My 5yr old son needs help w/ABC's?

Question

he's in kindergarden and has homework 4x a week and having a hard time recognizing some letters, and the sounds that they make. How can i teach him? I'm having a really hard time. i spend 2hrs a night with him to finish his homework he hates it and so do I, but don't show him i do. i need ideas that you've seen work wonders. please HELP. i don't want him to grow up hating homework at such an early age.

Answer 1

Fisher Price makes a cute desk with magnetic letters. It's fun to put the letters in the stencils to form words. We also put the letters on the fridge and went over them several times each evening.


We started when my son was 3 and he could spell many words and write his name before he hit kindergarten so this worked great.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

The rule of thumb concerning homework should be no more than a half hour for grades 1-3 , 1 hour for grades 4-6, and two for higher grades.

Developmentally Acceptable Practices (DAP) suggest that pre-K and kindergartners should not have homework.
But
Due to the fact that most schools receive money from many different sources they may be required to show proof of what their money is buying.

When one of my daughters was in Kindergarten by the end of the year she was expected to write whole sentences (4+ words) with correct punctuation, capital letters, and so on. This is something that a lot of 5 year olds just can't do until the end of 1st or the beginning of 2nd grade.

If your child really is having that much homework it is time to question "WHY"! If this practice is expected then it should be no more than 15-20 min tops.

How many 5 or 6 year olds do you know that can sit longer than that?

With time,love,patience, and play your child will learn!
If you are really concerned have the school test him to see if maybe he needs an IEP.

Answer 4

Schools are getting demanding on kids so that probably isn't helping. My preschooler is doing her alphabet and the curriculum they use is very good. Some things I can suggest

1) books about the alphabet, you can find some great ones a B & N.

2. Make a fun quiz of no more than 15 minutes a day, with special treats when he gets the questions right. Use flashcards or phonics questions and help him sound out words.

3) Break up homework into smaller time spaces, he's only 5 and that's a long time for him to sit. I recommend no more than 30 min increments at a time if you can.

4) I supplement my daughters preschool work with extra workbooks or homeschool supplies I buy online. Carefully select all of them to balance out what is too easy, just right, and too hard. I buy ABEKA curriculum, which is what my daughter uses in school. It's fast paced and designed to have kids reading by Xmas in kindergarten, so start in the preschool area for the alphabet. Pick themes your child will like, and if you choose to use ABEKA and are not religious, you may choose to omit religious references- since it is a Christian set of curriculum. Hooked on Phonics is also a very good set, and a very reasonable price.

5)Buy alphabet puzzles, talk about the letters and what starts with them with your child .

6) Think about getting him a private tutor, such as one from Sylvan.

Answer 5

Please don't take what I say to heart first off, as I know as a parent of a 12 and 3 year old, I too sometimes may get offended when someone says something in regards to my parenting: but I am offering this in the kindest way from experience.

Getting them early is the key, but I don't mean educating them to death in the traditional sense. Make games out of things, such as teaching them the alphabet song first, then find letters in items and say "What's this letter? If they can't get it, start to sound it out and let them finish. Do it enough, and they'll get it in no time. Same with colors, shapes, etc... Also, timing is key, unless you can keep them really interested, doing things in short bursts are better than 1 long time period.

My 3 year old can identify all of the letters of the alphabet and he's actually able to identify a few words (by recognition and repetition). He can count to 35 and knows specifics about colors, such as "light blue" and "dark blue". Knows how to call my mums house, and that's actually dialing all 7 digits. He knows his way around a computer, can start up his own games, and reboot the computer if it needs it (gotta watch him with the printer, cause he knows how that works too! LOL) He can identify all the basic shapes, and even the pentagon shape! And his sentence structure is amazing for his age.

I am a single parent, and have been working with both my children from a young age, and make more games out of it than anything. I bought him to the university library the other day while I did research ( I am a math major), and others were quite impressed at how well behaved he was for just being 3.

Didn't mean to boast or brag, but just to give an example.

LIke I said, make them think it's a game, but you know better.

I like telling people to ask him "Who taught you how to count to 10?"

He'll respond "David Letterman"
(in reference to David Letterman's Top 10)

I just love watching their faces light up!

Oh yeah, never, never scold them. Not even lightly! Praise is the key, high 5's, good jobs (thumbs up) and such!

Best wishes to you!

Answer 6

First, of all is his homework really 2 hours worth, or is is a fighting game for 2 hours to get him to do it? If it is 2 hours, then talk to his teacher about eliminating some of it.

Another thing you might do is buy a timer, and tell your child, if you will work as hard as you can for say 5 minutes, then you can take a break for 5 minutes, then the next time, make it ten minutes work and 10 minute break, then from then on 15 minutes working, 15 minute breaks. I realize this sounds time consuming, but it gives you and your son breaks, plus, he has an incentive to try really hard, because when the timer goes off, he gets a break, and so do you!!! Spend those breaks drinking water, eating a helathy snack or playing a simple game.

The timer can be made a game, "beat the timer!" Eventually, your child will get the homework done the first time before the 15 minute timer goes off. My son is in kindergarten and his homework is 10 minutes or less usually, but I also struggled with him in the beginning.

One other thing, is to use others suggestions of games to identify letters, finding them or play "I Spy" the letter R while driving down the road. You might try allowing someone else to help with homework if that is an option for you when you need a break.
Best Wishes, he will get it! Don't sweat it, and he won't either.

Answer 7

I suggest patience and understanding from your part. As for him, Children love to play all the time so incorporate the alphabet with his game. Make up stories about it. Sing with him the alphabet song and say the sounds with him. Give him guessing games such as what letter begins with the word sun and so forth. Buy for him ABC charts where you can do with him all the time by pointing at each letter and saying the sound. Get the one with beautiful pictures in it. Assign for him a letter each day. Say today you are the letter Aa, tell me things that starts with the letter Aa. What's the sound of the letter Aa? Play games with him with the letter Aa making up stories too. You can also see some educational video tapes,computer disk and games incorporating the alphabet and its sounds. Just be patient. Good luck

Answer 8

First, see where the problem is. Does he have trouble writing out the letters? Knowing which one is which? Knowing the sound that goes with each? If it's the sound, play the game a few have mentioned where you find things for each letter. Start with his name. "Brad starts with B. What else starts with that sound?" and have balls, baskets, or bears around. It makes it more meaningful.

If he has trouble actually making the letters, work on his tracing. Some Montessori schools have kids make letters in sand. It's a playful way to work (sand is always fun), and it's easy to erase and start again. You can also have him trace (with his fingers, again) letters cut out of sand paper. Something textured that he can really feel.

Finally, if it's a letter discrimination problem, I would have him make his own alphabet book. Talk about the letters and what starts with each one. Take photos of the items (or draw pictures together if you don't have a camera) and help him label the items. It, again, makes learning more meaningful because it's a book HE made about HIS interests.

Otherwise, just have patience. And perhaps ask his teacher about what methods she uses in the classroom. If you like them, it might help to mirror them at home and give him a bit more consistency. Good luck!

Answer 9

Leap Pad has a magnetic fridge pad where you can put a letter in and it will say the letter name and sound. They also have one that goes a step up to make small words.

We bought foam letters for in the tub and talked about it in there.

For early phonics and reading, hooked on phonics is awesome.

Also, just a thought, but in my state kindergarten is optional. If you can you might consider a montessori school instead of public. They are really great at teaching letters, letter sounds, and early reading. My son went to pre K at one and it was phenominal what the accomplished.

Also, read to him as much as you can. There are books out there that focus on a letter at a time. Talk to him about everything clearly. If you are in the car play games... K says KK like kite. Can you think of any other K words? Mommy is making spagetti it starts with a SSSSSSS sound what letter is that?

Also there is a website with printable books, it costs $80 per year but it has all levels of books it might be worth it for you. It is readinga-z.com

Good luck and don't give up.

Answer 10

My nephew had trouble with his sounds too, it just takes a little time. His teacher gave us a game it was an alphabet trail, the letters were not in order. He had a little man and so did I we rolled the dice to see how many spaces we had to go. The goal was to land on a letter say the letter & sound that went with it. Your son & you could make your own game with construction paper, markers, little action figures, and dice. At first you would help him say the letters & sounds he didn't know. Then you'll be amazed at how fast he learns them. Also schedule a conference with the teacher tell her your feelings and concerns. She can defintely put some insight into what you should do, afterall she deals with it everyday. If you don't already read to your son everynight please do, it's sooo important! Good Luck & Happy Holidays!!!!!

Answer 11

As a kindergarten teacher, giving homework 4 times a week is not absurd. I teach Kindergarten and our students are blending words together by the end of December. Its important to practice ABC's with their letters and sounds...because Kinder is more like 1st grade used to be. The standards are so much higher now. Homework in Kinder is for practice but also for the parents to really see what their child needs work on. Thank you for being the type of parent who is concerned and is working hard to help your son. Try out this website, I use it in my ABC center.

www.starfall.com

When you get there, click on "ABC's"
It shows the letters, sounds, and pictures that match that letter.

Best of luck. Keep practicing with songs, flashcards, matching games, letter bingo, etc...