Help with almost 6 yo that STILL does not know his alphabet!!

[mama27]

My 5 yo, Ryan, will be 6 in June and STILL doesn't know his alphabet with the exception of the 4 letters in his name.

I am considering getting Saxon Phonics K for him because I have tried MFW K, Happy Phonics, ETC, daily flash cards, CLp Hands and Hearts (or whatever it's called), and I have Phonics Pathways but I know that won't work for him because it's too busy, he's VERY easily distracted. And hyper. And impulsive. lol

[mom2bee]

I banged my head against the ABC's first wall for a long time with one student. When he was about 5 I really began trying to push the abc's with him, but it wasn't until he was 6 that we made any head way. I got him started on phonics using the letters in his name, and then we did a workbook about alphabets. It still wasn't solid, so we used Letter Factory, HOP cassettes every morning for a week and then just began learning to read via phonics. He really only learned and retained the alphabet once we began putting it to use.

 

I've had 2 other little boys like him, one couldn't read at all at 8yos. We worked together during the summer before 3rd grade, in school he tested on the 3.6 level when he went back.

[NittanyJen]

Have you tried Reading Reflex?

 

I taught my son to read with that book when the school was failing him; it was recommended by a psychologist, and it was a fantastic book.

 

One of the first things the book says to do is FORGET about teaching the alphabet in terms of the letter names, as they are irrelevant to reading. Imagine going to a party, and being introduced around the room.

 

"This is Mike, but you will always say Micky or Mark or sometimes Missy when you see him; you don't actually say Mike. This is Susan, but when you see her, you should say Sandy, Sally, or Sheila. This is George. When you greet him, you should say Greg or Gumby, unless he's talking to Eggbert; in that case, call him Jim!"

 

You would run screaming from the room, wouldn't you?

 

So why should we teach our kids the alphabet the same way? This book uses an approach that made a super amount of sense, and had my son clicking right into reading in no time at all-- I found my copy on Amazon a couple of years ago. (and by the way-- now that he's reading . . . if he needs to alphabetize something . . . he does now know his alphabet. But the reading sounds, far more important, came first!!).

 

It may not work for everyone, but if your son is having trouble with the alphabet, it may be that it's making no sense to him, and Reading Reflex may be worth a shot.

 

 

Jen

[susancollins]

I would do a letter of the week, covering all 26 letters. You could do learning games and activities that begin with the letter. You could have him practice tracing the letter every day. For the letter A you could read a different book each day about Alligators, Ants, Apples, etc. You can eat Apples for snack. I would just make it fun doing different activities with a same letter each day for a week and continue until you have finished all 26 letters. There are lots of books at my local library on this. I hope this helps give you some ideas.

Edited March 19, 2011 by susancollins

[ElizabethB]

:grouphug:

 

Talking letter factory.

 

Then, do PP from the white board.

 

Or, Webster's Speller from the white board, that what I did for my son this year, here is his progress, we just did 10 minutes a day on the white board:

 

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208407

[mama27]

Have you tried Reading Reflex?

 

I taught my son to read with that book when the school was failing him; it was recommended by a psychologist, and it was a fantastic book.

 

One of the first things the book says to do is FORGET about teaching the alphabet in terms of the letter names, as they are irrelevant to reading. Imagine going to a party, and being introduced around the room.

 

"This is Mike, but you will always say Micky or Mark or sometimes Missy when you see him; you don't actually say Mike. This is Susan, but when you see her, you should say Sandy, Sally, or Sheila. This is George. When you greet him, you should say Greg or Gumby, unless he's talking to Eggbert; in that case, call him Jim!"

 

You would run screaming from the room, wouldn't you?

 

So why should we teach our kids the alphabet the same way? This book uses an approach that made a super amount of sense, and had my son clicking right into reading in no time at all-- I found my copy on Amazon a couple of years ago. (and by the way-- now that he's reading . . . if he needs to alphabetize something . . . he does now know his alphabet. But the reading sounds, far more important, came first!!).

 

It may not work for everyone, but if your son is having trouble with the alphabet, it may be that it's making no sense to him, and Reading Reflex may be worth a shot.

 

 

Jen

 

MFW K teaches the sounds of the letters which he can say IF he sees the MFW K CARD but not if he just sees thge letter seperatly.

I will look into Reading Reflex, thanks.

[helena]

Are you teaching the name of the letter, or the phonetic sound of the letter? Maybe he will catch on easier if you start with sounds first.

 

I would invest in some lowercase sand paper letters and teach according to the Montessori method:

http://www.infomontessori.com/language/written-language-sandpaper-letters.htm

Then I would collect little objects in a special box and not make it accessible except when doing sounds, (making it extra special can help hold the child's attention for a bit longer). Each object represents a letter sound, for example a small plastic ant or apple for the letter a, or an octopus for the letter o. For each letter that he memorizes, add a new object. It's sort of like what's called the object boxes in the Montessori classroom: http://mymontessorijourney.typepad.com/my_montessori_journey/2008/06/object-boxes.html

Basically, you lay out a few letters and put the objects under them.

 

My wiggly boys (when I taught a hundred years ago :001_smile:), enjoyed this work. It's done on the carpet, so there's that space to roll around a tiny bit, if they have to.

 

hth

Edited March 20, 2011 by helena

[mama27]

I would do a letter of the week, covering all 26 letters. You could do learning games and activities that begin with the letter. You could have him practice tracing the letter every day. For the letter A you could read a different book each day about Alligators, Ants, Apples, etc. You can eat Apples for snack. I would just make it fun doing different activities with a same letter each day for a week and continue until you have finished all 26 letters. There are lots of books at my local library on this. I hope this helps give you some ideas.

 

We did this and it didn't work. thanks though.

[Punks in Ontario]

:grouphug: My youngest only knew about half his letters just before his sixth birthday. And that was with alot of work and a letter per week so he wouldn't get confused. With my guy he had alot of food sensitivities and had adenoid surgery.

 

By age 7, he was starting grade 2 of CLE and confident with his reading. Sometimes it's not the program or method, but other factors including maturity. Please don't beat yourself up over this either.

[In2why]

I am not a fan of the Letter of the week programs because I believe that most kids need lots and lots of repetition and practice.

 

I see that you tried ETC. Did you do ETC or "Get ready for the Code"? We had great luck with Get ready, and I liked it because it started at the very beginning with letters and letter sounds.

 

I also like the Leapfrog videos, and we used the leapfrog letter magnets that say the name and sound of each letter. But they worked for the youngest and my oldest couldn't stand them. So go figure.

 

It also could be a maturity issue, but I can understand your concern. I would get worried as well if I had tried many things and nothing was clicking. Perhaps an evaluation is needed?

[FriedClams]

Leapfrog Letter factory. Insanely useful. Highly recommend getting it and watching it daily.

 

Between the Lions on PBS is a great program, and if you let your kids watch tv, it would be a great one to have the kid watch daily.

[gardening momma]

How long have you worked with him on the alphabet?

[Alyeska]

Leapfrog Letter Factory DVD!

 

Fun, not too long, entertaining...perfect for easily distracted kiddos. :)

[twoxcell]

If you do not own it all ready get the Leap Frog Letter factory. My kids learn their letters and sounds from this.

[HeidiKC]

 

I also like the Leapfrog videos, and we used the leapfrog letter magnets that say the name and sound of each letter.

 

Leapfrog was great for my kids. Both the videos and also Word Whammer - the magnetic thing that is meant for your fridge, but we never used it that way. It's for spelling 3-letter words, but I'm pretty sure there is a setting where you can just listen to the letters. There is also another version (I think it is just called Fridge Phonics?) that only holds one letter. But I would think your son would get bored with that one. I used it for my toddlers in their bed during quiet time with a box of 5-6 letters at a time.

 

I think the DVDs are just wonderful. My 5-year-old also likes the Richard Scarry Busytown ABC video. I would get a few good DVDs from the library and have him watch one every other day or so. And not mention that this is about learning ABCs! Of course I mean add this to whatever else you might be doing. But I think some kids tend to start getting frustrated or discouraged with learning ABCs and DVDs are a great break and a sneaky way to get it in!

[mama27]

We have and use the leapfrog dvds, that hasn't worked.

We've tried Starfall. Get Set for the Code or whatever the first book is called.

I've been working with him for at least a year but even before that we did some alphabet stuff. Worksheets, coloring sheets, painting, writing with his finger in rice, magnetic letters, puzzles, all fun but he hasn't retained anything.

The only reason I am really concerned is because in our state we have to put them in "grades" and I can't see him being ready to be "placed" in 1st grade. If he could recognize most of the letters or even SOUNDS I would be ok but he can't.

[sbgrace]

I was going to suggest Letter Factory too. I'm sorry it didn't help either. That makes me wonder if he's just plain not ready or there is something underlying. You've done a lot for no progress.

 

Does he have any other signs of something underlying like dyslexia? http://www.dys-add.com/symptoms.html

[Ellie]

1. I wouldn't be worried at all that a child who isn't yet 6 doesn't know his alphabet.

 

2. I'm thinking that you should pick one (1) thing and stick with it. Goodness--you've done a truckload of different phonics materials in a short amount of time. I'll wager that part of his problem--although I don't think it's actually a problem--is that he was too young in the first place and that he's been exposed to so many different methods already.

 

JMHO, of course.

[JessieC]

Another vote for Leapfrog Letter Factory dvd.

[hollyfred2002]

My son picked them up easily from Letter Factory (a Leap Frog dvd). We do no watch tv much at all here. I had heard about this dvd though and wanted to try it and I have to say...I love it. It is 45 minutes and well made. It has great associations between the letters and their sounds and a catchy song. My son also enjoys The Amazing Alphabet by Leap Frog, but I think the Letter Factory is a better educational tool and it won't make you lose your head:)

 

Ahhhh.I see you tried it. Did you try it for very long? When we used it, I did not sit down and try to teach with it..I just played it and let him have fun with it. I think initially I played it every other day for like two weeks and he deifnitely got it. He has known his letter sounds for at least a year at this point and he still enjoys watching it. Good review.

Edited March 20, 2011 by hollyfred2002

[sleepymommy]

Maybe you could make up some sort of game? Put 3 or 4 letters on a bunch of index cards and play something like Uno. Throw in a wild card so the letters can be changed. Maybe he'll be more interested in retaining the information in order to win the game.

 

Once he has those letters mastered, add some more letters on index cards to the game.

 

(I just now thought this up so it may require some tweaking.)

[Sevilla]

We have and use the leapfrog dvds, that hasn't worked.

We've tried Starfall. Get Set for the Code or whatever the first book is called.

I've been working with him for at least a year but even before that we did some alphabet stuff. Worksheets, coloring sheets, painting, writing with his finger in rice, magnetic letters, puzzles, all fun but he hasn't retained anything.

The only reason I am really concerned is because in our state we have to put them in "grades" and I can't see him being ready to be "placed" in 1st grade. If he could recognize most of the letters or even SOUNDS I would be ok but he can't.

Given the amount of work you have done, it seems like there is something going on with him that would prevent him retaining things like letters and sounds. Are there any other red flags with his development or learning? If learning disabilities can be identified earlier on, then interventions and supports for how to teach in a way they understand can also be identified earlier so they don't struggle needlessly :hug:

[Alyeska]

We have and use the leapfrog dvds, that hasn't worked.

We've tried Starfall. Get Set for the Code or whatever the first book is called.

I've been working with him for at least a year but even before that we did some alphabet stuff. Worksheets, coloring sheets, painting, writing with his finger in rice, magnetic letters, puzzles, all fun but he hasn't retained anything.

The only reason I am really concerned is because in our state we have to put them in "grades" and I can't see him being ready to be "placed" in 1st grade. If he could recognize most of the letters or even SOUNDS I would be ok but he can't.

 

Well, since you have tried SO much, I would recommend several things...first, have his eyes examined. Secondly, have his hearing checked. Many, many times our children give no real indication that these things are a problem until they start having difficulty with schooling.

 

An example...My ds struggles with reading...I am having him repeat first grade phonics...well, I had his eyes examined and WITH his glasses he was only seeing 20/200!!!! His vision worsened significantly in just a year and is 20/475 when just a year ago his prescription was great. Since getting new glasses two weeks ago, he has already shown improvement. So I recommend starting there.

[ondreeuh]

My very ADHD son could not learn effectively until the ADHD was managed. It may be that you need to address the attention & working memory issue before you will see progress.

[T'smom]

My son LOVES to dump out a wooden alphabet puzzle and "race" to find a letter. Like I'll say 'A' and we'll both look and see who can find it first. Probably not a real solution, but maybe he'd think it was fun?

 

I second the vision/hearing screening.

[In2why]

Given the amount of work you have done, it seems like there is something going on with him that would prevent him retaining things like letters and sounds. Are there any other red flags with his development or learning? If learning disabilities can be identified earlier on, then interventions and supports for how to teach in a way they understand can also be identified earlier so they don't struggle needlessly :hug:

 

 

I agree. I wouldn't worry as much if you hadn't already tried so many different things, but since you have, I would look for an underlying problem.

[ange]

I would recommend you also consider whether his phonemic awareness skills are strong. No matter what you do to teach letter sounds, if the phonemic awareness skills are not developed he will stuggle! I know as my 7yo did. My 7yo is also ADHD/ Sensory issues. We had to address that w/ meds (still working on it too) before he could progress at all. I used Earobics for phonemic awareness help. It is a software program he worked on daily, and slowly he progressed. Earobics automatically adjusts to the child's skill level as he goes thru it. We still use it even after he finally began to "hear" the sounds and started to sound out words. There are resources on the internet that explain phonemic awareness skills as well as tests to use w/ your son to see where he is. I know Susan Barton has a test on her website too that you can use to see if there is a weakness there. I also second (or third) the vision and hearing screening. My son does have vision issues which we did not find out about until he was past 2 years old. So it is important to find out whether or not there is a physical problem w/ vision or hearing. I hope this helps and you find an answer! Blessings, Angie

[Jane Elliot]

My 5 yo, Ryan, will be 6 in June and STILL doesn't know his alphabet with the exception of the 4 letters in his name.

I am considering getting Saxon Phonics K for him because I have tried MFW K, Happy Phonics, ETC, daily flash cards, CLp Hands and Hearts (or whatever it's called), and I have Phonics Pathways but I know that won't work for him because it's too busy, he's VERY easily distracted. And hyper. And impulsive. lol

 

Nearly all my dc learned their letters with the Go for the Code series of three books. (I did not use the wall chart or the picture letter cards listed on that web page.) I like that the books work on some phonological awareness skills, too. And they're simple to use.

 

I never made them do all the writing in those books (some but not all), since the goal was letter recognition, not handwriting. We reviewed each letter they had learned with flashcards.

[SEP]

My opinion, and it's just that, an opinion is that he is either really stubborn and trying to get out of work or there is another issue that you need to have evaluated like eyes, ears, attention, etc...

 

I have never known anyone who hasn't learned their letters if they watch The Leapfrog DVD. Even if he's just in the room while it's on, something should be penetrating because it's so repetitive.

 

It is the way each of my children have learned their letters and most of my friends as well, starting at about age 2 for most. Although I find it unnecessary to know your letters that young, the younger siblings would just absorb it.

 

Have you tried bribing him with candy/prizes to make sure that he's not pulling your leg?

 

My 2nd dd would not give me the satisfaction that she knew her letters until one day she busted out knowing all of them. Stinker.

[duckymama]

We had a similar problem with our 4 year old. He had no interest in learning the alphabet (even the song). And, he got nothing from the Leap Frog dvd. My first two learned all of their letter sounds from that dvd.

 

Well, I decided to just start trying OPGTR with him at 5 years old (NOV 2010). We did the first lessons on vowels. He didn't like the lessons on consonants, so we tried the first few lessons starting at #27. He got more into it when he could recognize words that he knows, but still was struggling with letter recognition and sounds. What ended up helping for us was the little books you can print off at www.progressivephonics.com. We started with the first level of the Alphabetti books. He got such a kick out of these simple, silly books that we could read together. They motivated him to do the OPGTR lessons when he got to read one of those after finishing.

 

He still struggles with recognizing some letters and their sounds, but that gets better each time he reads. I just let him know what the letter is and/or its sound and we keep moving. He really enjoys reading and asks to do his lessons now!

[TracyR]

Leap Frog's Talking Letter Factory. Works like a charm everytime. I'm not big on using tv but this video 100% works.

My niece had a horrible time learning her letters and sounds the year before. I told my sister to get the video. In less than two weeks she had them down pat.

Made my sister wish she had gotten it sooner. She was doing learn a letter a week type learning too and it didn't sink in at all. The video did :>)

[TracyR]

Oops. Never mind read another one of your posts. If you've tried all of that and he hasn't retained that much I would definitley get some type of testing done to check for learning disability.

Also maybe try Joyce Herzog's Scaredy Cat Reading. I read that it was created for children with learning disabilities. http://www.joyceherzog.info/Joyce_Herzog/Reading_and_Spelling.html

[chontaveal]

Leap Frog letter Factory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Soror]

My 6.5 yo still couldn't tell you all the alphabet. We started the I See Sam Books regardless last summer and he is through Set 1 and 2 already. I thought he was just stubborn. Thought that is why he couldn't count to 10 until he was 5.5 as well. I don't really buy that anymore. I just think he wasn't ready. Perhaps he is dyslexic and that is why the memory issues, my thought is to just use programs that are more geared if a kid has trouble and thus far it has worked. We are using Right Start for Math and he has blossomed there as well.

[EKS]

What exactly do you mean by "know his alphabet"? Do you mean be able to recite it in order? Or recognize each letter, both upper and lower case, out of context, and tell you the name and sound (if you aren't already, I'd focus on learning sounds first)? Regardless, the first thing I would consider is that he may just be young. Six is when children used to *start* learning to read back in the day.

 

I would read the book Overcoming Dyslexia if you are concerned. It has lists of symptoms in even young children. I would also have him evaluated by a developmental optometrist. Sometimes vision problems can be part of the problem.