5 1/2 Year Old Not Recognizing Letters

My dd was inconsistent with her letters, her Kindergarten teacher said she didn't know all of them, but she did when I asked her. Then, right after spring break the same year, she started reading fluently...it seemed like it was overnight - her Kindergarten teacher was amazed. Anyway, I think there's a lot of variability at that age - they get there when they get there. My dd is 13 now and gets straight A's in a rigorous middle school. Glad I didn't get all upset with her Kindergarten teacher over her letters!

See a doctor and asked them to have him assessed for Dyslexia, my son struggle in school until age 8... He had problems understand the letters, he would have them up side down and every thing. I discovered he has Dyslexia after an assessment was done. Once we knew what was going on I was able to work with him better and so was his school.

You have had his eyes checked, right? A friend's child was having a very hard time learning letters. Then they learned she had vision problems - and no wonder she had trouble, all the letters looked the same. Once her vision was corrected, she learned them quickly.

C.

Welcome to mamapedia!!

First things first - BREATHE. Stop pushing him. You might just be stressing him out to the point where he WON'T get it. Stop panicking. you are NOT helping him or yourself.

Get his eyes checked.
Talk with the teachers and see what their concerns are. If they have concerns, maybe they can get him scheduled with the early intervention team that your school provides.

Stop panicking. Stop pushing. Talk with the teachers. Breathe.

I agree about getting his eyes checked and just want to add, what does his teachers say? If anyone would know the causes it would be kindergarten teachers.

Please stop.
I'm sorry but parents who do this to their kids makes me want to rip the flash cards out of their hands so I can whack them over their heads with them.

For MANY kids - my son and myself included - reading really takes off during the 2nd half of 2ND grade.
And then we accelerated to reading levels that were way ahead of our peers.
Our son went to just really getting it as 2nd grade was ending to reading Harry Potter on his own in the 3rd grade.
Seriously - his school librarian was shocked that a 3rd grader could read the first page to her out loud - she made him prove he could before she would allow him to check the book out.

Some can read as they go into kindergarten - but most can't.
And - it's OKAY.
He's NOT LATE or falling behind.
Quit it with the panic already.
You are running into the danger of turning him off by trying to drill this into him before he's ready for it.
Just read to him as much as you can and make it something FUN that you both do together.

it is a cause for concern, but certainly not panic. please don't panic. your child will certainly pick up on that, and panic helps no one.
are there any other indications of learning disabilities or other issues?
have you been reading with your child for the last 5 1/2 years?
i'm concerned that suddenly you're jamming on the flash cards and other reading aids that should ideally be used sparingly over lots of time. he's only 5. if you've suddenly pulled out flash cards and writing 'games' and are in a sweat making him swot over them i'm not surprised he's not responding positively.
the short answer is that children who are read to and to whom books are daily friends tend to be familiar with letters. 'sight reading' is another fad whose day will soon go, so don't get hung up on that.
if you've been reading to your child from the gitgo and you've noticed for a long time that he doesn't seem to recognize the letters in his Suess books or on his fridge magnets or sesame street, then it's time for evaluation.
if you're just leaping into this, then give him time. no one learns to sight read in a few days.
khairete
S.

Vision check..

My other thoughts are that you sound very panicked. Rushing a slew of letters, flash cards, games in his face will not change the situation.. it will only cause him to revert and pick up on that something is wrong. Too much over stimulation will make it worse for his little brain to sort out..

I do think that some kids can get fixated on certain letters and then block the rest out.. my son did this when reciting his ABC's.. it drove me nuts.. but with time and patience he retained them all.

Ask his teacher. If he/she finds that their is a pattern, then the school can evaluate him.. if they find any issues, they can help you work with him.

Just take a deep breath..

Added:: good! I'm glad you are feeling better.. Visual aids help as well as just having fun.. every kid is different, and it's important not to rush . Oh those sight words! Drove me nuts! Lol.. Sight words are necessary for developing vocabulary skills.. I remember going over them with my son at that age.. I would sing them , and we would use whipped cream to write the words down. It was messy, but fun. He really didn't pick up on this til around 7. Every kid has a rhythm to how they learn.. it's important to be patient and listen for it.

He's five. He's not 15. Relax.

Meet with the teachers. Volunteer at his school. Get involved.

please stop pushing him and "working" with him on this stuff. He's five. Stop panicking. I'm sure he's picking up on that from you and that stresses him out to the point where he gets confused. My oldest son didn't get letters down until the 1st grade. My youngest? He was reading at 3. Every child is different. Please don't push him.

Breathe :) Just talk to the teacher first, then pediatrician and vision check.

Couple of things to consider -

How long have you been going over letters with him? you don't mention if this has been ongoing since he was a toddler or all new to him. So keep expectations in check.

Make it fun. We did "find 5 things that begin with letter D" and go over the sound D makes - they come back with things they associate with D like dump truck or dog - instead of using sight cards. Grocery shopping - pick out five foods that begin with the letter D - and then show him the word on the box. Sound it out "D-d-d-donut".

He might find that more fun and retain it better if he makes the association. Then you can have him print the letter D. And do that for a few days. Don't do too many at once.

Sesame Street helped my kids, as did their free online games at PBS.org. So do those letter books - meant for little ones - but we used them again when our kids were learning words.

Hmmm. My thoughts...I volunteer with reading in my child's school. I notice that in first grade some kids are reading and some are not yet. These are the kids I work with. Some kids are really not getting it by first grade and will try to guess the word from the first letter instead of sounding it out. But by 2nd and 3rd grade most of these kids are doing just fine. I don't know why it takes some kids longer but it just does. Both my kids started reading early. All I know is what I have done...I read to them every single day since age 1. At first it is just board books and I remember my son just wanted to put them in his mouth! At age two they would pay attention more. At age 3 I start following along the words in the book with my finger as I read. I would point out different letters everywhere we go. I would stop with them and look at signs and they would like to try to recognize letters/numbers/the meaning. By age 4 they could point out many letters along with me. It was just a normal part of the day...at the grocery store, on a walk, etc. They would both "read" to me at age 4...meaning they had some of their books memorized. But they really did know some of the words. My youngest is almost 7 now and we have read together every night for about 30 minutes. Now I read a page and then she reads the next page. I just make it fun and a part of every day life. Perhaps you do this too...I don't know. That is why I don't worry about flash cards or studying sight words. It's because I have been reading to them daily every year so they both just picked it up over time. My brother learned to read very late...I remember him really struggling in 3rd grade. He was dyslexic and he really had to work at it...but eventually he got it. The other thing I do is we go to the library every week and pick out some books. I let them get whatever they are excited about no matter how silly it is. I remember all my son wanted to read at one age was Captain Underpants. It drove me crazy! He eventually branched out, but he still loves graphic novels now at age 12.

Try different learning methods. Kids learn differently. Some kids learn by hearing things, some by visualizing things, and some by touching and doing. It's not a disability - it's what makes the world full of artists, sculptors, composers and musicians, computer experts, teachers, physicians, scientists,chefs, plumbers,police officers and fire fighters, designers, carpenters, gardeners, auto mechanics and astro-neuro-geo-physio-thermo-nauts (yeah, I made that one up).

Buy very rough sandpaper, and cut the letters out of it (use a stencil or just draw on the back with pencil). Make the letters large and thick. Then have him trace the rough sandpaper letters with his finger. Make a game out of having him close his eyes and feel the sandpaper letter and then guess what letter he traced with his fingers.

Draw letters in shaving cream. Shape them out of Play-Doh. Paste large letters (you can buy them at craft stores or cut your own out of construction paper) on things in your house, like a D on the door, R on the refrigerator, W on the window, his initial on the door to his room.

Make up little rhymes or chants. While you're tracing the letter F say, in a sing-song, hip-hop way, "F is for fire and F is for floor. F is for fly and F is for four." Or something like that. Or look up kids' alphabet songs and videos and just play a CD of alphabet songs while you're making cookies (which, by the way, you can shape into letters! Same with pancakes!)

But most importantly, relax. Kindergarten is not the be-all and end-all of literacy. He's learning so many other things - socialization, how to sit quietly and listen, how to hold a pencil, how to listen to a teacher, how to cooperate with other kids, etc.

And make learning fun. Make it a part of your day, not a tutoring session or a "you've got to get this!" kind of thing.

I agree with others that panic won't help, but I DEF think you need to pursue additional testing and resources, as well as a meeting with his teacher. Did the preschool teachers not mention concerns?? If you had said your 5.5 year old wasn't reading, I wouldn't be super concerned. But him only recognizing 5/26 letters, to me, is very concerning, and warrants looking into sooner than later.

Normal. In fact, before cognitive leaps, everything falls apart. He isn't recognizing these letters because his brain is preparing for the next step of development. Let it be. Learning to read is like learning to walk. it happens naturally, if you let it.

My oldest daughter taught herself to read at 4. What I mean by read is that on her 5th birthday she read every single one of her cards perfectly and fluently. Monthly prior to her birthday, I would find her reading, but she wouldn't admit it. She mastered sight words at 3, so I wasn't surprised. Near her 6th birthday she plowed through Harry potter like it was a joke. Now at 8.5, her friends that didn't start reading till 6.5 read what she reads. Reading is like walking, once you get it, you start running.

I also have a son who will be 7 in a few months. He doesn't read at all. Shows zero interest. I sometimes fret about it, but mostly, I know he will read when he is ready. He loves being read to, and he prefers books at a 4 or 5th grade level. He most likely will be a kid who just starts reading harry potter at 9. The thing is, it has no relevance to their future. Kids that learn to read at 10 read at peer level or above by 12. The most important thing is that you don't pressure them. When you do that, you turn what could be a life-long love of reading into torture. check out the handsfreemama facebook post from yesterday. I can't figure out how to post it, but it's tear provoking beautiful.

get the DVD of Leap Frog Letter Factory and have him watch it over and over again non stop for about 4 days and he'll know every single one of them

Days? You've been working for days? What about when he was 3 years old? Four years old? What was happening then? Did he have speech problems? Could he understand what you said to him? Could he follow two-step instructions?

What did you do to help him then? Did you take him to the doctor and ask for testing?

Your son has a learning disability, or you have not given him any help before kindergarten to get him school-ready. Which is it?

Not learning sight words seems to be the least of your problems right now.

You need to get your child tested immediately. Talk to the pediatrician. Write a letter to the school psychologist asking for testing with a copy to the school counselor.

I don't know what you have done before this point in time, but early intervention should have started by the time he was 3 years old. You had better get moving or your son will not be able to cope with school.

I would focus more on reading and games. Do not bother with flashcards. It isn't working right now and is just going to leave you both frustrated. Flashcards aren't really a proven way of helping such young kids learn anyway. The book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a fun book that's all about letters.

Starfall.com is a great website for learning letters. Let him play around on that for a little while each day and it will help.

Watch TV shows like Word World and Super Why. Those deal with a lot of letters too.

Games are really the best way though because he'll be having fun and won't realize he's learning. Zingo is a really fun game - it doesn't outright teach letters but he will start to see the words that match the pictures and eventually it will click. Spot It Alphabet, ABC Bingo, and AB Seas Fishing Game are also really good. The more you play, the more he'll learn while having fun and it won't feel like a chore. You'll both enjoy it so much more.

Remember - kindergarten just started. Let him get into his groove and he will learn his letters in school, too. Let school be about teaching and let home be about fun.

There's no point in worrying about sight words before he knows his letters. Once he recognizes his letters, he will learn their sounds. Only after that will he really be ready for words.

Updated

I would focus more on reading and games. Do not bother with flashcards. It isn't working right now and is just going to leave you both frustrated. Flashcards aren't really a proven way of helping such young kids learn anyway. The book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a fun book that's all about letters.

Starfall.com is a great website for learning letters. Let him play around on that for a little while each day and it will help.

Watch TV shows like Word World and Super Why. Those deal with a lot of letters too.

Games are really the best way though because he'll be having fun and won't realize he's learning. Zingo is a really fun game - it doesn't outright teach letters but he will start to see the words that match the pictures and eventually it will click. Spot It Alphabet, ABC Bingo, and AB Seas Fishing Game are also really good. The more you play, the more he'll learn while having fun and it won't feel like a chore. You'll both enjoy it so much more.

Remember - kindergarten just started. Let him get into his groove and he will learn his letters in school, too. Let school be about teaching and let home be about fun.

There's no point in worrying about sight words before he knows his letters. Once he recognizes his letters, he will learn their sounds. Only after that will he really be ready for words.

Some kids don't even do this until later on in 1st or even 2nd grade. Their brains aren't working on that wiring at this time. I bet they're soaking up something else they need instead.