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Jane Ramsey
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| Posted: Aug 03 2007 at 11:37am | IP Logged
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Much to my dismay, my 5 1/2 year old son does not know the alphabet and has little interest in learning it. I am not pushing him to start reading by any means. But I really thought he would have just picked up the alphabet by now. We read all the time. We have plenty of alphabet books, cards, puzzles, sandpaper letters, you name it.
He took the Mercy Academy learning styles test, which revealed that he is definitley an auditory learer. I already knew this, as he will sit and listen to me read anything and he loves to talk.
So, now, I am trying to find a way to get him intersted in learning the alphabet. I let him pick a letter and we started today. I found some fun activities to try. But he got frustrated quickly and said he didn't want to learn it.
I bought some alphabet videos (Dr. Suess and Richard Scarry), but neither of them has captivated him very much. I have just ordered a Steve Weeks CD (he has a song for every letter of the alphabet) so I'm hoping that will help.
Maybe I should not be pushing this? I haven't pushed him on anything academically up til now. It just seems to me that he should at least be starting to learn the alphabet.
Has anyone been through this before?
Any suggestions on working with an auditory learner?
Encouragement, sympathy?!
Thanks!
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amyable
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| Posted: Aug 03 2007 at 12:03pm | IP Logged
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If you are open to videos, all my various style learners have gotten something out of the Leap Frog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory videos. They really seem to pair a strong visual with an distinct auditory cue for each letter.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of 
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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Jane Ramsey
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| Posted: Aug 03 2007 at 1:03pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, Amy.
I've been thinking about Leap Frog videos, too.
But we watched one at a friend's house once, and something annoyed me about it:
"the L says 'ul'" and
"the N says 'un'"...or something like that.
Maybe I'm being too picky. But I don't get how you can learn to read "log" if l says "ul". It would be "ul-log."
Is that silly of me?
Did you notice that about Leap Frog?
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amyable
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Yes, that did bother me a bit, but if I remember correctly the "L" one was the worst, and the others are pretty clear. Anyway, it didn't seem to stop my kids (even my now 4yo) from learning it the "right" way, I just make sure I reinforce with the correct sound when I'm singing the songs with them or teaching in other ways. I told me kids it's hard for them to get all the sounds to come out perfectly clear on a video/audio, so they had to "exaggerate" and thus it sounded like "ul" or whatever.
The other thing that bothered me (but again, it didn't seem to slow down my kids) is that it is taught almost exclusively in uppercase, and I'm with the Montessorians that it can be better taught with lower case. I think I'm just being overly picky though, because I can't get over how fast my children (and all other children I know IRL who have watched these on a regular basis) have learned their letters and letter/sound connection.
HTH.
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Amy
mom of 5, ages 6-16, and happy wife of
The Highly Sensitive Homeschooler
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missionfamily
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I am in the same boat here, and although I have not tested, I suspect my 6 year old to be an auditory-kinesthetic learner with a bit of an attention deficit. Now, he will sit totally focused and enthralled with something that interests him, but will have nothing to do with such conventional knowledge as the ABCs and counting. I have had some success by using things he likas aa manipulatives, like writing upper and lower case letters on rocks and counting things like roll bugs he has caught etc...curently however, something interesting has happened, he's shown an interest in learning to read and sounding out words....so I'm thinking of letting the whole ABC thing go (gasp) and just beginning phonics. Once he knows their sounds and sees their value in making words to express ideas, he's bound to know their names, right? I always get nervous as I watch this one grow, and am always proven wrong when he eventually does what needs to be done is his own way and in his own time. Is it possible that there are little ones for whom the best thing to do is stay out of their way, no frustrate them, and let learning take its own course? Okay, this has gotten more philosophical than I expected. Sorry.
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Colleen
dh Greg
mom to Quinn,Gabriel, Brendan,Evan, Kolbe, and sweet St. Bryce
Footprints on the Fridge
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sweetiesmom
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I have had pretty good luck using "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 EZ Lessons" with my little ones. I remember going through the lessons with my first dd and about halfway through the book the lesson actually teaches the alphabet names...not the sounds. I thought this was odd at the time, b/c she knew her ABC's but my ds definately didn't know his ABC's and he did learn to read using the book. We actually spent a few extra days on those lessons that taught the letter names b/c he didn't know them, he sure could tell me the sounds that the letters made though.
Amy H.
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Jane Ramsey
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missionfamily wrote:
| I'm thinking of letting the whole ABC thing go (gasp) and just beginning phonics. Once he knows their sounds and sees their value in making words to express ideas, he's bound to know their names, right? I always get nervous as I watch this one grow, and am always proven wrong when he eventually does what needs to be done is his own way and in his own time. Is it possible that there are little ones for whom the best thing to do is stay out of their way, no frustrate them, and let learning take its own course? Okay, this has gotten more philosophical than I expected. Sorry. |
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Colleen, this may be just what I needed to hear. There are so many other learning activities that we do that he really loves...why push him to do something that is uninteresting and frustrating to him?
I have thought, as you and Sweetiesmom suggested, that we could move on to phonics and he'll pick up the letter names at some point. But this is why it worries me--it may be silly, I know---but when he went for his 5 year checkup, they did an eye test on him. He failed it, not because he doesn't see well, but b/c he didn't know the letters and couldn't tell them what he was seeing! The doctor was somewhat shocked, and both Casimir and I were embarassed. I've told him they are going to do that test again when he's six and he needs to know the letters before then. Is that silly? I was hoping it would be a goal for him to shoot for, but it seems to worry and stress him. I didn't mean to do that.
There's no point in putting stress on a five year old!
I think I'll just let it go for a while...maybe buy him those Leap Frog DVDs and see if he's interested. (I think you're right, Amy. They are minor flaws compared to the good that alot of kids seem to get out of them!) If not, try again in a few months?
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DivineMercy
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I found "The ordinary parents' guide to teaching reading" at a used book sale, it included a CD of a few songs and a man saying the sounds of the letters as a part of a poem. I have not worked on learning letters with my 3.5 year old except when he asks what they are, which he is doing more of, but he really liked hearing the man go over the poem over and over. I was just listening to see what it was like, but he enjoyed it.
Just wanted to share another resource. And, by the way, they do have other charts they can use to do an eye exam that do not use the letters. They are not quite as accurate, but can give a good indication of whether or not your child needs correction.
God bless,
Michelle
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Karen T
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Jane Ramsey wrote:
I have thought, as you and Sweetiesmom suggested, that we could move on to phonics and he'll pick up the letter names at some point. But this is why it worries me--it may be silly, I know---but when he went for his 5 year checkup, they did an eye test on him. He failed it, not because he doesn't see well, but b/c he didn't know the letters and couldn't tell them what he was seeing! The doctor was somewhat shocked, and both Casimir and I were embarassed. I've told him they are going to do that test again when he's six and he needs to know the letters before then. Is that silly? I was hoping it would be a goal for him to shoot for, but it seems to worry and stress him. I didn't mean to do that.
There's no point in putting stress on a five year old!
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I decided awhile back that it was much more important to know the sounds of the letters than to know their names. My ds, now 7.5, and dd, almost 6, know all the sounds quite well and can sound out a lot of short words and read some sentences. However, neither of them knows all the letter names yet! We had the same issue at the eye doctor and my kids just said the sounds, and I explained to the dr. that we had concentrated more on learning to read, and not what they are called, and they were fine with that.
It's only now really coming back to bite me, b/c dd wants to write and read more and is constantly "spelling" out words she sees and asking me what they are, but she says them as the letter sounds. So, I hear her ask, "what does kuh, aaa, muh, eh say" instead of "what does C-A-M-E say" and have to mentally translate!  Listening to her "spell" her name (Kathleen) is really a job!
We have the Leapfrog videos and my kids liked to watch them occasionally but never really got into them and I can't say it made much difference in their learning. We used alphabet cards (both pictorial and sandpaper letters) to learn the sounds, and then Phonics Pathways to begin phonics.
Karen T
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SeaStar
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My kids both learned their letter names and sounds from the Starfall website.
They see the letter, then hear it spoken along with the sound, and then they enjoy the fun graphics. I do this with them- they take turns sitting on my lap and picking out which letter to do next. Even though they know the letters now, they still ask to "do letters" with me. They have their favorites. The site also has fun music activities, poems, etc. It's all free. We have watched the LeapFrog Dvds as well, but they much prefer Starfall.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Lillian
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Melinda,
Thank you SOOO, SOOOOO much for the link to Starfall. My kids LOVE it!! 
Even my 9 yo (who's dyslexic) likes to "play." Ever since having her diagnosed I always assume the smaller ones could have the same problem. So I really LOVE it when I find a resource that is multi-sensory.
I can't believe its free and so easy to access too!!
Thanks again!! 
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Blessings,
Lillian
Isabelle 9, Anna 7, Sophia 5, Kolbe 4, Catherine 2
Smithflections
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Auditory learner and ABCs
