I am struggling to get my 5 year old interested in learning her letters and numbers. Any advice?

Question

She's a smart kid and she does know her letters, but getting her to practice writing them and spelling words has been nothing but trouble. She has been very stubborn. I'm afraid that she'll be behind her peers. Even with numbers, it's literally as if she fakes that she doesn't know them. Any ideas on how to get a five year old interested in reading, spelling, and writing??? Thanks.

Answer 1

Make it into a game? Be creative  

Answer 2

eh people say more than they would in person on here, dont sweat it... i use the learning store, do you have one of those? maybe you could order from their website. when school reopens ask the teachers where they buy their supplies. my daughter has been working in workbooks this summer. a spelling and writing one, a multisubject one made for summertime, and  a math one. also no tv, swimming or fun till school work is done. its not mean its for her own good  

Answer 3

what you should do is make a special place in the house that represents her office and have out a notebook, pencils in a cup, a stapler, paper clips...etc. introduce her to the place...tell her she can do her practicing there..works every time

Answer 4

My six year old gave me problems too. The best way is to make it interesting. Play games with it can keep her focused on it. I also buy my daughter coloring books that are math and spelling books. that helps alot. Or even v-tech computers for learning. Keeping her interested is the key. Make it fun! Good Luck.

Answer 5

Relate it to her loves! Have her practice with bugs, since she loves those! Or make it a craft project. (i.e. make the m out of macaroni, then trace it...or use letters to make a craft project-first she has to write them and then she can color them, etc.) She is fine, and maybe she is just ahead of her class and feels self-conscious about that. Good luck! And don't fret too much, she is still young and will be ok.

Answer 6

Try spending more time reading aloud to your daughter - find a story or series of stories that she likes and read to her.  If she sees that you enjoy reading - then it's more likely that she will too.  (Spelling will improve too automatically if her reading increases)  

Try to add numbers, letters and reading into everyday normal life. Or you could try changing the way you relate to teaching numbers, like instead of writing numbers, get foam cutout numbers and use them in games (some kids learn better if the numbers and letters can be held and moved around in some kind of kinetic exercise)

You should try to get hold of a copy of the 'Make Your Child Brilliant' documentary series where they look at different brain gym and brain training techniques that you can use.  Do a bit of a google search to see if there are any episodes online because i think this will really inspire you.

good luck!

Answer 7

maybe you could have like say 7 pictures of bugs and have a paper and say to write how many bugs there is or get names of bugs on the computer and have them on a paper and tell her to write the first letter of the bug's name on a paper or make up names from a to z and get pictures of bugs and say thats there names and make them short easy names and tell her to write the names or the first letter of each word

Answer 8

So many kids have energy for playing and stuff they find interesting like bugs, but when it comes to sitting down and writting/learning in workbooks forget it. Well if its penmenship that you are worried about her learning...try doing it outside (with the bugs...), you can get her a special pencil/colored even, do it with chalk on a board outside....think outside the box...have her use her #'s to make a hopscotch, or her own board game with squares to count out. As for spelling, then try getting her into jr. scrabble, or start spelling words all the time ( say honey do you want M-I-L-K?) also ryhming games help with her comprehending spelling later and reading.... basically its up to you to come up with fun learning experiences all the time, and all day long. I have a 2nd grader and finally learned that you have to get on their level, and excite them into learning  

Answer 9

ok, please don't take this the wrong way...but why did you wait so long to introduce her to this? i know that every child is different but maybe you can make it into a fun game and kind of "trick" her into learning. pick up a pack or two of post-it notes and write the names of things on them and put them on the objects and give her incentives for learning and spelling...maybe make a chart and put gold stars or something on there. good luck =)

Answer 10

get some of those tub crayons.  tell her she can draw in the tub after she writes her numbers 1-10, or spells 3 words, etc.  the best thing to do is remember to reward her when she does something right, rather than just always point out when she does it wrong.

Answer 11

discipline

Answer 12

I take it you're home schooling her? If not, why not leave it to the teachers when she actually gets to kindergarten. Young children are not ahead of their peers academically when they've been forced to sit through boring lessons and get their short little fingers around a long pencil to print out letters.

How about helping her explore her passion for art and music and bugs? Get books about bugs and help her sound out the words in them. Get her music lessons -- she's not too young to learn violin or piano.

Sign her up for art lessons.

Get some loaves of frozen bread dough from the store and follow the directions. Let it thaw on a cookie sheet in the oven overnight and watch her eyes pop when she sees how big it gets. Let her use her hands to punch down the dough and knead it and press it into a pan, then bake it. She'll learn cause and effect, properties of physics, and develop her coordination to make writing easier.

Get an easel and some paints and let her paint.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO REASON you have to set her down and drill her on writing and math at her age. You aren't going to make her valedictorian by frustrating and boring her. Discouraging her entomology, art and music is really judgmental if you devalue her passions. Let her be herself, not your tool. Developing a relationship with her and encouraging her curiosity is much more important than forcing her to be your academic robot.

Let learning be her play. You say you love your kids to death. Try loving them for who they are, not what you want to force them to be.

Answer 13

surround her with books, get rid of the TV, and let her play.  she'll be in school full time before long.