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[mickiby]

Hello and greetings from sunny storm struck south Florida

So I am just going to lay it out on the line here and you guy and gals that are more in the game plan can tell me if I should even be here cause i just don't know where to turn for direction.

My name is Michelle
I am married to a faithful husband and a slacker of a dad but hey it is a good life either way, right
I have one son who is currently a bit more then 2 1/2. but just a bit.
I am also the mother of 2 dogs one puppy well he is 1 year this week, no more puppy and a well versed 12 year old. As well as my 12 year old kitty cat!!!! oh and we have 2 red footed tourtuises ok so that is my whole family in a nut shell.

Why am I hear and what am i searching for.. well the answer is this. I am a working mother with a child who is not in a formal setting preschool. He is in a homecare location and has been there since he was 4 months old. He loves the family as do I and he loves the children he is with as well. It is a heathy christian home with kids and siblings and all kinds of things that even if I was a stay at home mom i really could not offer yet. However... with all those bonuses mentioned the down fall is that she is not really able to do lessons or "ciriculum"(forgive my spelling) she has children from 2 months old to 3 years old at this point so it is hard to deal with all the issues and this i understand.

I have been told time and time again, a child learns thru play, let your kid be a kid, but teach him thru play. while i have been doing this his whole life at this point i feel like he might be falling behind. He does know his colors shapes and speaks well, very well, too well sometimes. he has logic and reasoning as many kids do. he has computer skills and has been on a computer for a few months now at home... but he doesn't understand what a letter is. or what a number is, he can count to 20 he can sing his abc inside and out. he can count objects up to 5 at this poitn then he just runs off to 20.

However in the last week I have begun "lessons" in the evening when i get home from work at 6:00 only about 15 mins per lesson if he gets thru it well, if he is fighting it a bit it could take 30 min, but he has to complete his lesson to get his well loved computer time. which little does he know is lessons in hiding!!! shhh don't tell him.

The thing I am attempting to work on with him is letter/sound understanding. i am doing phonics not the program but using the sound of the letters instead of the name. i did a bit of reshearch and found alot of bonuses to starting in this manner. So far so good he has the s sound down and has picked up the hard c sound. I am adding in the a as in apple tonight.

so what I am trying to figure out is, does this become homeschooling?? is this a place for me to be to learn things. I have never been a teacher before, I have never had a lesson plan or had to make up lessons for a 2 year old but have been pulling my hair out each day trying to make charts and get photos of things and stuff to make lessons. All this with a blindfold on cause i cna't seem to find anywhere that has a way to show me how to really do lessons.

so that is my story and i am sticking with it. any advice is welcome. i am not new to a forum just this one so no need to sugar coat things. i can take the good and the bad.

Oh I am planning on putting my son in a school based program next year or the following year, but i want to help with the transition by teaching him how to learn in a way that works best for him and a class room setting once he is in that setting. i know i can only prep so much but right now he is just going from free play all day long to a lesson with mom. it is even a BIG step for him right now.

had a problem posting so forgive me...

[HeidiPA]

Hi, Michelle~
Welcome to Homeschool Spot.
Mostly this forum is comprised of new and veteran homeschooling moms, and most of the time we get along great. It IS a place to share ideas and ask questions, so for that you've come to the right place.
One of the members here, JenPooh, runs a home daycare and works with the kids on many things. I'm sure she'd have lots of great ideas for you.
As for me, I really don't believe in "lessons" with a 2 1/2 year old. I think that's way too young. Those people who told you that "children learn through play" are right~ they learn through every day things~ you don't need any formal lessons at that age. Why be pushing phonics now, when most kids are learning that in kindergarten? If you plan to put him into a traditional school setting in the future, it will not be in his best interest to be way advanced~ he'll get bored if he already knows everything that the other kids are learning. That's not a good thing. My advice would be to relax and not push him~ if he's already doing the things you mentioned, he's just fine.
Good luck to you, and feel free to ask any questions you may have~ there are lots of ladies here with wonderful advice.

[Brooke]

Welcome aboard! I agree with Heidi's comments. 2 1/2 is very young to start phonics if he hasn't shown a natural interest in learning to read. There are some kids who do at that age, but very, very rarely. It sounds to me as though your son is well into the parrot phase...he is reciting what he hears from you which is why he seems to be counting to 5 and then carries on to 20 (if I understood that correctly). He knows his abc's because he has learned the song or the order the letters come in, but he doesn't connect the letters to a sound yet. That might take a few more years to catch on to an abstract idea like that.

Another thing to remember is that if he is fighting the lessons that is a good sign that he isn't quite ready for that. My oldest child was labeled gifted at public school but after the school forcing their own learning environment on him he came home HATING to be taught ANYTHING. After starting homeschooling and relaxing quite a bit, he finally...FINALLY got his natural love for learning back...only took a little more than a year ;).

Hope you enjoy it here! JenPooh would be an excellent resource as most of her little ones in preschool are around 3yo.

[Jackie]

My children are 11, 9, and almost 6. We have been HS'ing from the very first. My background is in Special Education, with an emphasis in Early Childhood. From that perspective, I have very strong feelings AGAINST formal education for very young children. I don't believe in preschool AT ALL. As stated before, children learn through play. There's nothing wrong with commenting that baby starts with the same sound as Bobby's name, etc. But he's too young to be "learning" any phonics unless he's showing a real interest. There are kids that WANT to be learning more formally, and that's fine, but take your cues from the child. Too much pressure too young will backfire on you. Instead, sit down and READ, READ, READ!!! But even there, don't force him when he doesn't want to. If he's playing with blocks, get down on the floor and play with him. Hand him blocks, and tell him "Here's a RED block!" "Here's anothe RED block...Can you find a RED one, too?" Or count how many blocks high his tower is. But keep it rather informal. Do lots of songs and finger plays with him.

I don't consider what you're doing homeschooling, nor do you really seem to be interested in homeschooling per se. But that doesn't mean you're not welcome here. We love kids, and the goal for ALL of us, regardless of where are kids are educated, is to provide a quality education for our children. There are some here who have kids both in public and private schools, some that are only HS'ing temporarily, some that are in it for the long haul, one gal who has been hired to homeschool someone else's child! I can tell from your post that this is your desire, too, even though you might chose to go about it differently than many of us. So please feel free to ask any questions you wish. There are some of us you will agree with us on, and others you will probably think are a bit...extreme...(no names, LOL!) Anyway, welcome!

[mickiby]

Thank you all for the responses and information.

It is hard for me to fully feel like i am not depriving my child in some way. All the kids he knows that are in school pre-school that is. Are doing lessons in school. i am sure they do it in a way that is more play. but i see the sheets and they know there letters from doing a letter a week and such in class, but i feel like by keeping my DS in the home care he is slowly slipping behind and that was my main concern to not let him slip behind. i much prefeer the home care he is at with less kids, less germs and more one on one hugs love and lap time. The kind of treatment i could give him if i didn't HAVE to work to pay the bills kind of a thing.

Homeschooling is a goal i would love to attain if i could finacially step away from the checks but at this time that is sooo not even a glimmer in the future. :confused:

I do play well and that is how he learned his colors and the things he does know. I thought maybe by teaching him letters and reading concepts i could open his world to a freedom of exploring thur his minds eyes. maybe i will back off a bit on the formal thing.

When in your opnions is the formal type lesson a concept they should begin to learn.

With me my goal is 5-10 min lesson a day that is it. either right after we get home from the work day around 6:00 pm or if we are eating out i take the lesson with us to the resturant and we do lesson while we wait for our food. keeps all parties busy.

Is there a way to really teach thru play phonics and letters?? and or reading? DS does love reading book we do it ALL the time as does his Homecare. I was totally looking into getting him the BOB books for the holidays... in my origianl thinking of course. now it seems everything is being pondered.

I just dont want to fail as a mom or principle educator in his life right now. i don't want to hear in a few years when i take him to school that he is behind and that i did things in a way that made him weak in areas that he should have an understanding for....

i think i will hunt for the preschool person you all mentioned if i could understand what they do for them in that setting maybe i could learn how to better my method to be more play and less structure with enough knowledge to still not go to bed questioning my parenting each day...

[Brooke]

You can go to the Member List and find JenPooh. There should be an option to Private Message her, which is used quite often and eliminates the use of exchanging email addresses. This forum is extremely user friendly.

In regard to being behind his peers....you'll find that many homeschoolers have come to recognize--either through public school experiences or otherwise--that comparing of children is harmful to all parties involved and most of the time unreliable. By that I am referring to the notion that all kids of one age need to learn the same thing in the same way at the same time on the same day. There are kids who do okay in that setting and then there are the majority who miss a building block in their educational foundation because their shirt collar was too tight or their nose was stuffy or they didn't get enough sleep the night before or they simply need to process the information in a way that it isn't being presented. Given that people are so extremely different, the constant comparison of children at school given their numeric age is just bizarre to me.

I had a hard time with this concept at first, buying into the comparisons because that is all I had ever known and I was extremely academically competitive in school myself. Well, my oldest (the one I mentioned as being labeled gifted in public school) went into public school having every advantage because I took ques from him and taught him in the way he was interested. I never used baby talk and treated him as an intellectual person who just happened to have no knowledge yet. Thus, when he entered kindergarten he was way ahead of the pack and should have been placed in a more challenging environment....BUT....since school is more about fitting in with peers as opposed to each child getting what they need he remained in the kindergaren classroom with children who were not as advanced in areas that he was. He couldn't carry on a conversation with the kids because most of them were, well, typical kindergarteners and when he tried to converse with the people who interested him (adults) he was told to remain quiet. You can imagine the frustration he experienced. His behavior declined as did his interest in learning and before the year was out I hardly recognized my son, who BTW was suspended twice that first year of school for zero tolerance policies and skipped out the door each time delighted that he had figured out what it would take to go home.

I'm not saying that will happen with your son, I just want to shed some light on the comparing of children and where on that comparison they fall when they enter the formal classroom. That placement can change overnight due to how they fit in to the classroom environment. If they are "behind" they will usually fall further and further and further behind unless someone is able to teach them the way they need to be taught. If they are "ahead" there is no gaurantee that they will remain there. It can also change year to year depending on their teacher and which child they are seated next to, kwim?

And to conclude this book ;)....when you asked about when to begin the more formal education...that varies by the individual child, too. When I mentioned we are relaxed it is because my son needs to be physically comfortable in order to learn the things I request of him. On his own his own interests drive him, but for me to present him with information I want him to learn he can't have irritating clothing, excessive noise or movement, hunger or anything like that going on...he's been hypersensitve to that stimuli since birth (literally) and I am able to take all of that into account at home.

I better quit now...I am heading into work, too. Again, hope you like it here and glean from everyone the things you need to help you and your son on your journey! :D

[mickiby]

thank you brooke for the information and you are right. i will have to learn. as he is my first child i have alot to learn. There is more to being a mom then i even had a clue about. SO thank you for all the information, I will be atempting to relax and learn new ways to provide stimulation and knowledge to my son.

I did PM jenpooh as well thank you for that advice also :D

The thing you said about every year... things changing.. IS that how it is going to be from now on... nothing is constant i will be revamping regulalry to be a better parent to the child i have at the time?? man it is so much and sooo confusing. i can learn. i just need some understanding and knowledge myself. being i am an only child and have never been arounf kids till i had one i am still shooting blanks it seems and to me that is very scary. i am a planner and someone who HAS to understand what is expected of me and what i need to do to meet my marks... so this is all soooooo different.

But at the same time, i fear failing soooo here i am at the cross road. lucky i found this forum to learn more about me and my son and how we can work together, thru life. arm in arm. i always say:)

[JenPooh]

Michelle, I just pm'd you and should be getting it soon. It was too long so I had to break it up in two messages.

As far as phonics, letters, number recognition, I don't think any age is too young to learn them. It all depends on how well he picks it up. My son knew all his letters by 2 years old because he really had a facination for them and wanted to learn. I don't think you need to be "formal" about...writing lesson plans and such. However, I think you could get your hands on a couple teacher resource books and look into acitivities to do in spare time, at night, and on weekends.

There are many ways to incorprate acitivities into play and every day life. Flashcards are good for those kids who love to learn visually. Leapfrog toys and other merchants carry off brand toys that are similar to leapfrog are good learning toys. For example: we have a learning toy that has the letters of the alphabet on it and we would sit together and say the names of them together, think of words that begin with the letter, and sound out the sounds. You can make your own materials as well. I made counting cards/flashcards with index cards and small stickers. For instance I wrote a number 2 on an index cards and stuck two stickers on that card. I have small little animals that they count with...putting an animal on each sticker and counting while placing them on the cards.

Buy a pair of scissors and just let him sit in the middle of the floor with magazines and let him practice cutting...of course, supervise him. I made the mistake and didn't supervise when we started with scissors and found a couple things that shouldn't have been cut. Small motor control is very important to be able to learn how to hold pencils correctly, etc.

In any case, start small with him, but challange him. Just don't over challange, but find out where he's at, when he's mastered something, take the next step. Don't look at his age as a roadblock, look at is as having that much more time for him to fly.

Teaching him the names of letters will be the first thing in teaching him phonics. Don't go in order of the alphabet. For instance...teach him the letter S around Christmas time (stocking, Santa, sleigh). Start with the capital letters first. Once he's mastered those, then go to the lowercase. Find out what font your child's school district will use (Zaner Blozar or D-Nealian). Personally, I hate D'Nealian and prefer ZB...much easier to teach because it's used in more texts and books. After he's know the letters names, then graduate to letter sounds.

Hope this helps a bit more. If I think of more I'll let you know.

[HeidiPA]

Michelle~
Brooke is SO right when she says that each child is different and because of that they should not all be taught the same way or treated the same way. You will learn (and it just come naturally~ not by what we're telling you here, or what you read in a book) exactly what his needs are and when and how to fill those needs.
My youngest daughter is 5 and she's doing first grade curriculum this year, reading books on a third grade level. However, we didn't work on anything "formal" until last year when we started kindergarten. And, even now, I don't push her at all~ if she's having an "off" day and I can tell she's not in the mood, we don't do any formal schooling. Most days, though, she's the type of kid who is pushing me to get the school stuff out and get to work!
I have been on homeschooling boards where ladies would say that 5 is too young for formal education. That may very well be the case for some kids. Mine, though, desires it, so off we go. You will learn the same.
As Brooke said, take your queue from your son.
JenPooh mentioned learning through toys~ educational toys and videos are are wonderful method of learning. The kids don't even realize that they are learning, because it's so much fun.
Just relax and have fun with your son~ that's your job!

[Jackie]

NO, NO, JEN!!! I student taught with D'Nelian and it's SO MUCH BETTER than ZB!!! (Oh, well! Guess that's another area for us to disagree, huh? :lol: ) Love ya!!!

Michelle, if you want to quit work, I would recomend the book "Women Leaving the Work Place" by Larry Burkett. You can probably get it at your local library. I understand that you don't feel it's something you can do NOW because of your financial situation, and that's fine. But it also will outline things you can do now to help get you to the place where you CAN quit. And it also shows how much of a woman's income is taken up by things like child care and a working wardrobe, so there's not really much of an advantage.

Just remember that you're a mother first. I've seen so many moms get so hung up on teaching that they forget to have fun with their kids. Seize on those teachable moments, but also let them do things just for the fun of it. And do those things WITH THEM! Things like jumping in a leaf pile. One day last year, we declared a "Homeschool Snow Day", and a bunch of us met at a sledding hill. GREAT FUN!

[Jackie]

Oh, yeah! Empty cereal boxes work very well for cutting. They're heavier so that the paper won't "bend" around the not-so-sharp scissors!

[mickiby]

wow thank you everyone!! what great stuff, i never even thought about sissors man. i thought that was a bad thing..see i really need to learn alot it seems. thankfully it seems there are lots of wonderful people to learn from here:)

i will incorporate the ideas suggested here for sure. i do make sure to have mommy time, i love being a mom and i am so blessed to have a little one to help me explore the world again.

I have been really working on phonics. so now i think i need to go to letters and not sounds. is it possible to do both at the same time?? i guess i can try. and let you all know:)
let the games begin.
thank you all so much, i do feel better about what i am doign now. 10 min a day is not so bad right. as long as he is willing for those 10 min and if he is not then we will jsut pass for the day, no more pressure. i thoughmaybe he was just trying to she where my line was in this new adventure. but maybe some days he is ready and others he is not.

thank you all

[JenPooh]

I will agree that to each is own. My cousin agrees with you Jackie, she likes D-Nealian much better because it's easier to introduce cursive in. She's a 3rd grade teacher. Being that I am a preschool teacher though, I find it a pain in the rear:). Most K teachers agree as well because the kids don't seem to pick it up as easy when they start to write. Just my opinoin, I can't stand D'Nealian! Yuck! Go ZB Go!!! ;)

[JenPooh]

Michelle, the things I focus on each day are Art, Math, Science, Small Motor, and Phonics/Letters/Reading. Maybe that can give you a start on what to look for.

My next post I will start posting the websites I told you about...there are a lot so I hope you're patient:)!

[mickiby]

i am so paitent:) thank you so much and i will mark them all in my favorites folder!! whoo hoo for many many many surfing pleasures this weekend!!!

[JenPooh]

Resources:
http://www.abcschoolhouse.com/free.html
http://www.picadome.fcps.net/lab/teacherl/lesson_plans/alpha/default.htm
http://www.alphabet-soup.net/
http://www.atozkidsstuff.com/presch.html
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/
http://www.auntannie.com/
http://www.bry-backmanor.org/
http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/
http://www.daniellesplace.com/
http://www.dltk-kids.com/
http://www.dltk-teach.com/
http://www.first-school.ws/
http://www.preschoolrainbow.org/
http://www.handwritingforkids.com/handwrite/
http://www.handwritingworksheets.com/
http://www.hubbardscupboard.org/index.html
http://www.hummingbirded.com/
http://www.janbrett.com/
http://webtech.kennesaw.edu/jcheek3/curriculum.htm
http://www.kinderhive.net/index.html
http://www.kinderkorner.com/
http://www.kinderprintables.com/
http://www.kinderteacher.com/
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/musicchild.htm
http://www.kizclub.com/activities.html
http://www.lil-fingers.com/
http://www.littlegiraffes.com/
http://www.magicnuudles.com/teachers/
http://www.make-stuff.com/kids/index.html
http://www.montessoriworld.org/default.htm
http://www.mrsalphabet.com/links.html
http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic2.htm
http://www.preschooleducation.com/
http://www.preschoolfun.com/pages/default.htm
http://www.preschoollearners.com/
http://www.syvum.com/squizzes/preschool/
http://www.schoolexpress.com/fwsindex.php
http://sherryskindergarten.homestead.com/
http://stepbystepcc.com/daycare.html
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp
http://teachers.net/lessons/
http://www.technospudprojects.com/calendar.htm
http://www.childfun.com/
http://www.eduref.org/
http://www.theideabox.com/
http://www.learningpage.com/free_pages/home.html
http://www.theeducationcenter.com/cgi-bin/tec/guest.jsp
http://members.aol.com/iteach345/page2/
http://www.preschoolbystormie.com/themes.htm
http://www.theschoolbell.com/index.html
http://www.theteachersguide.com/ChildrensSongs.htm
http://www.theteachersroom.com/
http://www.thevirtualvine.com/
http://www.123child.com/UBB/index.php?
http://www.kinderart.com/
http://www.makingfriends.com/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

Online Games:
http://www.noggin.com/
http://www.sesameworkshop.com/
http://disney.go.com/playhouse/today/index.html
http://www.hitentertainment.com/thomasandfriends/usa/
http://www.nickjr.com/
http://pbskids.org/
http://www.starfall.com/
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/default.htm
http://games.funschool.com/games.php?level=1

[JenPooh]

About the alphabet font...even though many will disagree which font is better to teach children in...(me and Jackie for instance;)...be sure you check out what your local school district uses (or where he's going to attend school) first if he is going to be going to a public/private school. Even if you'd like one over the other, it's no use teaching him in a font that isn't going to be used when he gets to school. They are similar and it really wont mess him up much, but it's helpful to know ahead of time.

[mickiby]

jen thank you sooo much for the links, there are days of things for me to surf around and find more information. ahhh research is something i love to do before jumping into something and now i feel like i actually have a direction. i will find out the font the broward school uses right after thanksgiving. it makes sense to show him what ever he will see at that point now.

thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!
i feel much better. now if only i can find a store like you mentioned in town, i shall be looking this weekend:)

what a wonderful find this site has proven to be for both be and my sons up and coming schooling needs:)

[JenPooh]

Michelle, you can also check out A to Z Teacher Stuff forums. It's quite a busy site with many other wonderful people on it. Many of us also go in that site as well.

Oh, there are also a couple teachers from your county I believe on that forum!!!

[N4Life]

(I know you've already got a huge list, but...)
Here's a fun educational site that my toddler just LOVES:

www.fisher-price.com

go down to "fun & family time" on the left hand column, and explore. Sounds like your ds would really enjoy the online games like my dd does!

[Brooke]

When I mentioned about my son being advanced beginnng kindergarten at public school, I should have included that it was because I took all those teachable moments with him...I think someone mentioned "here is a red block, and another red block". Just asking questions with toys will teach amazing things! With phonics math or anything else...."sssssssnake...see how the 'S' looks like your snake?" That is the approach I used and never did do one worksheet with him prior to school. BUUUUUUTTTTTTT....I will add that if you are planning on using a public or private school, he will be expected to sit down and do worksheets so I wouldn't ignore the idea all together, kwim? That was one of the problem areas he had when starting public school and in hind sight I would have incorporated worksheets earlier.

Glad to see you are getting the info you need. (isn't JenPooh wonderful with the preschool resources???!!!)

[becky]

Hi. Michelle.
I'm Becky, and I have a 5 yr old that I've been working with since she was 18 mos.

If your child can say the alphabet he SHOULD be able to recognize the letters! The alphabet song, showing him the letters and helping him to learn the letter sounds should all go hand in hand.
Same with numbers- if he can count to 20 by rote then he should also be able to point out those numbers to you, and be able to show you a set of whatever. It's all in how much you show him. There's no harm in showing him a 2, then saying 'this is two', then saying 'this is what two puppies look like', as you hold up two beanies.

He'll learn to count to 30 or 31 just if you do the calendar with him.

It's not torturing a child to start helping them early, and I've heard more than once that the prime time to begin teaching a child is between the ages of 2&5.

Go to your library and look for Mailbox Magazine, preschool level; Teacher's Helper, and Best of Mailbox Magazine for preschool. They have cute, easy ideas.

Have a ball with it, because this time goes so quickly.

[stinkyjoo]

For phonics and letter recognition you can get Leap Frog's DVD called "Letter Factory". I got this for my son when he turned 2 and he learned all the letters and their sounds in 2 weeks. The next DVD "Word Factory" teaches blending letters to read 3-letter words. My son was reading 3-letter words 3 months b4 he turned 3. The next DVD "Word Factory 2" or my son calls it "Complex Words" teaches when 2 vowels go walking the 1st one does the talking, Th, Ch and slient "e". My son just turned 4 and he is reading Level 1 books by himself. We are also using Abeka K5 and we are over half way finished. If you child is really wanting to learn go for it. Listen to what your son is interested in and go from there. If a child is interested in something then he will learn what he is interested in really quickly. But, don't push your child in lessons. If you push him he may grow up and hate learning.

[Lornaabc]

I will tell you what Ansley's K-5 wanted the most of all. They should be able to write their name with a capital first letter and lower case following. Like "Ansley" or "Joanne". That was a big big thing too. All letters and all sounds too. They expect alot now days.

[mickiby]

Thank you all so much for all the information. There is so much to soak in and learn.

I have not done "lessons" in 2 days, in an attempt to figure out what I might need to understand in order to effectivly "teach" my son.

I think my biggest challenege is I have never been around kids, never really had the responsabilty to be the "educator" and now I just feel like there is so much for me to learn before I can really teach my son the best way for him, while NOT burning him out early or pushing things he might not be ready to do or interested in. I wanted to start letters, not him. So in that aspect I was pushing and I don't want to do that. But i think he could learn that, as i am sure he could learn a lot.

I have many many resources now thanks to Jenpooh and all of you as well. I shall be exahausting them while I learn my role in the new phase of parenting I feel like i am walking into.

When I have a better idea what I can do with him in a way that he enjoys, thru trial and error I guess, we will both learn.

I do feel alot better now that I have more of an undrestanding and alot more to chew on, I don't feel like I am runing in the dark as much as I have been for a while. For that I am truely THANKFUL

[Jackie]

If he's not interested in letters, just point them out to him as you see them. Don't make a big deal about it. Sort of "Let's pour the milk for lunch. Oh, look!!! Here's that 'M' for milk! mmmmm....milk!" It takes three seconds to do, you're not "pushing", and he's getting it regardless. I've got my little nephew on Thursday AM's. He's 3. Now when I take him to my MIL (his full-time sitter), she says he no longer is satisfied with TWO crackers. He wants FIVE...holding up all five fingers. MIL says (with a laught) that this is all my fault, for teaching him to do "Five Little Monkeys jumping in a tree...."

[JenPooh]

You're so welcome Michelle. Have fun surfing the net with all those websites. If you can't find a teacher resource store near you I believe that you can order things from our local stores website at www.learningshop.com

I also bought the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics for my preschoolers when they first started with letters. They loved it. I am going to invest in the Word Whammer shortly because they are getting bored with it. However, now my son is enjoying putting the letters in order on the fridge with them now so I may have to wait on it.

I love ALL LeapFrog toys personally. I also bought him the Phonics Desk last year and recently is getting into it a lot. I am usually not a commercialized type of person, but I have not seen a LeapFrog toy or material yet that I have not liked.

The tapes DVD's that everyone is talking about are The Letter Factory, Talking Words Factory, Storybook Factory, and Math Circus. There is one more I can't remember the name...we don't have that one.

Also, in our district, and many others, and really in general (even though it may be a little early) it's really important to also teach kids the method of reading things left to right. Even now with doing things with him...when you read him a book, follow with your fingers so he gets "how" you are reading. Don't know if that made sense, but hopefully you get what I'm saying.

If you need anything else let me know. There are many ways to challenge a child without pushing. You'll get the hang of it:). Just be patient:)

[skippy7781]

Mikiby
Jackie is so right. The only other thing I can add is you seem to be really really concerned that you are not doing something right. You seem to be worried about what other people think. Don't stress it. As long as your child is fed, clothed,and has shelter, and his emotional needs met. It is good. It doesn't matter who does what first at an early age. The only thing that matters is you and your child.My daddy was a rocket scientist but could not get a highschool deploma because he could not pass freshman english.
The point is God made us just the way he wants us. Some of us are talented,some of us are not so swift. It's ok. Where we are lacking in one area we make up for in others.Wheather your son knows his letters by the time he is three or not has no bearing as to wheather you are a good mother. It is good having a time set aside for him. I used to call it mommy time.You come down to his level sit in the floor with him. Sing to him read stories to him and give him one on one time. His love for learning will blossom. The season is short. It won't be long he will be going off to college. ENJOY THIS TIME OF HIS LIFE.

[Lornaabc]

Pick tv shows that teach too.

[mickiby]

You guys are so wonderful. I feel much better already. I am going to work on mommy and me time. it seems like all the time i have with him is that. but to him i bet it is not. so i will work on a mommy and me time each day where he gets to pick what we do:) i bet he will like that.

i have not really been compairing him to other kids or anything. i guess the first years there were sooo many milestones. siting crawling pulling up crusin walking sounds talking and now he is potty trained except at night. and since that was the last thing we worked on i felt like i needed to work on something. I have been teaching colors and stuff as you guys said so i am hoping i can incorporate that in to teaching letters now that you pointed it out.

i still have yet to have a lesson formally since you guys showed me so much information. but my son has still been playing on the computer and learning things that way. so in a way we are pressing on. i have the letter factory now as well as the word thing. so i hope he will enjoy those we will put those in for the road trip this weekend:)

speaking of learning shows...... one of my favorite cartoons on is read between the lions!!! i totally love that show, if you have not heard of it look for it:)

[JenPooh]

I have seen that one. It's cute:) My son loves Little Einsteins lately. He loves music tremendously to begin with. He also really loves Zaboomafoo since he also is an animal lover.

[skippy7781]

I used to take care of a boy who was autistic.His mother says he likes to watch the spanish speaking channel. They put him in aroom by himself with the tv on. I turned it to Dora The Explorer. He was hard of hearing. so I sat with him in my lap and repeated everything they sang. He started laughing and that evening he started trying to sign. I had to take a crash course in sign language.His mom was so amazed . All I did was give him some time.

[Jackie]

GO, CHICKEN JANE!!! I learned to read with Dick and Jane, so I just about lost it the first time I saw Chicken Jane. My kids don't understand why Mom gets such a kick out of it! "Between the Lions" is part of my son's scheduled educational activities during the day. It's the only TV I permitted until school's done.

[mickiby]

I think that is great that you are able to share chicken jane with your kids:) I never heard of that before read between the lions. I think i need to set up my tv to record all those shows:) so i can use it as needed i would buy the set if i could find it!!!!!

skippy i think that is wonderful that you were able to learn how to comunicate with that child and help him learn to live in his world in a way he can express. DH and I have often spoke about adopting a deaf child. I love sign language, I atempted to teach that to my son as a baby. he did great picked up on more and eat and drink and the main things i wanted to be able to communicate with him, however to my surprise he was speaking clear at 1 and never stoped talking from that momment on. some times i wish he could sign so my ears could get a break... hee hee i feel bad but sometimes he is rambling and rambling and on and on and i look at him and try to get a word in and say.. breathe 123 he breathes then he keeps going, my child my mom says:)

[Jackie]

My background is working with kids that were often non-verbal. People think that teaching sign would slow down speech development, but actually the opposite is true. Non-verbal children (or "pre-verbal" in your case, Michelle!) who are taught signing often improve their verbal skills right along with the signs. The big thing is COMMUNICATION. So many times people see the behaviors of special need children, and can't get by them. But often the behavior is a result of frustration over their lack of communication. The temper tantrum is because YOU can't understand what they want! And that's also a reason so many kids go through the "terrible twos". I found with mine that if I were able to identify what it is they wanted, they didn't throw fits. Now, if they want something, I say no, and THEN they throw a fit, that's a whole different story, LOL!

[mickiby]

that makes sense jackie now that you say it like that. once he realized he could tell me things in a way i understood it blew up. i always spoke the words as we signed and eventually he just said the words and stoped the signs.

I have always said to my son "please use your words" and that has stopped alot of tantrums in their tracks. my new phase at the momment is "i don't speak whine". he has a tone about him that is just whinie sometimes. makes me nuts. and when he is talking in that tone i tell him that and he bucks up breathes and tries again. sometimes he starts with "i am not speaking whine mommy" and that works for me.

[Jackie]

I'm still going through that some with Phillip at times, and he'll be six in a few weeks. I would tell my kids that they could whine and fuss all they wanted, as long as they did it in their room with the door closed. It got to where all I had to ask was, "Are you fussing?" and they'd respond with a big sigh, roll the eyes, and say "Noooooo....." and walk away, LOL! He got in trouble the other day for his attitude, and I sent him upstairs to "talk with God about his attitude". He came down and told me he had a "high temper", and God wants him to have a "low temper". (He had gotten upset with his sister). So we discussed ways to keep a "low temper".

[Brooke]

:lol:...Jackie, I might try something new with my kids (I use the whiny is fine if you are by yourself in your room where it doesn't cause a problem for someone else). I like the "high temper/low temper" idea...whit usually will difuse ds's temper...I might let him know that he is getting around 200 degrees the next time his temper is rising and see if he catches it :lol:.

[JenPooh]

"I don't speak whine"! I like that one. I'll have to use that one.

I teach my children a new Spanish word every other week as well. Even if they never speak it fluently, I at least would like them to be able to say the basics to help communicate with people who speak Spanish. Our area is filled with many families that don't speak English. I also do sign language with them and did with my son when he was an infant and toddler. It really helped him to communicate before he could talk, and I think it helps any child to communicate better and become less frustrated with not being able to communicate properly. I think that's where lots of frustration comes from at a young age...not being able to communicate and problem solve properly.

[becky]

mickiby, try www.reallygoodstuff.com (http://www.reallygoodstuff.com/) for a Between the Lions set. I bought a set about two years ago. I forget how many videos you get, but there are plenty.