s, e and f: the three letters that come last, and why

Most lowercase letters belong to a family with a shared movement. Three do not: s, e and f are each a one-off, built from curves with no straight line to hang on to and no relative to borrow from.

That is why they are usually the last to settle, and why a child who writes a confident n and a tidy a can still produce a backwards s at six. It is not a step backwards. These three are simply harder, and knowing that changes how you teach them.

s: two curves in opposite directions

s is the most reversed letter in the alphabet after b and d, and unlike b and d it has no mirror twin to blame. The problem is inside the letter.

An s asks the hand to curve one way, stop, and then curve the other way, in one continuous movement. Nothing else a five-year-old writes does that. Every other curved letter goes round in a single direction.

The fix is the start point, the same as with the magic c. The pencil goes down at the top right, curves back and left over the top, comes down through the middle, and swings out the other way at the bottom. Children who start at the bottom, or at the left, produce a backwards s and cannot see why.

e: the only letter that starts in the middle

Every other lowercase letter starts at the top or, for the magic c family, high on the right. e starts halfway up, with a short horizontal line, and only then curves round.

Children almost universally get this wrong the first time by starting e like a c — round first — and then discovering there is nowhere sensible to put the bar. What comes out is an e with the line sticking out, or a c with a stripe through it.

Say it as two parts: across, then around. The bar comes first. It is the only letter in the alphabet where that is true, and pointing that out to a five-year-old genuinely helps, because it makes e special rather than difficult.

f: a letter that shares nothing with its capital

F and f look almost unrelated. The capital is two straight lines and a stem — one of the easiest letters there is. The lowercase is a tall curve with a crossbar, and the curve at the top has to happen while the pencil is still travelling upward.

That mismatch catches children who learned capitals first and expect the lowercase to be a smaller version, which is a reasonable expectation that works for most letters and fails badly here.

Worth naming out loud: some letters look like their big versions and some do not. f is one of the ones that does not, and that is not the child getting it wrong.

Save these three for later

There is no advantage to teaching s, e and f early, and a real cost to it. A child who meets the hardest three letters while their hand is still learning basic control concludes that writing is something they are bad at.

Do the straight lines first — l, i, t. Then the magic c family. Then the down-stroke family. By then the hand has a repertoire of movements, and these three become a challenge rather than a wall.

The exception is s, which appears in the first six letters of most reading programs because it is so useful for building words. That is a reading decision, not a writing one. It is fine for a child to read s long before they can write one neatly.

Backwards s at six is normal

It is one of the last reversals to disappear, often persisting after b and d have sorted themselves out. On its own it is not a concern at five, six or even seven.

What helps is not correction but repetition of the correct movement, in a big form. Draw an s the size of a door on paper taped to the wall. Trace one in a tray of salt. Make one out of a playdough snake by laying it along a drawn model.

What does not help is rubbing it out and asking them to try again. That practices the same wrong movement with added tension.

What to say when it goes wrong

For all three, name the start rather than the error. "This one starts at the top on the right" for s. "Across first, then around" for e. "Up, over, then the line across" for f.

Then let them run it again immediately. You are rewriting a movement, and movements change with repetition rather than with explanation. The child who has heard the phrase forty times while doing it correctly will get there; the one who has had it explained forty times will not.

Questions parents ask

Why does my child write s backwards?

Nearly always because the pencil starts in the wrong place. An s begins at the top right and curves back and left. Starting at the bottom or on the left produces a reversed s that the child cannot see is wrong. Fix the start point, not the finished letter.

Are these s, e and f worksheets free?

Yes, both sheets print straight from this page with no email and no download. Use the button to print both, or the one above each sheet.

At what age should a child write s correctly?

Reversed s is common through six and not unusual at seven. It is one of the last reversals to go, often outlasting b and d. On its own it is not a sign of a problem.

Why does my child's e look wrong?

Because they are starting it like a c. e is the only lowercase letter that begins in the middle, with the horizontal bar, before curving round. Teach it as two parts — across, then around — and it usually resolves quickly.

Which letters should we do before these three?

Straight-line letters first — l, i, t — then the magic c family, then the down-stroke family n m r h b p. By then the hand has enough control that s, e and f are a challenge rather than a wall.