good background information for you to have going into the conversation.

[dinade]

I would definitely bring it up if she's marking her off for it. Her teachers writing or w/s are affecting the way your daughter is writing. She wants to write the way the teacher is so of course she's making them all fancy. Let us know what she says.

[Kirsten]

I agree you could mention lightly and nicely to the teacher - sometime in passing.

But have you tried explaining to dd that computers can print in different types of letters (or fonts if she knows that word), and even though it sometimes is that way on papers she sees, the teacher wants her to learn to print in the classic (there is a long name for it....) style. Sit her down; write a "g" and an "a" (but not that a.... ) and tell her to do her school writing in that classic style.

After the teacher knows she "gets it", it likely won't be a problem for her to do either g and a.

[DayDreamer]

I decided to let it go and just talk to my DD about it. I pretty much did what Kirsten said and showed her different print on the computer and in magazines, etc. I told DD that the "proper" way to print is the "g" the teacher wants her to print. I also told her once she is out of the fifth grade, handwritting usually isn't critiqued and she could write anyway she wanted. But for now, she needed to make her g that way.

Thanks for all the advice though.

[Mizelenius]

I just want to add that the correction for penmanship with a KGer is ANNOYING and plain silly. Don't get me wrong-- I love good penmanship (I won 1st prize in the city when I was in 1st grade for it ) but I think it is ridiculously overemphasized.

I'm glad you found a solution!

[4evermom]

I remember being in first grade and getting letters circled because I was copying what was on the board. I was confused about what letters had dots so I painstakenly copied all the stray marks that the teacher had left on the board by failing to erase well. I'm still annoyed she didn't realize I was doing what she told me, copying what was on the board!

Yes, I think it would be appropriate to mention to the teacher that she may be contributing to the problem by using the other g.

[ecoteat]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius

I just want to add that the correction for penmanship with a KGer is ANNOYING and plain silly. Don't get me wrong-- I love good penmanship (I won 1st prize in the city when I was in 1st grade for it ) but I think it is ridiculously overemphasized.

I'm glad you found a solution!

I disagree. As a 3rd and 4rg grade teacher, I spend too much time breaking bad penmanship habits. It shouldn't matter how a kid writes a G, but when they het older many of them also get sloppier and an incorrectly formed letter end up being completely illegible.

[onelilguysmommy]

how messed up is that?
and uh, that is still a g. I write a like this. a
thats plain ridiculous, its not that she makes some squiggle, it really is the letter, so Id be doing more than a gentle talk in passing, thats plain WRONG. it is legible and i feel so bad for your little girl! its got to be upsetting o her to be doing it, and how the teacher has it, but then being graded so harshly s: for her! ...