My youngest daughter will be 5 in June. She's been in PreK this year at a private school for a few hours a day. She really has ZERO interest in academics at this point. I think she can recognize the letter "a" and "I" 100% of the time. I'm not confident she knows any letter sounds, and she can't count very high (probably not even to 10). On the other hand, she spoke at an early age and gained a nice vocabulary pretty quickly. Also, her way of playing is so fun and unique. She has very little interest in TV (unlike her sister who would be a full time couch potato if I let her). She could sit and play by herself with random objects and endless creativity/imagination for hours. She's not very social. She has to "warm up" to other kids, and even then she will quickly decide she'd rather play by herself if things don't stay on her terms. I'm hoping she's just young and will mature over time. I'll ashamedly admit she's been babied a lot more being the youngest. Honestly, I haven't even tried to work with her much because she pushes so hard against it, and her teacher has been very laid back since she knows I plan to pull her out to homeschool next year anyway. I have a neighbor whose slightly older daughter is very similar in personality, and she sent her to be evaluated. Of course, she was labeled ADD and told she had a learning disability. The testing showed where her weaknesses were and where her strong points were. It was hard to listen to as I sat and saw her daughter and Ada (my youngest) as so similar. Homeschooling with my oldest has gone very well. I admit I'm nervous and somewhat dreading what homeschooling both of them will be like. I'm doing A Beka phonics and Saxon math with my oldest. Although those are working for her, I'm not sure those are going to be good fits for Ada. Does anyone have any recommendations for a kindergarten curriculum that a child with her personality might actually enjoy? Also, do you think this is a learning disability situation or just a different learning style/personality difference?
Speaking from experience, I will tell you that you will know it in your "heart" if there is a problem and you need to follow that feeling! Right now, I believe it is a little early to know if there is a learning issue. I felt it in the middle of kindergarten. Unless you think there is something in the Autism spectrum going on, I wouldn't think about having her evaluated at this early stage! Time will tell if there is a learning issue going on and if you homeschool her, an evaluation probably won't change the way you teach her, because you will already be teaching her the way that works for her. You can SO teach both of them! There will be many things that both of your dd's can do together! My twins learned to read with A Beka at a private school in K4 and K5. Unfortunately, there is no magic curriculum. Trial and error is the way most of us settle on what works for our kids. There is a new program coming out this month called Spelling You See. I wish it had been available 10 years ago! You might take a look here http://spellingyousee.com/ and check it out. I don't how young it is designed to start. I did not actually teach mine to read. I wish we had started homeschooling sooner that we did! I am sure some of the other ladies here will have some ideas for you.
I would make it fun! hands on! Do a letter a week and fit that letter into everything. Foods, songs, crafts, themes, games, etc. Look for that letter in signs and on labels around the house and when you go out (for motivation maybe even let her earn tickets and so many tickets equals a small prize like a piece of candy, or tv time or playing a game or going to the park or something) There are several free/cheap letter of the week resources http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week http://www.pinterest.com/alliciacorin/letter-of-the-week-ideas/
I don't have an answer for you, but momma knows best! If you need peace of mind, you could always take her to a specialist, but of course some kids just learn differently than others! Maybe try to think of a list of the types of things she usually likes to play with and see if you can think of some educational items that might suit her. You can find Hape brand puzzles (sorry, I can't link yet) on Amazon that are 3D colorful wooden shapes in uppercase and lowercase letters as well as number 1-20. Even if she doesn't enjoy puzzles, the letters and numbers can be played with on their own and can even stand up! And you could do a search for math manipulatives that she might enjoy. Good luck! I hope you find some resources that let her shine! =]
What is your family saying? Watch her play. Can she play pretend? Does she let you include new ideas in her play or does she shut down immediately. Does she play with toys or go through repetitive motions... There are lots of unique kids out there, introverts, creative, sensitive kids... that doesn't mean they need to be 'fixed'. If she cannot do the above pretend play items, then I would wonder about an Autism Spectrum issue perhaps. Watch over the next year, it's normal to have little interest in learning when kids are young. Some time between 5 and 6 yrs, most kids start to want to learn to count, or learn letters, or even just start asking more questions about the environment wanting to learn about nature. If you are unable to help her move in that direction by about age 6, then it could also be a learning issue. But a just turned 5 little girl has a lot of imagination to play with. She may just be happy and content with her thoughts and her play.
Oh man, she's a pro at pretend. She'll play with toys or even random objects. One time she took a bunch of random items and made a pretend circus in the dining room. That was precious to her, so when her sister came to check it out she shooed her away afraid she'd mess it up (which was probably a decent assumption). Also, one time recently she took some plastic Easter eggs and put them in shoes. She pretended they could speak to each other, and it kept her busy for quite a while. She is also always attaching herself to some specific item. It goes in phases. Sometimes it may be a bunch of lip glosses she wants to take everywhere (she loves all things girly) or a certain stuffed animal, doll, or Barbie. Right now, her attachment is a bunch of colorful beads (that link together). That one came about recently. She's keeping them in a pink briefcase that used to have make up stuff they got for Christmas. When I was cleaning the living room, I put it away in her playroom because she wasn't playing with it. So she asked where it was and went right back in there to get it. She will normally allow me to direct the play unless I disturbed something she was very focused on. Even then, she'd probably let me jump right into what she's doing and give some new ideas. She also loves to be included in new tasks... She'll help hubby clean his truck or watch him do something mechanical, and she LOVES to be included in cooking. Also loves the outdoors. Even though she's into girly stuff, she's not afraid to get her hands (and entire body) dirty or wet. My family would say she's sweet, but that it doesn't take much to upset her (which was apparent from toddlerhood). My husband worries about her, but he doesn't have much experience with kids. I think he's just comparing her to our older daughter.
Ultimately....what would getting an evaluation hurt? If there is a problem, the earlier you get educated about how to handle it, the better the outcome. And if there's no problem....it'll make you feel better, and your husband will be less worried. Sounds like an awesome creative kid.
She sounds like just an intense kid. I wouldn't worry too much. Just keep an eye on how she develops. A proper evaluation is expensive, and intense. If you had access to a child development professional to get an opinion, that would be worth asking. If you don't, I wouldn't pursue an evaluation yet. Where I am there are 'child development centers', and you can meet with someone there to get an opinion. Then if they suggest there are 'red flags' you can bring their report to your doctor. When I worked as a behavior therapist I was asked a few times to meet with a family and help them decide if they have those 'red flags'. I would bring information on child development that is relevant to the age of the child and then point out how their child shows those characteristics - or in one case how their child did not seem to show those characteristics. If you feel that your child is doing fine, then just watch and guide her. If you, (or people you trust), are feeling like something isn't quite right, then you need to pursue a professional opinion. I remember when my older two were young they had a good friend who was severe ADHD, and couldn't function at all in a classroom. My boys played great with him, and were best of friends. Pretty cool, but inside I wondered if maybe they had similar issues. My boys evened out over time, the other boy is doing much better these days too. But I always new my worries were not serious enough to go for an evaluation, I just knew I needed to watch. I think you'll know when you need outside help.
A few days ago I was reading info on different learning styles. When I came across kinesthetic, the characteristics described my husband so well it was almost scary. Then I found this God-send of an article. (http://thehomeschoolmagazine.com/ar...ling-a-natural-fit-for-the-kinesthetic-child/) It was such a great read and very relieving. My husband was also diagnosed as ADD, and did miserably in school yet he can SOAK up so much information when it comes to science and math when taught in a different environment. I think Ada has inherited the same learning style and similar personality. Now I'm trying see if I can find a curriculum a kinesthetic learner would thrive with.
