Teaching Methods  

Hmm... I have a 3 year old son and I had a similar problem with him when it comes to red color. He always used to forget the color red, the other colors he remembers. Initially I thought whether he had a problem seeing the color, then I figured out that he just does not remember the word Red. So I started using that word quite often and stopped helping him with it and we would stop the game till he found the red colored object. Initial two times he could not find and we stopped the game. He would cry a bit, then my wife would gently tell him which is the red object. From the third time onwards though he initially took a lot of time, he managed to find the object. Now he does seem to recognize red objects better, though sometimes he takes a bit longer to recognize.

The key to understanding is this that there are something which register easily with kids and some don't. As parents we just need to figure out a mechanism and give him an incentive to learn that.

All the best.

Cheers!
Ram

Raven-

I am not in pre-school, but I can tell you a few things I picked up from Kindergarten teachers when I did my special education student teaching. Kids that young have very short attention spans to begin with (average adult can only sit still for 15 minutes), so keeping them moving from one thing to another is helpful. Hands on is also very helpful.

You may want to try having him draw his letters in sand, dirt, shaving cream (a fun one), or anything else you don't mind cleaning up.

You could play games when you are out and about asking him to play the Alphabet game with you. Start with A and ask him if he sees the letter A on anything, then ask him to point it out. Extrinsic rewards are still very much a part of their world at this age (and most of the way through highschool lol), so make a chart that he can put stickers on each day when he's done the work sessions with you. Games work well because then it is not "work" but a game and he'll have fun doing it.

There are some counting bears you can purchase at any teacher store that work well for working on counting and color sorting. You can also just buy small objects and keep them in little containers. Throw them all together and then ask him "Find all the red objects". Again, a game, but he'll have fund doing it.

If he is still having issues with certain cognitive processes, you can ask his pre-school to test him for special education, but at this point I don't see anything from what you've read that strikes me as a learning disorder (but then again I'd have to observe him).

Just remember to have fun! Namaste, Anora

when my kid was still young i used to buy some books with different colors. shapes numbers different flowers and animals. she loves it because she was attracted to the colors and big pics that she see's. i also bought her cd's that has songs for nursery that are also helping her to be familiar with the songs and also on tv's we have a lot of shows about education it will help the child a lot. what we do is just a follow up

Hi Raven: I think that, if the teachers don't see anything wrong on your little child, there's nothing to worry about it. Learning is a process that takes it's time. I think you can help your boy on these areas but never lose patient and stop teaching him if he feels bored. Try to look a way to play with him these subjects so he'll fine more confident and he'll learn better. Have a nice day.

Hello, Raven. :) I was an English tutor for several years, though most of my students were 7th grade through college. Here's my advice, for what it is worth. First, you talked about flashcards. Maybe flashcards just aren't the best way for him to learn. I know that as a student, flashcards alone never got me anywhere. Many students need more interaction with concepts in order to grasp them. I agree with the other commentor who recommended doing letter and color hunts. Try punching a hole in one corner of the flashcards and putting them on a clasped ring, so he can have them as a reference when he's letter hunting. Since 4 or 5 letters hasn't been working for him, have him do 1 or 2 at a time. Give him a couple of letters to look at and tell them what they are, if he can't identify them. Then tell him, "Let's see if we can find __ and __!" If you're not seeing the letters you need, ask him if they are the right letters and have him figure out what letters they are. There are letters everywhere around us - just look at the all labels in your pantry, bookshelves, street signs, stores! The same goes with colors, of course. Later, when he starts to read, you can continue this game. He'll probably have much more of an interest in learning to understand the world around him than he will some writing on a page.

Also, try having him identify the colors of things he likes or wants throughout the day, especially if they are red or blue. Make it a game. For example, if he asks for apples in the grocery store, have him tell you what color they are in order to get them. If he wants to wear a blue shirt, ask him what color it is. If there is a particular game or activity he wants to do, have him name three colors related to it before he can or as you set it up for him. Such positive reinforcement can work wonders. It may also help him to think of red and blue in a sensory way - for example, red is hot, and blue is cold. Many faucets are marked this way, but if yours isn't you can do it with a sticker or permanent marker (comes off with alcohol). Finally, try pointing out the colors in conversation, "Wow, look at that big, red ___! Isn't that a beautiful, blue ___?"

There are infinite free online resources to help with learning abc's and colors. Many of them are games geared toward making the learning process fun and interactive. Try searching for "learning abc" and "learning colors." Also, just to be sure, maybe try having your son do a color-blindness test, because it is fairly common among boys (I have several male friends with some form of it). If he has trouble with naming shapes, he could just trace them with his finger, and it should only take a few minutes.

Good luck, and be patient, Raven! He will learn in his own time, and there is nothing wrong with that. :)

My son is the same way and he is 4 s well. He can count to 20 and say his ABC's but if they are put in front of him...he couldn't tell you a thing. I think it just takes a little while for them to start remembering those things.

Now shapes and colors is a breeze. He remembers it all. But letters, I get the same thing..."I don't know, what?". A thing I noticed is that he does remember his numbers and letters if he is working with his teacher on them. She could hold up an A flash card and he would get it. Then I could walk in as she is walking out, show him the same card and he wouldn't know it.

All I have heard is that it is normal at that age. They told me not to worry until the end of his kindergarten year. At that time they see it as an issue and then can do tests to find out what is going on. For now, just keep doing the flash cards and other activities with him. Just keep it fun and if he doesn't get it, just keep telling him what it is. He will catch on sooner or later. My son now knows what x, k , and w are. It isn't a lot, but it's a start!

If you get any useful information, please let me know.

Do his flashcards have a picture along with the letter its well known children respond better to having something to connect the letter with be it a sound or a picture, my eldest is taught phonically as well as the NAME for the letter they have actions for each letter sound (phonic) and this certainly seems to help them remember.
I would simply ask his teacher but really he is only 4 and my child did not know them in preschool but once she got into reception she sooon started recognising all her letters she is 5.5 now and is reading short books writing simple words etc it really is amazing how quickly they pick it up at preschool well here anyway they dont teach them the alphabet in any set way its all through play and not forced as they dont need to know it before they start school.

before my daughter enrolled in preschool i used to teach her the Alphabet Song and would count to her in a sing song fashion. I also put up posters of Alphabet, Colors, Shapes etc all over the house so she can look at them and be able to recall what she saw. When I enrolled her in a toddler's class the teacher was amazed at how much she knows already. The key here is to make learning fun for your child. My child is already 4 and she's getting better at reading. She learned how to read when she was 3. I think your little boy will perk up if you make the concepts more interesting. sometimes my child is very lazy so i let her be and when she tells me she wants me to read her a story, i never fail to do what she requested.