Best Way To Learn Letters That Is Fun?

IHeartFashion · ‎07-28-2013

About two weeks ago during parent teach conferences, our son's teacher told us he's academically behind. He's toward the bottom of the class, and honestly, I didn't work as much with him (or at all) like I did with my first son, but he's also not interested in the same academic learning tools (we used flash cards, Leap Frog videos, etc with my first... my second son will have none of that).

What is a good, engaging, FUN way to teach kids to recognize letters and numbers?

Colinka · ‎10-15-2011

Sometimes it's fun to have a large tray or plate of pudding, spread thin. The child can form the letters in the pudding, then lick his/her fingers. Some kids just learn differently--your child may be a tactile learner. Form letters with cookie dough, syrup, etc.

You can also use non-edible items like shaving cream, but warn the child not to eat!

Spread it on a dirty tabletop, make letters with your fingers, then wipe things clean.

Finger paints are also good.

Look for letter shapes that items make, and make a game out of recognizing them.

Perkup · ‎03-09-2010

@IHeartFashion wrote:
About two weeks ago during parent teach conferences, our son's teacher told us he's academically behind. He's toward the bottom of the class, and honestly, I didn't work as much with him (or at all) like I did with my first son, but he's also not interested in the same academic learning tools (we used flash cards, Leap Frog videos, etc with my first... my second son will have none of that).

What is a good, engaging, FUN way to teach kids to recognize letters and numbers?

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's from personal experience. My son was - age wise only - ready for first grade (years ago). He was truly blessed to have a great teacher, who really understood children. Truth be known, he simply wasn't really academically or socially for school. She advised us to let him continue thru the year, but to hold hm back to repeat first grade again. We did, and this time he was ready and he flourished. He was always a good student, near the top of his class, after that. Had we left him in the normal progression, I think he would have continued to be lost in the shuffle. As it was, this teacher's advice gave him a real kick start. You might want to consider this for your son's future. It worked for us. Perhaps it could work for you.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

Your post doesn't state what age or grade he is in. I'm assuming he is in kindergarten or below. And you don't say whether or not he recognizes some letters and numbers or pretty much not any.

So I'm going to assume he is no older than 5 and in Kindergarten or younger.

When my son was this age (Kindergarten), there were several children in his class that were still having trouble at just this time of year recognizing all the letters in lower case and upper. I helped the teacher test them.

First, don't panic. One of these children graduated this year as validictorian of his class.

I spent a lot of time assisting in the classrooms of my child's school during his early years, and there are many things to help with this. But the most important thing is you have to be involved, and often. And it should seem like fun, not work.

Others have stated great ways to 'draw' his letters in various mediums. If he is an outside kind of kid, you can do this in the snow, the mud, the sand and the dirt. Many boys find this outdoor and dirty way of doing things much more fun.

If you are a family on the go a lot, there are letters and numbers everywhere. On buildings (think store names...TARGET), on road signs, on billboards, the sources are endless. Perhaps make a game out of finding certain letters. He can get some kind of reward if he finds,say, 3 of the letter T, and 4 of the letter L, while driving or shopping. The rewards should be little, like maybe a fun thing like a stop at the park to swing for a few minutes. If he is competitive, make it a competition between the two of you. Of course you hold back, but for every two he finds, you 'find' one, and see if that competiton motivates him, make it a game.

I still love those magnetic letters for the fridge. Throughout the day, ask him to bring you a certain letter. Again make some kind of game of it. Make it physical, where he has to go to the fridge, find it and bring it to you. So many boys aren't about sitting and listening at this age, and the learn by doing and by moving.

If he has favorite things like a particular sport or is into something like Star Wars, use that as motivation and getting his interest. When in the store, pick up a product that has to do with his interest and have him show you all the "W"'s on the package. Then proceed to other letters that may not be so interesting to him.

There are so many programs, software, and tools if the teachers think he is really having difficulty, but your own admission of lack of working with him would lead me to start with some one on one, but just approach it differently than what worked with you other child. It's not surprising they learn differently, and I feel for you that what worked before isn't this time. That is frustrating, and even a little frightening.

Most important thing for the next few months, for me, would be to really spend time with him, make it fun and make it active, and if you see no improvement, time to seek more professional input from teachers and others.

IHeartFashion · ‎07-28-2013

He's 4, in pre-k (the oldest in the class) and doesn't know ANY letters or numbers... she was worried because he also only knew a few colors and shapes. I feel like a failed mama with him

IHeartFashion · ‎07-28-2013

By the way, these are GREAT tips! He's home all day with me on Fridays, it's a great opportunity for me to take him out and do a lot of this with him, together, and have fun with it...thank you!

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

@IHeartFashion wrote:
He's 4, in pre-k (the oldest in the class) and doesn't know ANY letters or numbers... she was worried because he also only knew a few colors and shapes. I feel like a failed mama with him

Absolutely no failure here. Life is busy. I only had one child, so my world revolved around him, especially after I quit working.

When a second (and more) children arrive, and work, and all that life throws at us, it gets more difficult. And when a child seems not interested (like you mentioned about all the aids you used for your older child), or tolerates the same assistance we gave the other(s), it gets even harder.

He is still young, and this is the best time to be gaining awareness of this. There is so much time now to get him caught up.

I am a firm believer that our male children are 'tagged' and 'diagnosed' way too easily in this day and age. I'm not a trained educator or physician, but a mom with gut instincts. And I think that along with your time and effort, some input from those teachers who have an amazing bag of tricks up their sleeve, and him maturing, he will be at or above level in short order.

We are sending our kids to 'school' younger and younger. It has great advantages, but some disadvantages as well, one of the biggest being that they are evaluated early, and when they don't meet the 'standards', we become concerned, and often they become labeled.

Have fun working with him. It is some of the best memories I have, watching my child learn.

LTT1 · ‎03-09-2010

@IHeartFashion

Tactile: fridge letters

pudding; shallow tray of sand/ those jello baggies for tracing with fingers;

ours learned by us (I hate autocorrect) reading the same beloved books every night to her and following along the words with our fingers...

I think interactive (meaning the parent is interactive with the child) is as important a component as the child being active... So this means having the parent's attention, by whatever means you can.

ie: using icing/mashed potatoes/ice cream/play dough -- every substance provides an opportunity for learning and yes it creates a mess! Learning is a messy process!

In the tub soap crayons would be good... Hope these suggestions help.

My philosophy is that boys should be fully ready (mature) for the grade they enter for the easiest path to success in school

~Have a Kind Heart, Fierce Mind, Brave Spirit~

luvasale · ‎04-09-2010

When my son was in pre-k 4, his teacher encouraged us to hold him back as he was socially and academically behind. I think being a summer baby really don't made a difference. We didn't hold him back, and with me and a great kindergarten teacher, my son became the most socially mature child in the class and scored better than 75% of all the kindergarteners in his school on the standardize test they took. Children learn and mature at different rates. I am sure that once he starts getting the letters, colors, etc., he will want to learn more and will pick it up quicker.

RedTop · ‎09-01-2010

Both of my daughters had struggles in their early years, due to mild learning disabilities. One repeated first grade and the other repeated kindergarten, which helped strengthen their weaknesses. During the school year, the teacher sent home extra activity worksheets for weekends, holidays and snow days. For daily reinforcement over the summer, I purchased other teacher approved workbooks, we had several different flash card sets, and the small hand held games available back then, actually helped my girls focus. The daughter who had problems staying on task, has always loved to read, and is now a Special Education teacher with 2 Masters and numerous certifications. The daughter who learned best by visual aids, and hands on experience now drives a tractor trailer for a living.