Identifying Letters

As a former teacher and counselor, I will advise you to stop overloading your child with academics. She will get it when she is ready. You are going to create anxiety and nervousness in her then you won't be able to teach her anything. Children have to develop their visual acuity and neurological development over time. Don't rush it. She is a normal child. J. Gordon

2 moms found this helpful

Watch the movie "Parenthood" with Steve Martin, Dianne Weist, etc. Hilarious!
It's not usually the kids that don't 'get it.'
Like the others say - let her be a kid - she has 13 or more years to be in school. Let her play and have fun now. Einstein didn't even talk until he was five.

Leap frog has a dvd called Letter Factory. Both of my kids have loved it. www.starfall.com click ABC's . My 2.5 year old loves to play on it. She gets to click on the sparkles.

Take Care, J.

Hi K.,
I agree with what most of the others have said--don't worry about having a 3-year old learn letters. She'll learn when she's ready, and from what I've heard, there is no long-term benefit from a child learning to read early. I like the idea of the foam letters for bath time; ours have enjoyed playing with them. Reading to them is great of course, and I personally find it more fun than trying to teach them something. Soon enough, you'll be doing homework with them, so enjoy these years when you can just play! Have fun, A.

I bought my daughter the foam bath letters and numbers and I threw them in with the rest of her toys. Over a couple months she would ask me, "whats that?" about each one, and eventually, without even trying she knew them all. I also buy her alphabet spaghetti o's and this week I found scrabble cheese-its, they were a hit! Just throw letters in whenever and wherever you can, she will get it soon.

Let's see.....she's 3!! It's normal and not a big deal if she isn't recognizing all her letters at this age. E and F probably look very similar to her. Kids get b and d confused too. It's normal and to be expected. You may want her to get, but her little brain may end up shutting the learning process out if she is feeling to much pressure to learn things. Let her go at her own pace and make learning fun, not demanding.

S.

Don't worry too much about it. Try and point out letters ALL DAY LONG...such as the letters on stores you go to, products, signs, books, newspapers... And focus on pointing out the ones that you know she needs help identifying. She'll get it!

K.,
I'm sure it is completely normal, especially since the letters she is confusing look almost exactly alike in capital...I don't know if she is in pre school or not, but my daughter is four, and in preschool four days a week, and they aren't expecting them to know all of the letters yet...they do one a week. i'm sure she's fine..

Get the dvd Letter Factory by leap frog - $10 at Target

Hello~ Like everyone else has said, she's three. She'll be fine, but as a mom you want your child to do their best and we worry. Have her learn three letters a week or two and only do those. Eventually, the memory will kick in. Move on to the next three letters, not foreting the first three, continue until you're thru the alphabet. It'll happen. Also, there are so many books and videos with the alphabet. Try and associate some of her favorite things with that letter. It'll happen, be patience. Good luck and happy learning.

K.,
Your daughter should be playing, creating, coloring, using her imagination and creating stories. If you weave in a few sounds here and there - great, but she is three, not six. Flexibility and creativity in thinking is learning the proper developmental milestones. You may consider getting a preschool development learning books to help.

J

I understand it is really important for children at this age to recognize beginning sounds in words. More important than letter recognition.
Take an object and say the name clearly, using all the sounds (something she can identify with, like animals,etc.). Ask her to repeat it. Then put it aside. Go back to it and ask her what is is. Encourage her to enunciate.
You can play games like "I spy something that begins with the "W" sound..." (say the sound of the letter not the name of the letter) Even in the grocery line you can play this game. Start with her favorite words, nature, her name, your family and friends' names.
Then you can concentrate on rhyming words and end sounds. This will give her a good foundation. She will jump to letter recognition when she is ready. My girl is almost four, and she is more interested in letters than she was, especially, when her friends are interested too.
My two cents anyway. Thank for the question! Blessings.

It's normal.
E and F look very simular , its the same reason the b and d switch and 6 and 9.
She is only 3 give her time and don't push, preschoolers learn best through play.

Normal yes...but try the letter factory video by Leap Frog. My daughter used to watch it all the time..I thought it was at least better than TV since it was teaching something..and she learned the letters and the sounds.

She's still a toddler. I'm not sure why it's necessary to teach her at all. Learning early doesn't mean learning better, and that's what school is for, you know? When you try too hard to teach something she's not ready for--and she's giving you signs that she isn't ready--you just create frustration for her. Leave it. You can play letter games, or point out things when you see them, but it doesn't make sense to push academic lessons on a small child.

Children learn by exposure, and by being read to, not by being drilled.

I switched my daughters school because she wasn't grasping this concept well either. I have seen a BIG difference in a little over a month. She is now unerstanding letters without the pictures, and writing her name. She is 3 1/2. Her teacher uses the Abeka system. I use flashcards at home, but I find that the trick for us is reviewing them the same time everyday, and doing it when she is most attentive. Don't worry kids learn at different paces! It just takes time!

I teach 4k and alot of my 4 year olds just turned 4. Some really get it and others it takes more time. Dont force it on her bc then she will not want to learn about them. A good thing for you to do is to start with the letters in her name. They will probably be of more interest to her. Show her how to write her name, once she is familiar with those letters, ask her to show you some of those letters in other words like during story time. Let her be an active learner. Use the magna doodle or a white board and marker. She will get it!