3 1/2 yr old can't recognize letters or numbers

Is it unusual that a 3 1/2 yr old (girl) cannot recognize any letters except for the letter her name begins with or any numbers? She knows her shapes and colors and can recite the alphabet. My own son is not quite 2 1/2 and he can recognize every letter upper and lower case and he tells me "big m little m". He can recognize the numbers up to 10 and he can verbally count to 18 .... I have 5 kids and they were all able to do this by the time they were 2 1/2..... This is the second 3 1/2 yr old child that has been at my daycare and neither one could identify a letter .... When we do circle time and we do the alphabet and numbers she just sits there content to let the others do all the work. Even if I tell her the letter and then ask her again in one minute she can't remember. She also doesn't seem to understand concepts like before/ after , what comes first/ second/third. I'm just wondering if I'm expecting too much. I know there are other threads regarding kindergarten readiness and I have my own in jk currently. As much as I don't feel it's my "job" to teach her It bothers me that she doesnt know any of this because the younger ones do and I wouldn't want her to be discouraged. Her mother is enrolling her in jk at the end of this month. Any thoughts?

I wouldn't worry about it. Kids progress at different paces. Maybe there isn't a lot of emphasis on learning the concepts at home, so she only gets it from you. She is still pretty young, with plenty of time before "school" starts.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mom-in-alberta

I wouldn't worry about it. Kids progress at different paces. Maybe there isn't a lot of emphasis on learning the concepts at home, so she only gets it from you. She is still pretty young, with plenty of time before "school" starts.

---

Where do her strengths lie? I'm sure she is more advanced in other areas. Is it really important for her to know her letters anyway? Why are we so focused on raising kids to know everything now? Kids need to be kids whatever happened to playing.

Now we need to teach kids how to play as they are too busy doing math and English! LOL

Seriously though she will catch up. Not all parents even know how to teach their kids.

Suggest a video to her parents “Meet the letters” 20 minutes a day for 3 weeks and she will know all her upper and lower case letters.

Did she come from another daycare or from home?

I think your kids are advanced if they knew all their letters at 2 1/2! My 3 1/2 year old doesn't know all of them...maybe about half...but I haven't worked on it extensively with him. They will learn it soon enough once they start school.

My little guy who is 3 does letters, but not big or little, and he also cant put them in order yet...He is very good at reconizing words...Word World (if you are looking for something different to teach) is a good cartoon for word and letter recognition--I would not worry, as I have a girl the same age who doesnt recognize her name or letters yet.....

I wouldn't worry. I'd work on it in a fun way to help her out, but no pressure...it'll come.

Skysue she came from another daycare .... She is an only child .....I'm not overly focused on it I was just making an observation..... I have 5 kids of my own so I know they all progress differently.... I don't spend a lot of time on it mostly when we are looking at books ..... I have the leap frog alphabet magnets on my fridge and that is how my son learned his letters and numbers at 2 yrs old by himself ... And of course we count when we go up/down stairs. I really had no idea he could count until about 2 months ago at the dinner table he counted his pencil crayons .... I was totally floored .... Now we count all the time ..... But I was just wondering !

Oh I forgot to answer your question skysue I wasn't sure if it is important that she know her letters for jk .... I wasn't sure what the norm was I just know what my kids know.

My son learned his letter early too by watching Wheel of Fortune while drinking his milk :laugh:

Every child is different but just keep repeating all the letters and numbers, shapes and colours, all the basics and they are learning. They just won't let you know on demand sometimes. Repetition is the key. I had a little boy who wouldn't sit still for circle time for me but he just started JK and he knows all of it, but he would not let me know he knew it, little poop!

Haha to gcj ... That's hilarious .... My youngest watches podcasts of sesame street on my iPhone ....and I totally believe this is where he picked it all up from ..... I never have tv on during daycare hours so my kids rarely watch tv but they do love my iPhone

I wouldn't worry about it my son didn't know them when he started kindergarten. It could also be that she won't do it on command I have a child who I will hear occasionally counting saying the alphabit but won't do it when I ask tell her to.

Not a big deal at all. That's what JK is for. Some kids will learn it earlier others learn it in school. It's all fine.

I have a 3 1/2 yr old dcg who only knows the letter her name begins with as well. She also has no interest in learning so that could be why she does not know any others.
But on the other hand, I have a 21 month old son who knows and can point out all the letters, although his pronounciation for some is not perfect. We have used flashcards since he was little, and have pin up alphabet posters in the house, also magnetic letter on the fridge and alphabet floor puzzels he loves.
Whenever the dcks go home he points to the flashcards and insists we open it for him so he can tell us what each one is and place it back in the box. Over and over lol
He absolutly LOVES when we read to him and this is what we do every night from the time the dcks leave to bedtime. He does enough playing during the day and shows us that this is what he wants to do.
We never tell him no when he wants to read or learn his letters, we encourage him as much as we can, but I know that if we made it a 'chore' for him he would be totally turned off it.
We are so proud of him and can only dream that he will be the smartest cookie ever, but I know that this may not be typical. All kids will eventually learn their letters, and early learners are not necessairly rocket scientists. I imagine just because a kid walks before others, does not mean they will become stronger, leaner, more athletic than others.
I disagree that "this is what jk is for". I think it is still the parents job to introduce them and teach their kids the life basics; letters, numbers, proper speech, MANNERS etc...
Theres my bragging moment of the day ;)

I think it is totally normal! Kids will learn. Let them be kids!

Although I agree that parents should be helping kids learn basics, I don't think this should be a prerequisite to JK! That is a lot of pressure on kids very early. Instead I think setting a good foundation for learning is important. Teaching them to love reading, to love learning in general. If the child is interested in something, go with it. If not, expose them to it, but don't force it. As others have said, pointing out letters, shapes etc while reading makes it fun and puts it in context and is easier on those short attention spans than sitting down and doing letter learning for half an hour.

I totally agree with you Kingston mom I have never pushed it with any of my kids either they just love it .... I exposed my children to it early so it is second nature to them.... My youngest has alphabet books and everyday he goes through all of them and points to each picture says what it is ect.... I think it's good for their self esteem to know this by the time they get to school so they can focus on other things that kindergarten has to offer. I think a child that doesn't know this has probably never been exposed to it early enough ... Children are sponges as we all know might as wellteach them early ... In no way do I think it will make them smarter then anybody else ... My 7 yr old boy Born in nov knew all this stuff before he entered jk and was therefore able to keep up with the kids born at the beginning of the year ...this year he is in grade 2 and is in a 2/3 split and is able to thrive in that environment he is also in early French immersion ( we are English and do not speak French in the home) .... I was born at the end for the year and struggled through all of my schooling ....so i am happy that he is able to do mire then just keep up .....I am all for giving my kids the tools in which to succeed. This little girl I was referring to has very good verbal skills, seems to be rather mature for her age, is looking forward to school but has no interested in learning.....i have no intention of pushing it as I want her to enjoy her days .... But I sure am proud of my smart little cookie ; )

Something to watch with kids that show little interest such as this girl is to watch how they perform on other tasks. My daughter has vision issues and does fine on large activities such as figures on the feltboard or can grasp a magnetic letter and put it on and off since it sort of tries to stick by itself but give her an up close have to focus activity and she can't do it but is because she sees everything blurry so can not make out the differences. With her glasses on of course it helps a lot she just prefers not to wear them. Look up a list of things to watch for to identify vision issues such as tilting the head to one side, avoiding close up activities, sloppy movements, etc.

Playfelt ... That is very helpful .... My two older sons wear glasses .... The oldest one was just disruptive in class and was determined that he couldn't see .... My other son has esotrophia (?) a from of a hereditary condition that runs in my family ....she does like to do puzzles and color and cut out shapes, I have a letter sheet that I got from one of my kids teachers that they trace over the letters and she does this quite well .....she seems to shy away from anything new though for instance she does the same puzzle over and over if I give her a different one she just pushes the pieces around and then walks away from it, she and I were making muffins the other day while the younger ones were still napping and I asked her if she likes to bake with mommy and she said no her hands are to little....so maybe she is just not exposed to the same types of things we do here. I am also big on independence but she seems to always need to be helped citing she can't do it and her reason is usually her " little hands " .... They seem just right to me ..... I'll keep my eye out for any indication of sight problems ... Thanks for the tip

The "little hands" label is likely coming from the mom. Sounds like mom either thinks she can't do it or just can't be bothered letting the activity take the extra time.

For new activities like the puzzle do a backwards chaining format - make the puzzle except for one piece and leave it on the table with the piece right there and hope she goes to explore it or even ask her if she could finish it for you while you do something else. It has to become familiar to her. She may have been told she is too little so much that she lacks confidence. Then gradually leave more and more unmade till she is starting with you from scratch putting in most of the pieces.

ugg I hate the "I'm too little" excuse!!
My 3 1/2 yr old dcg is always saying this. Her parents baby her to the max and it is a definite link to her self-esteem and learning issues.

For example:
Walking up and down stairs, opening drawers or doors, wiping her own bum!! (JUST became potty trained at 3 yrs 5 months) everything she says "I cant, Im too little!". A little frustrating but I know where she gets it from!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by KingstonMom

I have a 3 1/2 yr old dcg who only knows the letter her name begins with as well. She also has no interest in learning so that could be why she does not know any others.
But on the other hand, I have a 21 month old son who knows and can point out all the letters, although his pronounciation for some is not perfect. We have used flashcards since he was little, and have pin up alphabet posters in the house, also magnetic letter on the fridge and alphabet floor puzzels he loves.
Whenever the dcks go home he points to the flashcards and insists we open it for him so he can tell us what each one is and place it back in the box. Over and over lol
He absolutly LOVES when we read to him and this is what we do every night from the time the dcks leave to bedtime. He does enough playing during the day and shows us that this is what he wants to do.
We never tell him no when he wants to read or learn his letters, we encourage him as much as we can, but I know that if we made it a 'chore' for him he would be totally turned off it.
We are so proud of him and can only dream that he will be the smartest cookie ever, but I know that this may not be typical. All kids will eventually learn their letters, and early learners are not necessairly rocket scientists. I imagine just because a kid walks before others, does not mean they will become stronger, leaner, more athletic than others.
I disagree that "this is what jk is for". I think it is still the parents job to introduce them and teach their kids the life basics; letters, numbers, proper speech, MANNERS etc...
Theres my bragging moment of the day ;)

---

I agree parents can teach all that, but some children are not able to understand it until jk age and that is exactly what school is for. Parents place way too much pressure on themselves and their children, trying to "prepare" them for school...let them be kids. Obviously teach them manners and you can talk about letters and numbers but let them be kids and just enjoy them...not everything has to be a teachable moment