Almost 5 yo doesn't know letters or numbers

[mommyof3blessings]

My daughter will be 5 in 2 months. She does not recognize letters or numbers-- she can count and she can say the alphabet. We have done lots of preschool workbooks, I have done letter of the week, we are working on the second book of Getting Reading for the Code, she has watched the LeapFrog Letter Factory many times, and 2 weeks ago, she started Reading Eggs. She did not pass the test to get off the first map, so now she is having to repeat the lessons to try to pass the test to move on. She loves to play the games, but doesn't really pay attention during the lessons :(. She is my third child, the oldest 2 quickly picked up these concepts, so I am at a loss as to what I should try next. I have looked at AAR as well as Hooked on Phonics. Any insight, input or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[SKL]

My daughter was also very slow to learn letters and numerals despite having a lot of exposure. She would trace a page of letters and still have no idea what the letter was. She needed vision therapy. Have you had her checked for vision problems such as convergence etc.?

[Chris in VA]

Just keep on keeping on. She's young, yet. Lots of people will tell you this. Don't panic and don't compare--keep it fun, light and interesting.

You'll get lots of anecdotal evidence--for example, mine didn't know any letters until 5, didn't really read til 7, and went on to Great Books study in high school.

[Mom2TheTeam]

My oldest was the same. He barely recognized them by age 6. Now, he's 7.5 and just starting to read fluently. Not all kids are ready to read at 5. Try to relax.

[Koerarmoca]

Keep plugging the leap frog videos. Dd4 also learned a ton from iPad apps. I was shocked how much she retains from these things. She did though watch the leap frog videos over and over and over again for a solid week when we got them from the library lol.

[mommyof3blessings]

I keep telling myself she is still young, but I am just looking for something to click. She has not had her vision tested recently...I will do that, just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the replies :)

[jmomma1203]

My DD4 is the same way! She's the middle child until our 4th is born in the next couple of months. Her 2yo little sister can honestly identify more letters and numbers than she can. After a week and a half of ABCmouse.com and various other reading and me drilling her, she can finally recognize A and what sound it makes. At this rate, there's no way she'll know all 26 by the fall. I just try not to let it stress me so that it doesn't stress her.

[lea_lpz]

My daughter was also very slow to learn letters and numerals despite having a lot of exposure. She would trace a page of letters and still have no idea what the letter was.

 

This is probably not reassuring but my dd was the same way exactly. It's still really hard when you're worried. She went to preschool 3 mornings a week, and the rest of the class knew all their shapes, colors, numbers 1-10 and letter names and sounds by spring. My dd made zero progress, even with me replicating the worksheets at home the other 2 days a week she didn't have school for about an hour and in the afternoons she did have school for at least 15-30 minutes. When she turned 5, she knew 4 letters, one number, 2 shapes, and one or two colors. She couldn't even print her own name or recognize the letters in it.

 

The teacher's recommendedation was to test for learning disabilities and do pre-k. In my desperation, I began to look at alternatives to traditional tactics to teach math and language skills, and this is when I started coming across homeschool blogs and materials. Because at this point we felt we had nothing to lose and already began to "homeschool" daily be trying to repeat what was covered in preschool at home, homeschool began to appeal to me. At the point she lost confidence in preschool as she knew she was behind, we pulled her out of school March 1stish.

 

I started mfw k in mid-April when she turned 5. I chose this curriculum, aside from the Biblical basis, because of it's slow and steady pace, its routine for language, and it's emphasis on hands on learning and integration of multisensory learning for learning to read and write, the integrated unit study approach, as well as it keeping worksheets down to 2 paged a day, and affordability. I also added HWOT. The previous 6 weeks we took a break from formal math and language and focused on cutting, coloring and pasting so she could gain better pre-writing skills. Someone on the mfw board had adviced me to do so and it was a great decision. We have gone slow and steady at her pace. My realistic goal was for us to get half way through mfw k by this June and for her to know her letter names and sounds, to write her capital letters, write and recognize and write number 1-10, and learn her colors and shapes. Of course I hoped we could complete k by the end of this year, but given where we were at, that seemed very much out if reach.

 

Well I am truly happy to report we'll be completing the entire curriculum by June 6, and she is actually reading, doing simple addition and subtraction, and learning to tell time! I could not be more thrilled :). We did about 3 to 4 days a week, moving slow and steady, and the curriculum's hands on and multisensory approach really clicked for her. She is in a charter homeschool program and had been accessed as not having a learning disability and within the normal range of math and Lang ability for a kindergartner. Praise The Lord!

 

I just want to reassure you that not all children exposed to early math and language are going to grasp it at 4 and many kids are not ready until they are 5 or even 6 and are able to catch up to their peers. I wouldn't rule out testing, it's good to know, so you can either rule it out or have early intervention a d deal with it, but there is also a good chance she might need more time.

[8filltheheart]

I keep telling myself she is still young, but I am just looking for something to click. She has not had her vision tested recently...I will do that, just to be on the safe side. Thanks for the replies :)

 

She is young. :) You really can't compare siblings. I have had kids learn to recognize all their letters and numbers in just a few days. I had to make the decision to hold our 7 yod back a couple of yrs ago b/c she just wasn't ready. Now as a 1st grader she is doing great......great reading and doing 2nd grade math.

 

They all develop at different rates. I certainly wouldn't worry at 5. (I actually think it is outrageous that a pre-school teacher would suggest LD at age 5. That is a teacher that is obviously not well educated in cognitive development. 4-6 is completely within norms)

 

I'm not one who cares about pre-school education. I don't worry about letters and number recognition before K. However, if I were someone that really wanted to pursue it and a child was struggling, I would suggest tactile and kinesthetic approaches.

 

FWIW, doing absolutely nothing and just waiting a few months and re-starting will probably land you in the exact same place as pushing forward. (only exception is when there are real LDs present. But, at not even 5, I would not worry about that as a real issue.)

[NASDAQ]

My first learned absolutely nothing before five. When I started teaching her formally, it was a hard slog. I used Saxon Phonics. She's just turned seven (yesterday) and she is finishing the second Elson reader and is midway through SM 2B, so it did all come out in the wash. But her K year was brutal.

[lea_lpz]

Hi again :001_rolleyes:. I was just thinking I hope I didn't come off as tooting mfw k's horn too much. Of course there are other curriculum programs and other do it at home yourself options that would give you similar results. And, I don't know what your faith background is, if you are interested in using a Christian curriculum, or if you perfer a secular or other faith based option, and of course I don't know what your school budget is, if you already bought next years curriculum for your upcoming k'er or if it's in your budget at all to make a change since you have older children you homeschool. I just meant that the format of the program is excellent for kids who need to have a slow and steady, more hands on approach to learning with lots of multisensory learning and an integrated approach to learning so that everything they are learning is reinforcing each other. Although mfw k is based on 26 6 day units based on the alphabet, that doesn't mean students only learn letter names, sounds and how to print the alphabet by any means. The units are not in alphabetical order so all vowels are introduced by mid-way through k. By unit 9, children begin learning to read phonetically with the 9 letters they've done units on and sight words. By unit 15 (i think, could be sooner) they begin reading short stories, and by the end of the year they are able to read short stories, print a couple short sentences on line paper, do simple addition and subtraction, learn about place value, count to 100, print to about 30, understand a calander, and have been introduced to telling time, measuring, fractions, and counting money. All of this is in my opinion kinder level stuff. Others see this as pre-k, but to me, that would be very advanced and not stuff most 3 or 4 year olds could grasp. I feel like its accomidating to k'ers starting at various levels, from those who start cold turkey with no knowledge of letters and numbers, to k'ers who know their letter names and sounds and even the k'ers who start the program reading some. Anyhow, if you want here's a link to check it out yourself if you like. The message board is active and you can pm me is you like.

 

http://www.mfwbooks.com/products/M50/20/0/0/1

 

So, that aside, my advice, and everyone has an opinion they are just like, well, uh-hum, something else everyone has, but I would back off letters and numbers at least until your child turns 5. During the next two months, I would focus on pre-writing skills by doing a lot of arts and crafts, reading stories, and baking. I would have her practice learning to color in the lines, cut well, paste, and follow directions by doing activities with you. I think a major reason my daughter struggled to learn her letters and numbers was because she had poor dextrocity and eye hand coordination so writing the letters took so much concentration that she couldn't really focus on learning the letter she was writing. I feel like the time we took to work on pre-writing skill helped tremendously as well as eased her anxiety about not being able to learn her letters and numbers.

 

After this break, you can re-access where she is at and decide if you want to do a pre-k5 year or if you want to start k. If you chose to start a k program, be prepared to take 2 years to complete. I started at the pace to complete K in 15 months but also realized that if this pace was too fast for her, I'd have to slow it down. Another idea is you could school over summer, doing fewer days a week. This is what we did, so we typically cover 3-4 days of her curriculum a week vs. 5 days a week. It's been awesome because it gives us flexibility to spread one day over two, spend longer on units we have particular interest in, take lots of field trips, and not be stressed if someone's sick or have something important come up and have to miss a day of school. Also, of course it gives her longer absorb the material.

 

I know you have two older children who picked up fast. It's hard not to compare, I know, but the reality is kids are going to move at their own pace. My daughter could have probably held off to start k at 6, and my son, who is going on 4, could probably start k in the fall, if I wanted to, but I am waiting until he is 5. Although she completed the curriculum, it takes her longer to do the math and lang. portion than average (probably twice as long). If she started at 6, she'd probably had an easier go and been at average pace. You live and learn.

 

:seeya: Hope you get some peace and can figure out what'll work best for you and your child.

[mommyof3blessings]

Thanks so much, everyone, for the advice! Let me give a little more info--she has GREATLY improved this year in several "prek" areas, such as learning colors, shapes, her cutting skills are great and her coloring has gone from crazy, all-over the page scribble-scrabble to really good, inside the lines coloring. She also is very good at memorizing things like Bible verses, songs, and nursery rhymes. She can make rhyming words, she can tell me the beginning sounds she hears in words and she can clap syllables for words. She can write her name, say abc song, can count to about 15, and she has very good 1-to-1 correspondence skills. She can NOT tell me the letters in her name, she can not identify letters or numerals, she can not match capital and lowercase letters.

 

I intend to move us toward a modified year-round calendar this year--maybe only taking 3-4 weeks off in June, then schooling for 5-6 weeks, then taking a "breather" week before the next 5-6 week cycle. I have looked at AAR for her, but I will check out MFW--it sounds like a flexible program that could work for us.

 

I am trying to relax about her progress, and when I look at the above paragraph, I realize she has learned quite a lot this prek year. I will probably step back a little until after our short summer break, then pick up with whichever curriculum I settle on. I will also get her vision tested, just to be on the safe side :). Thanks so much for all the support and ideas!

[boscopup]

Go to a covd.org doctor for the vision testing.

 

My middle son took a lot longer to recognize letters/numbers/colors than his brothers did. It did make me a bit nervous, but he has caught up with the "norm" now. With him, things tend to be completely absent, then suddenly one day it clicks and he knows it all. It's weird to watch these things just "turn on" in his brain.

[Walking-Iris]

I agree that some vision testing may be a good idea. Also I would just play LeapPad letter factory. Sing that song, surround her with magnetic letters, letter tiles, sandpaper tactile letters, draw letters in sensory material like sand and whipped cream in a ziploc etc, read ABC books until you drop, play with ABC blocks, play with HWT wooden letters, build letters from pattern blocks (there's some free printables at prekinder.com) and just immerse her in letters and their sounds.

 

It seems sort of odd that she can recite them and write them but not know what she was writing. So I would be reading the ABC books a lot. You can also sing her name to the tune of BINGO. As she writes have her say the letters.

 

HWOT wooden letters and ABC cards may be a great idea. I highly recommend letters made from sandpaper.

[2queens&1princenmyhouse]

My oldest was the same. He barely recognized them by age 6. Now, he's 7.5 and just starting to read fluently. Not all kids are ready to read at 5. Try to relax.

I'm reading this thinking, that sounds a lot like Heather and I read the siggie and it is you! Ha!

 

OP: Having taught classroom prek for many years before hsing, I tend to be in the camp that believes everything we do goes somewhere into kids' brains. For some, they can file it and immediately retrieve it at a moment's notice. For others, they tuck it away and it only comes out intermittently (and never on command). Just keep giving her opportunities to work with the concepts (she'll file them in more places) and one day, she'll just "know" it. Good luck!

[nmoira]

My youngest was still learning letters as we were starting Phonics Pathways at 5-1/2; blame it on benign negligence if you will, but she had zero interest prior to beginning reading instruction. We just took our time and it worked out fine. She did get glasses just before age 6, but her developmental optometrist said her reading would not have been affected. However, I do agree that it would be a good idea to get your DD's eyes evaluated just in case. :)

[mamakelly]

I didn't start teaching my oldest son any letters or numbers until we started homeschooling Kindergarten, the September that he was 5. We were busy playing and exploring our city, no time for workbooks LOL. He's now a very well adjusted 16 year old dual enrolled in high school and college classes. :001_smile: She's young, give her time.

[mom2bee]

Thanks so much, everyone, for the advice! Let me give a little more info--she has GREATLY improved this year in several "prek" areas, such as learning colors, shapes, her cutting skills are great and her coloring has gone from crazy, all-over the page scribble-scrabble to really good, inside the lines coloring. She also is very good at memorizing things like Bible verses, songs, and nursery rhymes. She can make rhyming words, she can tell me the beginning sounds she hears in words and she can clap syllables for words. She can write her name, say abc song, can count to about 15, and she has very good 1-to-1 correspondence skills. She can NOT tell me the letters in her name, she can not identify letters or numerals, she can not match capital and lowercase letters.

Wow! She can do so much and has only learned/solidified it this year! Thats progress! Good job mama! I knew a 5yo very like what you described and he can't learn things without a context. Meaning learning 26 letter symbles (52, if you count upper and lower case letters) and their sounds was just darn near impossible for him at the stage! But learning a few lower case letters, their sounds and how to blend them into words was doable!

 

I used The Reading Lesson to help him learn how to read. The program introduces a few letters at a time and immediately puts them to use into words, in the first chapter you learn 5 letters: a c s t o and n. Then you work on learning to blend them into words cat, say, on and then put the words into a sentence "the cat sat on the cot" it is slow and steady and can be progressed through as quickly or as slowly as you need to. For one student we did one lesson (20-30pages lone) every 3 days and for another we did one lesson for about 10 days and some of them we were on for 2+ weeks.

 

I intend to move us toward a modified year-round calendar this year--maybe only taking 3-4 weeks off in June, then schooling for 5-6 weeks, then taking a "breather" week before the next 5-6 week cycle. I have looked at AAR for her, but I will check out MFW--it sounds like a flexible program that could work for us.

I have never used AAR, but I hear that it is a fantastic program for some kids so if you use it, I hope that its a great fit for you.

 

I am trying to relax about her progress, and when I look at the above paragraph, I realize she has learned quite a lot this prek year. I will probably step back a little until after our short summer break, then pick up with whichever curriculum I settle on. I will also get her vision tested, just to be on the safe side :). Thanks so much for all the support and ideas! That sounds like a great attitude, you can do this mama! I would look into getting books on tape, phonics DVD's and various Alphabet books from the library and just keep cycling them through your household no matter what. Also, I recommend readingbear.org. Look into it...

 

[dbmamaz]

my middle son, around that age, new the name of 100 pokemon and didnt know all the letters of the alphabet - i was mortified! i wasnt homeschooling, technically - he was in daycare and i was a single parent, but we read in the evenings and played with letter puzzles and such. anyways, within a few months he was reading. and again - no curriculum. i wasnt homeschooling. when he got to public school kindergarten he was way ahead of all his peers and was reading 2nd grade level by halfway through. so dont panic!