my son plays way too much to pay attention for five minutes. how the hell can you expect him to learn anything? he's four what do i do???
2006-09-03 04:15:21 · 17 answers · asked by Ms_Sweet 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Preschool
ok, he can count. sorry i should have mentioned that...he can count to 12, but i want him to RECOGNIZE the numbers he counts
2006-09-03 04:24:58 · update #1
My sister was 2 and a half when I started to teach her numbers (shes 3 now) What I did was I got a white board and I drew 1 orange. Then I wrote the number 1 above the picture. I kept telling her, this is ONE bouncy ball. Then I would ask her how many bouncy balls there were, and she said one. Then I did 2 and 3. Once I completed those numbers, I wrote the numbers vertical and then bouncy balls on the other side. I asked her to make a line from the number ONE to ONE bouncy ball. She did. Then 2, and 3. Start only with these 3 numbers because it will help them not over think and get confused. You should also use it with food. Like, say, ___ (your childs name here), would you like ONE cookie? Make it into a game, or use chalk outside on the pavement to really get his attention going. Use numbers often, and once her memorizes these, then teach 4,5,6 and then 7,8,9, and finally 10!
PS: If he goes to a day care, they should be covering this too!
2006-09-03 04:27:36 · answer #1 · answered by maddy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You make it part of his play. No kid is going to want to sit down and learn numbers if you tell him that's what you are gonna do. What a drag.
While you are playing with him tell him, "now I need 4 blue blocks" for some thing you are building for instance.
Or something my son used to like to do that he made up himself is what he in his four year old wisdom referred to as "counting cars." When we took walks, or walked through parking lots, he would name all the numbers and letters on license plates or bumper stickers. We would also "count signs" when we were driving. You start with the number 1 and work your way up by looking for numbers on road signs and billboards. It works for letters too and it's really fun.
Try it, and he will know his numbers and letters before you know it. He probably already knows alot now and you just aren't aware of it.
Have fun!
2006-09-03 11:29:18 · answer #2 · answered by DontPanic 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What I used to do with my son to make it fun and learning is take sidewalk chalk and draw the numbers on the patio - all over the place and repeat the numbers in different areas of the patio. Then call out a number and see who can be first to find it. Act like you are having a difficult time with it and have him "help" you, or jump on the wrong number so he can see that he got it right and you didn't. I also painted the numbers on his wall by his bed at a level he could touch them and again ask him to point to numbers. It's all in making it fun for kids with short attention spans.
2006-09-03 13:32:53 · answer #3 · answered by d.a.f.f.y. 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what you want him to learn now. At 4 counting may be difficult for him as it is an abstract concept. Try just letting him learn the numbers in any order he wants by making it a game. Later put them in order. That is how I learned them in Spanish at a much older age.
2006-09-03 11:29:45 · answer #4 · answered by Aliz 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I know this is a cliche answer, but just make it interesting; it's really not too hard. Counting things he wants really does work, and remind him that counting cars is a good way to pass the time while driving.
2006-09-03 11:25:33 · answer #5 · answered by jingleorange 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
play with him using numbers. If he has dinosaurs stick numbers on them(you can put the numbers on pieces of paper and tape them on). Tell him that his dinosaurs have names and tell him to give you number 2 dinosaur and so on. When doing laundry have him sort his socks by colors(color recognition). Make learning as fun as playing. Make his name with glue and have him dump sand or dirt on it to reveal his name in letters. Read adventurous boy stories to him. Play can be fun and learning. Work on having him pay attention for 2 minutes and slowly increase it, but make sure you are positive about it because the moment you are negative, he will stop wanting to learn. If he has video games, please take them away because it actually cause children to lose attention skills, same with television.
2006-09-03 11:29:00 · answer #6 · answered by curly98 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe you can make a game of it for him so this way he's still playing but he doesn't have to SIT still to learn. Maybe matching games, or regular playing cards throw them on the floor and ask him to bring you the 4's ,then the 2's soon he will know all of his numbers.
2006-09-03 12:35:48 · answer #7 · answered by Lucy Loo 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Find the thing that interestets him most. It sounds like you're losing your patience and that's something you really can't do. He's four, does he like watching children's shows? If he is four, he should already have a small foundation through his parents. As the previous people have said, find games that he enjoys because learning should be fun not a chore.
2006-09-03 11:25:17 · answer #8 · answered by Tanya T 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
when he ask for things tell him he can have so many of it & he has to count it right. Like say he wants some chips... tell him he can 10 of them. Make him count them & show you once he has it. His reward is he gets to eat them.. thats what I do for all of my kids ages 4-9.. My 9 year old its much harder ... like she wants money I tell her she has to do enough chores to get it then has to let me know how much she wants & for what. Before she is able to buy it she has to show me the right amount of money... good luck!!
2006-09-03 16:23:37 · answer #9 · answered by nikita_7399 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Begin with marbles, toys, and objects.
He's too young to absorb dry numbers that have no relation to familiar things. He understands possessions. Use those.
2006-09-03 11:23:41 · answer #10 · answered by ed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋