DS skipped K into gr 1 with not a lot of writing experience (knew letters but preferred using capitals. Within a few weeks he was writing sentences, in lowercase with mostly accurate spelling. His spelling is coming along quickly because I suspect he has a photographic (or close to it) memory. His writing is about the same as 70% of the class. He likes to spell correctly too - he has read so much he knows once he has written something phonetically when it is wrong.