Is this normal for a 5yr old boy?

Question

My son is 5yrs old and is in kindergarten he know his shapes and but he has trouble remembering what number is what and his abc's as well. I help him a lot but he forgets.

Answer 1

He is still quite young.  That is not particularly unusual.   Has he just turned five, or is he almost six?  That is important, because a few months make a huge difference at that age.   The most important thing to do is to talk to his teacher and see what she thinks.

Try to not put him under too much pressure about this at home.  Help him with it, but try to make it fun.  Remember that school is hard work for him, and he will be tired when he gets home, so make sure you build in plenty of time for rest, play and relaxation.   Put displays on his bedroom walls and around the house with letters and numbers.  Have magnetic numbers and letters on your refridgerator.  Make sure that he watches educational TV programming that will reinforce such skills.  Read to him everyday, and encourage him to read along with you when he has memorized his favorite stories - that will happen a lot faster than you think.  When you read to him, point out that what you are saying is written on the page and sometimes move your finger along under the words as you read and hold the book so that he can see and follow what you are doing.  Play counting games and sing counting songs.  

Remember to let him be a little boy and enjoy things.  If he is still struggling in six months, and if he hasn't shown improvement,  ask his teacher for help in figuring out if there is a learning problem that needs to be addressed differently.

Best of luck.

Answer 2

its very normal, some may have a slower learning process. of course it depends when he was first trained.. and whether you talk to him a lot. If you notice significant strain...you should ask for him to be evaluated...maybe he needs special attention?

Answer 3

He really should know his numbers and letters by now.  Have you tried flash cards?

My kids love the videos by Leapfrog:  The Letter Factory, The Talking Words Factory, etc.  You might try those to reinforce the letters and letter sounds.

You can also make up games and have him find numbers and letters around the house, on signs when you are driving, etc.

Make sure you read to him at least 15 minutes every day.

Don't panic--he will learn it at his own pace!

Answer 4

This does not sound unusual.

If he is good with shapes then perhaps he is a kinesthetic learner - learns best with things he can touch and feel.

Why not try some magnetic letters and numbers that he can move about on a magnetic board or on the fridge door.

Sometimes children learn the names of letters and numbers but have trouble understanding the concept of the sound letters make or that the figure really means a quantity which can be counted.

It sounds like you are doing a great job, so keep it up, and try to make learning fun for him.

Answer 5

change his diet to change his learning

Answer 6

All children learn and remember at different rates.  My 5 year old son started Kindergarten this year and we were fortunate enough that he had learned all his numbers and letters before he started.  However, other kids in his class knew NOTHING!  They couldn't even make an x to put next to their names.  Kindergarten is for learning these skills.  If he still hasn't acquired the knowledge by the end of the year, then you can worry.  Until then, do the homework that is sent home or make some work of your own for him, coloring pictures that begin with a particular letter, doing simple color by numbers, and repetitious writing of letters as well as character recognition.  One thing my 3 year old loves is to point out letters he knows when we are reading stories, and that is a fun game for us all, he's proud of himself when he gets letters right and I am thrilled hes learning!

Answer 7

Maybe he has something called dixlexia and it allows kids to get his numbers and letters mixed up or he see them upside down.

Answer 8

That's good that he knows his shapes. Maybe he is just getting use to learning at his age. Maybe from shapes he'll move on to numbers. Write numbers on the shapes and letters from the alphabet as well and ask him questions like which shape has A or B and so on.