Kindergarten Abc's

I did response to intervention in a kindergarten classroom with some kiddos who were behind on letter Id. We took the letters and put glue on them. Allowed the glue to dry and it made a bump along the letter. The kid would then take their pointer and middle finger (something about the sensory feed) and trace the letters while saying A, A, A, Ah, Ah, Ah. It was very effective and simple. The repetition and sensory really worked for some of the kiddos.

Good luck and I lose patience when working w/my kiddo too!!! haha

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Try www.starfall.com. There are games she can play that help with letter recognition and building words. You can also have her watch the "Letter Factory" movie by Leap Frog. My kids love that movie. They also have a toy by leap frog that has magnetic letters that you put in and it tells the letter and it's sound. She may enjoy "playing" while she learns. I always just used blocks and other toys to help my kids learn the letters so that it didn't feel like I was "quizzing" them. We had blocks with letters on them and we started talking about them very early on during playtime. The cards are a great thing if she enjoys them. Just be sure if you do the movie thing that you sit and watch it with her and talk about the letters so that you know she isn't zoned out and not paying attention. I hope you find what works for her. Best of luck!

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First off, you are doing a great job!!! Keep that up.

I've listed some questions to ask yourself. Sometimes that helps unlock the key.

* How old is she compared to her peers? Is she younger?
* Any complications with hearing or sight as a baby? Did she talk late?
* Get her eyes tested.
* Does she know her numbers and recognize them? If so, then it may be specific to you explaining that the letters are just funny little symbols (or pictures) that represent the sounds that we make when we speak and sound out words.
* Take it down to 2-3 letters a week and then add 1-2 every few days as she masters them. Make an incentive chart with the letters on the top (lowercase too) and put a sticker under each one she masters. Give her a small toy or piece of candy (whatever works for you) for every 3 letters she can do. The more you give, the sooner it will happen. (Do this when you need to teach sight words, math facts, etc.)
*Constantly quiz her about letters you are working on or have mastered. "Can you find an 'e'?" When you pass Target. Esc. Or ask, "what letters do you see and where?" Give her extra points towards your incentive chart for those. Promise something bigger once she knows them all. I wouldn't put a name on it in case she really can't do it yet and you want to get that item for Christmas or birthday. Just say "something big like an X or an X."
* Make it fun. Use shaving foam on a plate and write the letters for her to tell you. Get out alphabet cereal and let her eat all the 'e's. Same with alphabet soup.
*Give her a reward (sticker) if she can name the letters out of order than the way you've practiced.
* Really watch to see how she learns best. I had one kiddo I tutored that only learned material if she had something to physically do with it (esp. abstract concepts - like letter recognition....'A' means nothing). So, I gave her cards to manipulate. Have your daughter match up 'A' with 'a' and with a picture of an alligator. 3 cards. Start with upper and lower and then add the picture. Does she learn best from technology? Plenty of games out there. Watching tv? Super Why and Word World are great shows for that.

If you can't work with her, then yes get a tutor. I've tutored for kids that have parents that are teachers. It was such a reality check for me. :) Kids just don't want their parents to have that role.

If she cannot start picking them doing all of this, then I would talk to her teacher about being assessed. (It is free for you when the school does it.) I would especially do this if math is much stronger for her. Typical kids with a learning disability (I hate that phrase....everyone learns differently) have a strength in one area and struggle with another (great math, lousy reading)

I'm guessing she is feeling overwhelmed with so much to learn and KNOWS that the other kids are getting it. She may just be shutting down. Talk to her about it and pep her up. Tell her that no matter what, you will help her learn all of this crazy stuff.

Best wishes, mama!

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We posted the whole alphabet on both kids' bedroom walls. We point at each letter while we sing the alphabet (you can get an Alphabet poster from the teacher store, but we just got a box of flashcards and stuck them to the wall with that sticky tack stuff. I think the flashcards are better, myself, because they include a picture of something that starts with each letter.) The kids also have their names spelled out and hanging on their walls, too, so they can learn to recognize them in print.

I've also labeled things around the house. There is a little sign above the toilet paper that says, "Flush," next to the light switch in the bathroom "wash your hands," on the aquarium "Fish," and so on and so on...I don't expect the kids to read them, but it is helping to drive home the point that letters and words MEAN something.

Hang in there, mama - she'll get it.

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Have you watched the Letter Factory with her? My kids love it and it really helped them (4 yo) recognize words and sounds. I also have the fridge magnets from LeapFrog that do the same style of letter and sound recognition.
also a lot of reading and recognition - "Can youfind all the a''s?" helps too.
If you have tried all of this, look into getting a tutor.
OH - Also make sure she isn't having any vision or hearing issues. That can take a toll on learning and kids don't even realize they aren't seeing or hearing what the others are.
Good luck.

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"Leapfrog: Letter Factory" DVD is awesome. Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Factory-Roy-Allen-S./dp/B0...
You can usually get it at Sam's Club or Walmart.
Another good one AFTER that is "Leapfrog: Talking Words Factory" DVD.

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These are all good ideas. The first thing I would do is have her vision tested. It is possible she is having difficulty distinguishing letters because of a vision problem. Good luck.

We did flash cards, you can even make some with just index cards. We also had some DVDs that a friend of ours suggested, I don't remember the name of them though. Another thing is there is a fridge magnet set that Leap Frog has, it's a box and when you stick the letter in it it plays a song with that letter and the sounds that the letter makes. I'm pretty sure you can get it at Toys R Us, maybe even Target. Hope this helps!!

Try www.starfall.com - amazing site for kids and will help a lot with ABC's

I'm assuming your child is in a public school first of all. So why isn't the teacher helping you? Instead of just telling you she's failing she should be helping you help her and coming up with ways to handle this positively. This is part of her job and if she hasn't said anymore than this, I'd question her abilities and sensibilities as a teacher and person. The school puts so much undue stress on children and parents. The only reason children are even taught about reading in kindergarten is because of a arbitrary rule someone made up so that the kids can take tests to get high scores so therefore the more kids that have high scores in their school the more money they receive from the state and or federal government. And so the child gets lost in all this when in reality for the most part it's not even normal or natural that a child would or should be reading at this time in their childhood, let alone recogizing letters. Yet here we are, you still have to do something. I know how easy it is to get frustrated but please try to recognize this is tension and stress put on you and fear your child won't succeed. Let it go. There are lots of games you can play with her but whatever you choose just stick with one or two don't let it scattered. Children learn best when things are put in story format, make up a story to introduce the letter and concentrate more on their sounds than the way the letter looks, she'll pick up on recognition as you're teaching the story and the sound, although it may not appear that way at first. The story I did was about a king,queen, prince and wise woman and the prince is so proud and pouty that he must learn to be a kind king and so he goes on a journey with the wise woman and as they're on their journey they find all kinds of different people and places like where the tall, tall, trees live or the mountains with a dark door but when they entered they found a meadow and a new world, they met the lavendar lady and lots of others. Then draw these characters on cards, be sure you can see the letter plainly within the character and let her draw too on her own paper and make a book of them or just buy a spiral drawing pad for her. And when you go over the letters keep recalling the story with her and then add a new part of the story with 3 or 4 new letters of course. If you're interested in this method I'll write more about it (if you'd like) directly to you. A good book is LMNOP it is a charming alphabet book with alliterations and nice pictures. Also, when you're at the shopping center or driving take notice of the letters on signs. Have her see how many Ks she can find and so on and say how many Kings can you find, K for the kind king, how many Ms can we find, M for misty mountains. Just stick with 3 or 4 at a time. Notice letters in your own environment, in the house and even out in nature, like the bracnhes of a tree or lines in the trunk or stems on a plant, or lines on a leaf etc. Take her out for nature walks and notice all the straight lines and all the curve lines. Everything starts with straight and curve lines afterall and always will whether recognition of letters, numbers or in wiriting. Draw giant letters in chalk on the driveway and the two of you walk them, then hop two feet then see if you can do one foot, etc. Line up objects in the shape of letters and do the same. Children need to feel things in their body, they need to have it sink down in. Draw letters in the air, take turns drawing letters with your finger on each others backs and guess which letter it is. Have Fun! Don't let the stress of all this get to you. Don't let her feel the stress. Give her lots of hugs and lots of smiles. Keep her light shining! Don't bring in all the dull site reading and all the other stuff. As the child grows older it will only bring about a dislike of learning and a halt to growth. Be sure to say rhymes with her pick out a few you learn very well and have fun and repeat them daily. Reading, all reading begins with language and the richness of it or the lack therein. This may all seem a bit radical but really it's not, it's real. Anyway, this is awfully long but I hope it helps. Don't worry, think positive and give her lots of love, trust her. I have studied education for years and years and if I had one thing to say about teaching children it would probably be: keep it lively with warmth and imagination and loads of love and let the rest go. ~~Sending the very best to you and your's.

I didn't read through all of the responses, but of those I did I find it strange that no one is suggesting you get your daughter assessed -- especially the teacher!. What if your daughter is dyslexic, or there is some other learning barrier? The soooner you know, the more successful she will be. And as many responses mention, you didn't say anything about her ability to recognize numbers? Does she struggle with those as well?

Regarding your "So what happened" post -- don't be so hard on yourself! I am a full-time working mom with 3 children, my youngest is 4 1/2. I feel your pain! I work so hard at trying to stay on top of everything, but even getting organized is a lot of work and we're already working two full time jobs (outside the home and then as a mom!). You don't mention a spouse/significant other . . . is there one? And if so, what is his role in all of this? We working moms have a tendancy to try to do it all. My husband cooks dinner (I do clean up). And he helps with shuttling our older children to their respective activities. Don't get me wrong . . . I know I still carry the bulk of the load (after all, who keeps the calendar of everyone's activities to ensure they're where they need to be?) but having some assistance from my hubby makes it a little better.

I highly recommend the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD. My daughter did not watch TV but she would watch this and sometimes she wouldn't sit and watch it but would listen to it. Those were awesome for helping her. We also got word factory.

I didn't read the other posts so I don't know if anyone else said this, but those games, where you push the letter and it tells you the name of the letter and the sound it makes, "A says A or Ah", etc, worked great for my son, and they aren't that expensive. And you know how kids love to push buttons. Good luck. And, she will catch on.

Having her assessed is a good idea, but going through the school's process will take a while, so just be aware. In the mean time, work on letters than have significant meaning for her (her name, "m" for mommy, other things that will have interest to her). Once she begins to make that connection, other letters will come more easily. Good luck and don't stress too much over it! Today's Kindergarten is what we had for 1st grade, so it is tough on the little ones!

My little guy is a month past 2.5, and can sing the "ABC Song" but also can tell me what a letter is when i point it out, and frequently points them out tall day to me and tells me what they are. I actually hadn't started working with him on the alphabet, he learned his letters by sight on his own by watching Sesame Street, and "Super Why," which I don't think she's too old for: http://pbskids.org/superwhy/ This is an interactive site she can have fun with and learn at the same time.

Another thing you might want to do is get her a foam alphabet tub set for about $5, I saw one at Target this week. The letters are about 2.5" to 3" high and stick to the wet tub, so she could do some letter playing and learning while she bathes.

I would incorporate letters into everything you do with her, have letters on the refrigerator to spell out the names of foods you give her, in the tub, a chalkboard with letters in her room, and even when you're in the car, spell things to her like "McDonald's, M c D o n a l d s, McDonald's" so she sees and hears what letters are all the time to make the correlation. Also, show her how to write letters in sand (a bowl filled with sand on your kitchen table will work) to reinforce the learning. YOU be her tutor : )

Don't stress yourself. As a former K teacher (although I taught music, but know what they were doing in the classroom) all of the children in that classroom are NOT reading at this point. Ridiculous. Of course they are encouraging that and moving there, but it's not as if all the other children are reading. But you don't want your daughter to feel "behind" I would say read read read every day all the time. There are tons of books based on the ABC's that aren't only ABC - I spy little letters, B is for Bear, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (great great book) etc. The little rhymes in those books might help her pick up the letters.
Also point out letters in everyday life. Signs etc.
Sing the ABC song and leave out letters for her once you know the song. So you sing "ABCDEF.....she says G" and so on.
My son has a toy by Leap Frog maybe that is in the shape of a Turtle (it's still at Target) that is just letter matching. You can push the button for the letters or set it to "quiz mode" and it is very low key. So if it asks you for D and you don't know, it asks again and then shows you the answer with a flashing light.
In my opinion its best to try to avoid the flashcard avenue and try to just incorporate letter naming into other things.
Take some cards or something that has the letters on them and hide them around the living room and have a letter scavenger hunt. Then name them and put them in order. Stuff like that.
Good luck! Don't be stressed. It is only NOV. she will make great strides by the end of the year.

In addition to websites like Starfall.com and DVDs like Letter Factory, you could also get some of the alphabet letter magnets and the foam letters they can play with in the tub and stick on the wall. Alphabet letter puzzles and blocks. Let her watch some of the kids shows on PBS like Sesame Street, Super Why and Word World. Every day read to her books with the alphabet letters in them, like Dr. Suess' ABC. These were the things that helped my daughter recognize all her letters when she was 2.

the world world pbs games online...my daughter likes them

I didn't read the others but here's what I would do: first, since you say you're working I assume she was in some sort of daycare/homecare before? I would start with who watched her before and ask them if she struggled with it in preschool (if she was in preschool). If she wasn't in preschool and it's all brand new to her it will take awhile for her to grasp it. It shouldn't take that long to just get the letters down though, so if she's still having problems I would take her to get her assessed somewhere (ask the school for help on where to go or other parents). Perhaps she has some learning issues that they can help with - if she does, the sooner you know, the easier it will be to help her. If all is "normal" in those areas, I would ask the teacher what to do. I know I had really early learners and I don't know if you're opposed to tv but if not the best (imo) DVD is the Letter Factory by Leapfrog. If she doesn't have a Leapfrog Explorer game and you can afford one, get one. All the games on it are educational and there are letter games that will make it fun for her. Those are the two big things we did. My oldest loved Super Why which was great for letters/reading too. Sorry you're going through so much, my favorite parenting books are by Elizabeth Pantley...

Flash cards with "A" ALLIGATOR...then you say , "A is for ALLIGATOR, AA AA AA (while making a big mouth snap open and shut with your arms) "B" is for BEE BZZBZZBZZ while making a little bee with your fingers. It's all songs and gets the kids used to saying, seeing, and singing about letters. My son LOVED it. He's in Kindy too.
Laura

My response would be exactly like what Christine C said. First, you definitely need to have her assessed! She could very well be dyslexic or something like that. Don't wait and let her continue to get behind. Second, don't be so hard on yourself! We are not superhero's, we are just Mom's! You can only do so much. And by the way, I don't care what anybody says, we all scream at our kids from time to time... Good luck!