When I mentioned about my son being advanced beginnng kindergarten at public school, I should have included that it was because I took all those teachable moments with him...I think someone mentioned "here is a red block, and another red block". Just asking questions with toys will teach amazing things! With phonics math or anything else...."sssssssnake...see how the 'S' looks like your snake?" That is the approach I used and never did do one worksheet with him prior to school. BUUUUUUTTTTTTT....I will add that if you are planning on using a public or private school, he will be expected to sit down and do worksheets so I wouldn't ignore the idea all together, kwim? That was one of the problem areas he had when starting public school and in hind sight I would have incorporated worksheets earlier. Glad to see you are getting the info you need. (isn't JenPooh wonderful with the preschool resources???!!!)
Hi. Michelle. I'm Becky, and I have a 5 yr old that I've been working with since she was 18 mos. If your child can say the alphabet he SHOULD be able to recognize the letters! The alphabet song, showing him the letters and helping him to learn the letter sounds should all go hand in hand. Same with numbers- if he can count to 20 by rote then he should also be able to point out those numbers to you, and be able to show you a set of whatever. It's all in how much you show him. There's no harm in showing him a 2, then saying 'this is two', then saying 'this is what two puppies look like', as you hold up two beanies. He'll learn to count to 30 or 31 just if you do the calendar with him. It's not torturing a child to start helping them early, and I've heard more than once that the prime time to begin teaching a child is between the ages of 2&5. Go to your library and look for Mailbox Magazine, preschool level; Teacher's Helper, and Best of Mailbox Magazine for preschool. They have cute, easy ideas. Have a ball with it, because this time goes so quickly.
For phonics and letter recognition you can get Leap Frog's DVD called "Letter Factory". I got this for my son when he turned 2 and he learned all the letters and their sounds in 2 weeks. The next DVD "Word Factory" teaches blending letters to read 3-letter words. My son was reading 3-letter words 3 months b4 he turned 3. The next DVD "Word Factory 2" or my son calls it "Complex Words" teaches when 2 vowels go walking the 1st one does the talking, Th, Ch and slient "e". My son just turned 4 and he is reading Level 1 books by himself. We are also using Abeka K5 and we are over half way finished. If you child is really wanting to learn go for it. Listen to what your son is interested in and go from there. If a child is interested in something then he will learn what he is interested in really quickly. But, don't push your child in lessons. If you push him he may grow up and hate learning.
I will tell you what Ansley's K-5 wanted the most of all. They should be able to write their name with a capital first letter and lower case following. Like "Ansley" or "Joanne". That was a big big thing too. All letters and all sounds too. They expect alot now days.
Thank you all so much for all the information. There is so much to soak in and learn. I have not done "lessons" in 2 days, in an attempt to figure out what I might need to understand in order to effectivly "teach" my son. I think my biggest challenege is I have never been around kids, never really had the responsabilty to be the "educator" and now I just feel like there is so much for me to learn before I can really teach my son the best way for him, while NOT burning him out early or pushing things he might not be ready to do or interested in. I wanted to start letters, not him. So in that aspect I was pushing and I don't want to do that. But i think he could learn that, as i am sure he could learn a lot. I have many many resources now thanks to Jenpooh and all of you as well. I shall be exahausting them while I learn my role in the new phase of parenting I feel like i am walking into. When I have a better idea what I can do with him in a way that he enjoys, thru trial and error I guess, we will both learn. I do feel alot better now that I have more of an undrestanding and alot more to chew on, I don't feel like I am runing in the dark as much as I have been for a while. For that I am truely THANKFUL
If he's not interested in letters, just point them out to him as you see them. Don't make a big deal about it. Sort of "Let's pour the milk for lunch. Oh, look!!! Here's that 'M' for milk! mmmmm....milk!" It takes three seconds to do, you're not "pushing", and he's getting it regardless. I've got my little nephew on Thursday AM's. He's 3. Now when I take him to my MIL (his full-time sitter), she says he no longer is satisfied with TWO crackers. He wants FIVE...holding up all five fingers. MIL says (with a laught) that this is all my fault, for teaching him to do "Five Little Monkeys jumping in a tree...."
You're so welcome Michelle. Have fun surfing the net with all those websites. If you can't find a teacher resource store near you I believe that you can order things from our local stores website at www.learningshop.com I also bought the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics for my preschoolers when they first started with letters. They loved it. I am going to invest in the Word Whammer shortly because they are getting bored with it. However, now my son is enjoying putting the letters in order on the fridge with them now so I may have to wait on it. I love ALL LeapFrog toys personally. I also bought him the Phonics Desk last year and recently is getting into it a lot. I am usually not a commercialized type of person, but I have not seen a LeapFrog toy or material yet that I have not liked. The tapes DVD's that everyone is talking about are The Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory, Storybook Factory, and Math Circus. There is one more I can't remember the name...we don't have that one. Also, in our district, and many others, and really in general (even though it may be a little early) it's really important to also teach kids the method of reading things left to right. Even now with doing things with him...when you read him a book, follow with your fingers so he gets "how" you are reading. Don't know if that made sense, but hopefully you get what I'm saying. If you need anything else let me know. There are many ways to challenge a child without pushing. You'll get the hang of it. Just be patient
Mikiby Jackie is so right. The only other thing I can add is you seem to be really really concerned that you are not doing something right. You seem to be worried about what other people think. Don't stress it. As long as your child is fed, clothed,and has shelter, and his emotional needs met. It is good. It doesn't matter who does what first at an early age. The only thing that matters is you and your child.My daddy was a rocket scientist but could not get a highschool deploma because he could not pass freshman english. The point is God made us just the way he wants us. Some of us are talented,some of us are not so swift. It's ok. Where we are lacking in one area we make up for in others.Wheather your son knows his letters by the time he is three or not has no bearing as to wheather you are a good mother. It is good having a time set aside for him. I used to call it mommy time.You come down to his level sit in the floor with him. Sing to him read stories to him and give him one on one time. His love for learning will blossom. The season is short. It won't be long he will be going off to college. ENJOY THIS TIME OF HIS LIFE.
You guys are so wonderful. I feel much better already. I am going to work on mommy and me time. it seems like all the time i have with him is that. but to him i bet it is not. so i will work on a mommy and me time each day where he gets to pick what we do i bet he will like that. i have not really been compairing him to other kids or anything. i guess the first years there were sooo many milestones. siting crawling pulling up crusin walking sounds talking and now he is potty trained except at night. and since that was the last thing we worked on i felt like i needed to work on something. I have been teaching colors and stuff as you guys said so i am hoping i can incorporate that in to teaching letters now that you pointed it out. i still have yet to have a lesson formally since you guys showed me so much information. but my son has still been playing on the computer and learning things that way. so in a way we are pressing on. i have the letter factory now as well as the word thing. so i hope he will enjoy those we will put those in for the road trip this weekend speaking of learning shows...... one of my favorite cartoons on is read between the lions!!! i totally love that show, if you have not heard of it look for it
I have seen that one. It's cute My son loves Little Einsteins lately. He loves music tremendously to begin with. He also really loves Zaboomafoo since he also is an animal lover.
I used to take care of a boy who was autistic.His mother says he likes to watch the spanish speaking channel. They put him in aroom by himself with the tv on. I turned it to Dora The Explorer. He was hard of hearing. so I sat with him in my lap and repeated everything they sang. He started laughing and that evening he started trying to sign. I had to take a crash course in sign language.His mom was so amazed . All I did was give him some time.
GO, CHICKEN JANE!!! I learned to read with Dick and Jane, so I just about lost it the first time I saw Chicken Jane. My kids don't understand why Mom gets such a kick out of it! "Between the Lions" is part of my son's scheduled educational activities during the day. It's the only TV I permitted until school's done.
I think that is great that you are able to share chicken jane with your kids I never heard of that before read between the lions. I think i need to set up my tv to record all those shows so i can use it as needed i would buy the set if i could find it!!!!! skippy i think that is wonderful that you were able to learn how to comunicate with that child and help him learn to live in his world in a way he can express. DH and I have often spoke about adopting a deaf child. I love sign language, I atempted to teach that to my son as a baby. he did great picked up on more and eat and drink and the main things i wanted to be able to communicate with him, however to my surprise he was speaking clear at 1 and never stoped talking from that momment on. some times i wish he could sign so my ears could get a break... hee hee i feel bad but sometimes he is rambling and rambling and on and on and i look at him and try to get a word in and say.. breathe 123 he breathes then he keeps going, my child my mom says
My background is working with kids that were often non-verbal. People think that teaching sign would slow down speech development, but actually the opposite is true. Non-verbal children (or "pre-verbal" in your case, Michelle!) who are taught signing often improve their verbal skills right along with the signs. The big thing is COMMUNICATION. So many times people see the behaviors of special need children, and can't get by them. But often the behavior is a result of frustration over their lack of communication. The temper tantrum is because YOU can't understand what they want! And that's also a reason so many kids go through the "terrible twos". I found with mine that if I were able to identify what it is they wanted, they didn't throw fits. Now, if they want something, I say no, and THEN they throw a fit, that's a whole different story, LOL!
that makes sense jackie now that you say it like that. once he realized he could tell me things in a way i understood it blew up. i always spoke the words as we signed and eventually he just said the words and stoped the signs. I have always said to my son "please use your words" and that has stopped alot of tantrums in their tracks. my new phase at the momment is "i don't speak whine". he has a tone about him that is just whinie sometimes. makes me nuts. and when he is talking in that tone i tell him that and he bucks up breathes and tries again. sometimes he starts with "i am not speaking whine mommy" and that works for me.
I'm still going through that some with Phillip at times, and he'll be six in a few weeks. I would tell my kids that they could whine and fuss all they wanted, as long as they did it in their room with the door closed. It got to where all I had to ask was, "Are you fussing?" and they'd respond with a big sigh, roll the eyes, and say "Noooooo....." and walk away, LOL! He got in trouble the other day for his attitude, and I sent him upstairs to "talk with God about his attitude". He came down and told me he had a "high temper", and God wants him to have a "low temper". (He had gotten upset with his sister). So we discussed ways to keep a "low temper".
:lol:...Jackie, I might try something new with my kids (I use the whiny is fine if you are by yourself in your room where it doesn't cause a problem for someone else). I like the "high temper/low temper" idea...whit usually will difuse ds's temper...I might let him know that he is getting around 200 degrees the next time his temper is rising and see if he catches it :lol:.
"I don't speak whine"! I like that one. I'll have to use that one. I teach my children a new Spanish word every other week as well. Even if they never speak it fluently, I at least would like them to be able to say the basics to help communicate with people who speak Spanish. Our area is filled with many families that don't speak English. I also do sign language with them and did with my son when he was an infant and toddler. It really helped him to communicate before he could talk, and I think it helps any child to communicate better and become less frustrated with not being able to communicate properly. I think that's where lots of frustration comes from at a young age...not being able to communicate and problem solve properly.
mickiby, try www.reallygoodstuff.com for a Between the Lions set. I bought a set about two years ago. I forget how many videos you get, but there are plenty.
