Handwriting Struggles in Kindergarten: What's Typical and What's Not

By Laura Lurns · Reviewed by Philip Weaver · Last reviewed 2026-10-04

What school asks for in kindergarten

The Common Core standards ask kindergartners to "Print many upper- and lowercase letters." States can adopt, change or replace these standards.

A standard says what school teaches toward. It is not a test of one child.

Capital letters in the middle of words

One study looked at spelling by children from kindergarten to grade 2 (Treiman and Kessler, 2004). The younger children often wrote with capital letters, mostly at the start of words. A capital in the middle of a word tended to come from the child's first name. A second study looked at preschoolers (Treiman and colleagues, 2007). They liked their names in all capitals before learning the usual pattern. Both studies looked at typical children, not at writing trouble. We could read only their summaries.

In our view, mixed capitals alone tell you little. They are worth noting when other writing trouble comes with them. No study we hold treats mixed capitals as a sign of a learning difference.

Copying shapes and copying letters

Two small studies looked at kindergartners copying shapes and letters (Weil and Amundson, 1994; Daly and colleagues, 2003). Children who copied shapes better also copied letters better. Both found a link, not a cause.

A third study followed 101 children from kindergarten into first grade (Marr and Cermak, 2002). Copying shapes in kindergarten went with later handwriting for girls, not boys. Its authors did not support using a shape-copying test in kindergarten to find children at risk.

These are findings about groups of children. They are not a checklist for one child. We could read only the summaries of all three studies.

No study we hold gives the ages at which children copy each shape. In our view, shape copying is not a home test for your child. Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it.

Handwriting and early writing

One study tested 242 kindergartners (Puranik and Al Otaiba, 2012). Handwriting and spelling each added to how well they wrote. In that study, spoken language and reading skills were not shown to add. It found links, not causes. We could read only its summary.

What helps young writers

Handwriting improves when it is taught and practiced.

Santangelo and Graham (2016) pooled studies of teaching handwriting. Handwriting lessons made handwriting clearer and faster than other lessons or none.

One review looked at 23 trials of motor programs in schools (Eddy and colleagues, 2019). In that review, all seven handwriting-practice programs reported some gain, though results were mixed across measures. Nearly all its handwriting trials were of typical 5- to 7-year-olds. Its authors say some studies had weak designs, so the results need care.

One review looked at classroom handwriting programs for young children (Engel and colleagues, 2018). It found no clear support for one program over another. We name no program on this page.

Handwriting improves most consistently with handwriting practice; motor work alone has not been shown to improve it. If letters do not stick after teaching, tell the teacher what you see.

What we cannot tell you

No source we hold gives an age for any sign of dysgraphia.

Our position is to put support in place now, not to wait and see. No study we have tests wait-and-see as a plan for a learning difficulty. So we would not tell you to wait. In our view, the skill is built, not waited for.

If a skill has gone

Some children could do something and now cannot. That is different from a child who has not built the skill yet. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

When to ask for help

Each of these is a reason to ask for help on its own.

• Little change, even with steady practice and good teaching.
• Writing well below your child's other schoolwork.
• A teacher who raises a concern about writing.
• Extreme upset about writing.
• Complete avoidance of writing.
• Hopelessness about learning.
• Sadness or worry that lasts.
• Significant delays in speech, language or motor development.
• A skill that was there and has gone. Our position is that a lost skill goes to a doctor first, not a tutor.

If no skill has gone, start with the teacher. Say what you are seeing at home, and what you have tried. Beyond the teacher, the right person depends on what it turns out to be about. If the work is too hard, someone who works on that school skill. If worry or mood is the thing, someone who works with children's mental health. In our view, delays in speech, language or movement are worth raising with your child's doctor. In our view, if you are worried enough to ask, a professional evaluation is worth asking about.

Any talk of hurting themselves is a same-day call to your doctor or a crisis line.