Hi JenSMP,
My DS6 is homeschooled so I don't know how helpful this is but I just want to reassure you that I don't think your child is atypical of a six year old. I know boys (in general, but especially gifted boys) are notorious for hating to write because their motor skills are not on par with their cognitive development. I imagine the experience is even more frustrating for a perfectionist. That is certainly the case for my 6 year old boy. He recently started online school. After a placement test, his teacher wanted to put him in 4th grade but I requested for 4th grade math and 3rd grade language arts solely due to his handwriting and spelling. His reading/comprehension/vocabulary/grammar are all OK at 4th grade but his handwriting just isn't there. For example, yesterday he was doing a writing test. He had to make up a story, which he verbally told me in wonderful detail but when it came to writing it down, he didn't want to continue. I usually don't push him (I usually just scribe for him if he refuses to write) but because this was a test, I told him he simply had to do it or I was going to send him back to school (which he hated more than anything). So he wrote, the whole time complaining and wiping tears. I felt so horrible. In the end, he wrote two sentences, carefully choosing only simple words he knew how to spell and making the sentences as simple as possible. I said, "What happened next?" He said, "I decided this is going to be a VERY SHORT story." I just didn't have the heart to pressure him any more. It was pretty traumatic for me too. I asked the teacher for permission to scribe for him or have him type his writing assignments, except for those times when the assignment is specifically practicing penmanship. I think at age 6, the most important thing for a kid to learn is the love of learning. The motor skills will catch up with the rest soon enough. I could be wrong and I might regret not having pushed him more, but this is what I think right now. I just wanted to share my experience and my thoughts because I could totally relate to you and your child's anxiety. I hope it all works out in the end for both of our children!
