Preschool Reading Help!?

Question

So my daughter who will be 4 this week is doing GREAT with learning her letters/numbers, things like that. We are beginning to read, which is wonderful and she is doing really well. However I have noticed when she reads words, she does so from left to right but when there is more than one number she always reads numbers from right to left. Is this normal?

Answer 1

I dont think that at 4 there is a normal for that---if you have been teaching her numbers in their teens then maybe because we say "4" then "teen" she thinks thats how its read...would explain why letters is one way and numbers the other? In her mind this may be the connection she made?

I would worry to much at 4...if she is recognising the numerals and understanding what they are (eg: if you said can you get me 3 pencils does she get 3 or a handful)...then I'd just leave it for now.

Answer 2

most people are right handed and start reading at the left

maybe shes left handed so automatically she reads from the right

Answer 3

You mean if there's more than 1 place value in the number?  Yeah...that's normal.  Especially if she doesn't have a full concept of place value yet with the numbers.

Nothing to worry about at this point.  Just keep helping to correct her when she makes the mistake.

Matt

Answer 4

Definately nothing to worry about...this is often seen...however I'm surprised that she doesn't sometimes read words from right to left...usually they do this at the same stage of development.   You probably notice that she writes her numbers/letters backward at times as well... 01 for 10... or a backward e.  Very typical and just gently correcting her will do the trick.  Our brains are naturally wired differently than what traditional "language rules" are and it needs to be "trained".    :-)

Answer 5

I'm not sure if you mean she would read 14 as 'fourty one' or if you mean when there is a string of numbers (1,2,3,4,5,...) she would read five, four, three, two, one.  

Either way, this is pretty normal.  Just keep reminding her that we read everything from left to right.  Show her how to use her left hand to make an L shape and frame the first word or number on a line and remind her we always start where we frame.  

I have about half of my class that does this at the begninning of kindergarten and by the end of the year I only have 1 or 2 who usually correct themselves!

Answer 6

It's normal, 4 yr olds do that.

Is she left handed or right handed?

Maybe she reads from the other side, depends on the right\left hand. I think it's normal though.