N2 but still can't recognise numbers and letters

[Blobbi]

Forgot - Thomas the Train. Toys, books, videos. He did’t like the videos too much though, and stopped completely one day. Thought it was violent cos they always had train crashes.

[pingsped]

kiasu_pig:

Was reading thru' the threads and realised that this thread which i had contributed some comments earlier striked me. Was feeling very moody that my 3.5 yrs old DS1 was still not able to recite his 26 letters and count from 1 to 10; he can't read or write (not even trace dotted lines of characters on paper) yet. But just last Sat, we were surprised that DS1 was able to correctly made the sound of the letters from A to Z when asked (he said his pre-school teachers taught him so). But still, can't help concerns on his progress. Just some rantings going thru' my mind at the moment.

Hi

you may like to try a modified \"orton-gillingham+montessori+ behv\" method

a) say & trace each letter at the same time (do 5-10 rep). work with groups of letters that look similar visually eg m/n, c/a/d/q (this is 'chaining')
b) writing - use sandpaper under the paper (tactile feedback)
c) talk or make stories abt letters ( as per suggestion of BUDs & other mummy)
c) work with different materials - clay, playdough, etc (raise interest/arousal level + kinesthetic input)

By using a multi-sensory and verbal approach, you are teaching the child how to activate kinesthetic memory in learning. Some children are kinesthetic learners & may not learn well using the typical \"look & hear\" or visual-auditory mode.

It is quite okay for an average 3.5 year old to know only some letters.

Most kindergartens would expect a child to know all letters by May of K1 (latest). If your child's kindergarten's std is high, then he will be considered slow even if he is still in Nursery.

It's not advisable to let things be if your child is very unhappy in school due to \"high standards\". Perhaps consider changing school so that he can learn at a comfortable pace. Preschool years should be happy. Do spend more time so that you can monitor, esp if there is a family history of learning difficulties.

Listen to your instinct & balance 'ks-ism'. Nobody here knows yr child like you do.

[Blobbi]

Ooh er, think I didn't reply to topic. :oops:


All I know is, read a lot to your child. Stick to the stories or themes he/she likes best. The only thing we that that was educational at that age was perhaps Richard Scarry's Best Ever ABC video.

Kiasu_pig, sounds like your kid is doing fine - he's picking up knowledge in a stress free, natural way. Don't think my son knew the letter sounds at 3.5yo! He did read, but by sight. SO it really depends on the exposure you or the school provides, because at that age, they will pick up a lot from their environment. Don't worry about who's doing what at what age. When the time comes, your kid's abilities will naturally kick in. Just make sure the environment is rich with learning opportunities.

[2ppaamm]

N2... 4 years old. I thought they should not start having pressure? Just put up a lot of books and switch off the TV. Put that newspaper away and read every night to the child. I'm sure the kid will read one day... Well, sooner or later, the kid will read, ha ha... trust me...

[missk]

Sorry to post here, but seems related since we were talking about development of children aged 3-4+... My son in N2, only 39 mths old now. He can recognise most letters and numbers, and started recognising some easy sight words. He is now trying to pick up phonics... I am not worried about that. But for his life, cannot hold a pencil to write! His school demands some handwriting which is too difficult for him, so he gets frustrated and disruptive. We go for OT since he is a little \"hyper\" and need to work on social skills. At home, we play finger painting, dot to dot tracing, play doh, pasting art activities etc...We even do lots of handwriting tracing giant letters, which he likes... I don't want to overkill on that. Any other tips to develop fine motor skills in this age group?

:thankyou:

[missk]

By the way he holds his pencils, crayons and markers with immature grip… Sometime even palmar grip!!!

[sharonkhoo]

My daughter has problems with fine and gross motor skills; she’s probably dyspraxic though we didn’t take her for a formal assessment for that. She couldn’t hold a pencil properly for years - she started to write a bit around 4yo but very illegibly. Even now, at 16yo, her pencil grip is not good and she has weak muscles. Still with patience and frequent practice, she could write untidily but more or less legibly by P1 and fairly OK (on the line, reasonably formed letters) by P3. That is way behind ‘normal’ kids, but still, she has coped in school all these years. I’ve just always told teachers that she has motor skills issues and to let her be, and they have been OK with that. But that was not in Singapore and she hasn’t had to take PSLE or ‘O’ levels. For your son, just go easy on him and give him a couple more years to develop his muscles through all the play and activities you are doing already.

[mummy so kiasu]

missk:

By the way he holds his pencils, crayons and markers with immature grip... Sometime even palmar grip!!!

Focus on motor skills first & not writing. Activities such as beads & thread (get the bigger ones), play dough, cut & paste & using crayons to trace the dotted pictures willbe fun & helpful. My P2 girl had motor & speech issues till K2. Give your kid more time & do not push him too much. Every child development is different. He should be ready for P1 as long as his writing is readable.

[Lavina]

missk:

By the way he holds his pencils, crayons and markers with immature grip... Sometime even palmar grip!!!

Have you tried pencil grippers? I bought mine many years ago from Kinokuniya orchard. It is made in Japan and the package came with an orange gripper (more effective) and a green one.

[Lavina]

Double post…