4.5 yr old does not recognize all her letters

[Anonymous]

My 4.5 year old can only tell half of the letters--and not always reliably. She only now has started to take interest in this (mostly because all her friends know their letters) but it's not clicking. I am trying very hard not to worry about this but I do feel it's unusual when all our friends with younger kids are posting on facebook about how their kids have started reading. Is this normal? Any 4.5yr old out there that dont know their letters?
She also can write her name, her sisters name and "mom" but she sometimes gets the letters in the wrong order.

She has another year of preschool left since she's an October birthday.

Suggestions on how to move this process along? FWIW--her preschool has zero interest in teaching letters.

[Anonymous]

First of all, your friends say that their kids can read. I kind of doubt that. Sounding out CVC words like cat isn't reading. Also, your child doesn't actually have a need to be reading when she has another year of preschool. Now if she was starting kindergarten this fall, I would say that maybe it is time for you to work with her. Get that annoying as hell Leap Frog Fridge Phonics thing. Get some of those Leap Frog DVDs from the library. Or maybe Meet the Letters. Don't stress her out about this. Also, get some bathtub letters too.

[Anonymous]

Is she 4.5 entering Kindergarten, or 4.5 entering PK. If it's the latter then she's right where she should be. If it's the latter she's fine, but I might think of some strategies to expose her to more letters before fall. I like the "Talking Letter Factor" video and leap pad games from Leapfrogn.

[Anonymous]

Don't worry about it. Just read to her each day.

My DD learned to read in two months, the summer before kindergarten. And that was considered EARLY. You're not expected to walk into kinder knowing how to read.

P.S. Your friends exaggerate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, your friends say that their kids can read. I kind of doubt that. Sounding out CVC words like cat isn't reading. Also, your child doesn't actually have a need to be reading when she has another year of preschool. Now if she was starting kindergarten this fall, I would say that maybe it is time for you to work with her. Get that annoying as hell Leap Frog Fridge Phonics thing. Get some of those Leap Frog DVDs from the library. Or maybe Meet the Letters. Don't stress her out about this. Also, get some bathtub letters too.

Here is why i am worried--she could have been starting Kindergarten this Fall if it were not for some arbitrary cut off date and if that were the case, she would not be ready. She's also fairly shy and not assertive so I am very worried about what Kindergarten is going to hold for her. So happy for her October birthday at this point. And we have all those toys--except not the DVDs (I'll check them out) but she's not into them. She likes to trace letters in her workbooks but she's not totally getting it. She's also very aware that she doesn't know them and I dont want her self esteem to plumet because of it so i try not to make it an issue. It's only on DCUM where i freak out

[Anonymous]

She'll be fine.
I have 3 kids and 2/3 did not know letters prior to entering K. The third is almost 4.5 and also had almost no interest in letters. She knows about 10 of them on a good day. I've really never spent any time reviewing them with her. We're too busy running around outside and playing zoo and doctor and grocery store and all kids of other silly imaginative play.

My older 2 went from not knowing letters to being able to sound out anything by January of kindergarten. By first grade they were both within the top 3 readers in their classes.

[Anonymous]

I teach kindergarten and please understand that we teach all of the letter sounds. There is nothing for you to worry about. Read to her everyday so she develops a positive association with reading and books. Talk to her a lot about everything. Check out fiction and non-fiction books from the library. Read rhyming books to her and play rhyming games in the car, etc. The worst thing you can do is stress her out about this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 4.5 year old can only tell half of the letters--and not always reliably. She only now has started to take interest in this (mostly because all her friends know their letters) but it's not clicking. I am trying very hard not to worry about this but I do feel it's unusual when all our friends with younger kids are posting on facebook about how their kids have started reading. Is this normal? Any 4.5yr old out there that dont know their letters?
She also can write her name, her sisters name and "mom" but she sometimes gets the letters in the wrong order.

She has another year of preschool left since she's an October birthday.

Suggestions on how to move this process along? FWIW--her preschool has zero interest in teaching letters.

Your friends are a bunch of delusional liars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, your friends say that their kids can read. I kind of doubt that. Sounding out CVC words like cat isn't reading. Also, your child doesn't actually have a need to be reading when she has another year of preschool. Now if she was starting kindergarten this fall, I would say that maybe it is time for you to work with her. Get that annoying as hell Leap Frog Fridge Phonics thing. Get some of those Leap Frog DVDs from the library. Or maybe Meet the Letters. Don't stress her out about this. Also, get some bathtub letters too.

Here is why i am worried--she could have been starting Kindergarten this Fall if it were not for some arbitrary cut off date and if that were the case, she would not be ready. She's also fairly shy and not assertive so I am very worried about what Kindergarten is going to hold for her. So happy for her October birthday at this point. And we have all those toys--except not the DVDs (I'll check them out) but she's not into them. She likes to trace letters in her workbooks but she's not totally getting it. She's also very aware that she doesn't know them and I dont want her self esteem to plumet because of it so i try not to make it an issue. It's only on DCUM where i freak out

She's not old enough for Kindergarten. To compare her to kids going to Kindergarten is silly, because she's not their age. Yes, at one point kids with October birthdays got to go to Kindergarten at 4, but at that point it wasn't the norm for kids to enter with all their letters. The expectation and the birthdate changed together. She's got 15 months before Kindergarten to learn 13 letters. Most kids gain momentum as they learn their alphabet. It seems really unlikely that she won't have them, and if she doesn't they'll teach them again in K.

As a preschool teacher, please don't teach letters using workbooks, especially ones that have kids trace letters. They teach many bad things about learning, and about letters. Please stay away! Play with letters in context. Since she's got more months than letters before K, I'd pick a letter a month and point it out in books, in the environment, when you're writing your shopping list. Make it with playdough, or trace it in shaving cream. She'll get it. Then add another. My guess is in a few months you'll find that she's got the letter by week 2 or 3 and you're able to go to 2 letters a month and she'll be done early.

[Anonymous]

Another mom of a kid who did not know all her letters by the time she started K (at 5 1/2). By then, she knew about 20 of them and seemed not at all interested in learning those last few...started K and picked everything right up and now in 5th grade is an avid reader. Don't worry!!!!!! Especially if she is trying to write words SHE is interested in--that is a great early literacy-related skill.

[Anonymous]

Don't stress. Some kids are reading at this age and some don't know their letters because they are not interested. Things even out.

[Anonymous]

Pre-K teacher here. All children won't recognize their letters or the sounds they make at 4.5 or even at 5 years old.

[Anonymous]

She's 4.5 - calm down. The majority of children don't recognize their letters at this age and MANY parents overstate their children's abilities. If she still isn't recognizing her letters by the end of kindergarten then there's reason to be concerned.

Sincerely,

A pre-school teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First of all, your friends say that their kids can read. I kind of doubt that. Sounding out CVC words like cat isn't reading. Also, your child doesn't actually have a need to be reading when she has another year of preschool. Now if she was starting kindergarten this fall, I would say that maybe it is time for you to work with her. Get that annoying as hell Leap Frog Fridge Phonics thing. Get some of those Leap Frog DVDs from the library. Or maybe Meet the Letters. Don't stress her out about this. Also, get some bathtub letters too.

Here is why i am worried--she could have been starting Kindergarten this Fall if it were not for some arbitrary cut off date and if that were the case, she would not be ready. She's also fairly shy and not assertive so I am very worried about what Kindergarten is going to hold for her. So happy for her October birthday at this point. And we have all those toys--except not the DVDs (I'll check them out) but she's not into them. She likes to trace letters in her workbooks but she's not totally getting it. She's also very aware that she doesn't know them and I dont want her self esteem to plumet because of it so i try not to make it an issue. It's only on DCUM where i freak out

She's not old enough for Kindergarten. To compare her to kids going to Kindergarten is silly, because she's not their age. Yes, at one point kids with October birthdays got to go to Kindergarten at 4, but at that point it wasn't the norm for kids to enter with all their letters. The expectation and the birthdate changed together. She's got 15 months before Kindergarten to learn 13 letters. Most kids gain momentum as they learn their alphabet. It seems really unlikely that she won't have them, and if she doesn't they'll teach them again in K.

As a preschool teacher, please don't teach letters using workbooks, especially ones that have kids trace letters. They teach many bad things about learning, and about letters. Please stay away! Play with letters in context. Since she's got more months than letters before K, I'd pick a letter a month and point it out in books, in the environment, when you're writing your shopping list. Make it with playdough, or trace it in shaving cream. She'll get it. Then add another. My guess is in a few months you'll find that she's got the letter by week 2 or 3 and you're able to go to 2 letters a month and she'll be done early.

This. Just relax, and if you feel like you need to be doing something, make it fun. Most importantly: Read to her. Pick a "letter of the week" to draw, find/draw objects that start with that letter, point it out on road signs, cereal boxes, etc. Get the foam bath letters to play with in the tub. Get alphabet magnets and play with those. But mix this in with your regular play and work. And no pressure, on you or her. She sounds perfectly on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's 4.5 - calm down. The majority of children don't recognize their letters at this age and MANY parents overstate their children's abilities. If she still isn't recognizing her letters by the end of kindergarten then there's reason to be concerned.

Sincerely,

A pre-school teacher

Not in our school, my son's pre-k teacher said the whole room is reading.