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Spinoff: What can your 4 year old do?
I know all kids are different but I just want to get some ideas as to where DD falls and whether or not we should "beef up" our at home activities.
She recognizes probably half of the letters of the alphabet and can write maybe three of them legibly. Numbers she recognizes 1-5 and can count to about twenty. She counts to about 12 when counting things (one-to-one correspondence).
She can write the R and the a's in her name but really isn't very interested in it. She recognizes her name about half the time which is something her dc teacher said she really needs to focus on.
Also, her dc teacher mentioned that she needs to learn her birthday. She knows November but forgets the day.
So tell me...where are your little ones and what do you feel like they should know by 4? (DD will be 4 at the end of November, by the way).
Thanks for the suggestions/input!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Spinoff: What can your 4 year old do?
DD just turned 4. She has 2 older sisters who like to play school with her and have taught her to recognize the letters and numbers. She can write her name and several other letters (but not all and occasionally needs reminders about how to form certain letters). She can write the numbers 1-9. She can recognize her own name and her sisters' names. She knows her birthday but that's probably because it was just this last Sunday.
I really don't think kids need to be at a specific point at this age. By the time they're ready to start kindergarten they probably need to be familiar with letters, numbers, colors, and shapes, be able to use scissors, and be able to write their name. Knowing their phone number and address is another skill that is good to have for kindergarten.
DS knows the alphabet, all caps and most lowercase (confuses b. d. p, q pretty often), can write 3-4 letters if pressed.
Numbers, recognizes and counts to 20, then breaks down and skips ahead to 30. LOL
I don't know if he knows his birthday-- that and our address and phone aren't something I drill him on, and don't intend to start.
They are little kids. There is all the time in the world to learn this crap. I would rather he learn his physical universe and have some imagination before he starts studying for standardized tests.
I was a teacher, so it's not as if I don't know how to do it. I just don't think I have to.
DS - December 2006
DD - December 2008
DD will be 4 in two weeks. She can write all her letters, her first and last name, Daddy, mommy, jack and lilly (our dog). She will often ask how to spell something and write that. She is pretty good at decoding words with basic phonics, and working on some sight words (her school words on sightwords), She can count to 100, one to one correspondence to 19, she gets hung up on 20 for some reason, match groups of objects with the right number, can write her numbers up to 19 once again 20 is hard for her. She loves to draw pictures of our family and nature (rainbows, suns, flowers), she can draw basic shapes (hearts, squares, triangles).
Really each kid at this age is so different and they all will basically be in the same spot at some point. DD has had a lot of exposure to various things in her preschool program and really wants to read like her cousin who she loves!
DD (4 years old) knows all her letters and numbers up to 20. She can draw a circle, square, triangle, rectangle and octagon.
She can write her first name, knows her birthday and my cell phone number. She needs a little help writing other letters ( I write them down on a separate sheet of paper and she writes them on her paper).
At 2 years old she learned the Pledge of Allegiance. Her favorite lullaby now is the Star Spangled Banner, so she knows that. My cousin has been singing some song about the states with her ( Fifty Nifty).
I don't know what 4 year old's "should" know. I just know my DD is really interested in learning. She asks a ton of questions and I answer them. Lately, she has been wanting to know what 2+2 is. So in the shower, we add. She also was on a rhyming kick. She rhymes everything.
The thing that blows my DH's mind is that she can navigate around his ipod touch better than he can.
I don't know where a 4 yr old 'should' be, but I'll tell you where my son is on things (4y4m). He starts preschool tomorrow, and hasn't been in daycare for a year, since I've been a SAHM. And honestly, I don't work with him on things in a structured environment...it's all spur-of-the-moment type times (in the car, spinoff from reading a book, etc).
Numbers - he counts to 12. He knows 13-20, but doesn't get them in the correct order. he can do simple math/addition in his head....1+2=3, if we need 3 he'll say "mom, you get two and I'll get one".
Alphabet - knows the song, can recognize all of them most of the time. Sometimes he'll get M/N or V/W confused. Can spell/write his name "BEN" in all caps, but the 'N' is backwards.
Colors - knows all, recognizes all.
Shapes - knows all, recognizes all
Other things - great at rhyming words (pen/hen, bed/head, etc), loves games like Memory (we usually use 1/2 the pairs), he knows his birthday, but can't say the number correctly, like ever (23rd). He knows DH & I's real names, and can remember our phone number about 1/2 the time. A couple random things - he can totally direct someone thru our 'hood to our house (4 intersections), and can direct me to the DCP's house (they go once a week). He can also differentiate between car models....like I have a red Honda Odyssey and my parents have a red Chryser T&C....he will see a blue T&C and say "that's like mamaw, but the wrong color" (and the same with a Honda....and knows the van are the same color but not same kind). He'll also recognize vehicles like our friends' vehicles when were just driving around or at a stop light. So random and bizarre all at once....to me, anyhow.
As a side note....last night at orientation for K4, the teacher made a comment like, "we'll be working on them recognizing their name, then how to spell it, then hopefully by the end of the year they will be able to write it." So, he's apparently ahead of average in that respect.
Personally, I think there's a little too high of standards for 3/4 yr olds.....I'd just encourage her and keep re-iterating things over and over, but don't stress her out or try to grind things in. I think they have to be ready to absorb that to really 'get it'....you can't force things.
GL!
Thanks for all the input! It seems that she is on the right track. Somedays I worry so much about her getting behind but at the same time, I want learning to be fun for her and not something I "make" her do. She loves to do "homework" like her big sister (my sd) but not for more than a few minutes unless it involves markers or cutting and gluing. lol. I guess that is about right for her age.
She does know all of her colors and shapes and remembers the most random things sometimes so we are good to go there. The reading is what worries me most I guess. As a special ed teacher, I know that the kids who struggle with reading are more likely to struggle in other areas too so I really want her to get that part but she won't start K for another two years because of her late birthday so I guess we have plenty of time to learn the rest of those letters. Thanks again for all the input!!
DS is going into his second year of 5 day part-day preschool. I attribute this hugely to what he can do. He can spell/write his first, middle and last name and his phone number. He knows his street address, city and state and recognizes all letters of the alphabet. He can count to 30 and knows colors and shapes. He could identify (I wouldn't call it read) all 11 of his classmates names if he saw them in writing. He can spell mom, dad, charlotte, jackson, nana, papa. He literally was a sponge in preschool and absorbs things really well. He knows he was born in Oct but can't remember the day. He starts school next week and I can't wait to see what this year brings.
Sounds like your DD is right on track for her age
As far as language skills, ML (4y4m, so a bit older than your DS) can read most easy-to-sound-out words. She knows some sight words, but not many. We try to have her read a Level 1 book once a day or every 2 days. She can write out most easy-to-sound words, and longer words with some help/hints (i.e., for "daddy", I'll say, "What letter says ee at the end?" or remind her about silent e's).
Math skills, she can add/subtract using her fingers or by drawing out lines. She's not super intuitive about math. i.e., she still has to use her fingers to add 1 to any number, rather than recognizing it's just the next number. And yet, I have noticed she's pretty quick about recognizing quantity and doing some quick math in her head; the other day, she glanced into the muffin jar and said, "There are only 6 muffins left. 3 for me, 3 for TB." I was like, whoa. But, maybe she just memorized that half of 6 is 3, I don't know.
She started piano lessons about 5 weeks ago, and we are super proud of her in this regard. Her teacher thinks she has a real natural talent for it, and has good pitch, something both H and I lack. So, there's some hope for our kids! But who knows, maybe the teacher says that to all new students.
I don't think we've ever taught her the actual date of her birthday. She just knows it's in April.
My DD knows all the letters and can write most of them without help. She writes her name all.the.time. She's learning her middle and last name, now. She's been infatuated with letters since she was 18 months old, though.
She can count to 20 (though, she sometimes forgets 10). She can write numbers up to 10. She knows her colors and shapes.
I can't think of anything else that really stands out. She doesn't seem to be stuttering anymore, which is a relief.
ETA: After reading some other PP's, I was reminded that DD knows our address. I haven't started on our phone numbers yet, though. Also, unrelated, but she knows which fire station in town is which. We'll drive by one and she'll say, "There's Station 1!" I think it's cute that she's so into DH's job. She says she wants to be a firefighter like Daddy when she grows up.
My DS is 4.5 too and can do all his numbers, colours and shapes. He can write and he can read some words. He is great at maths and loves sequences (Like counting in sequence...11, 22, 33,44,55,66 etc. Or counting in 10's or 100's etc)
He knows our address, and all our ages and birthdays. He knows today is the 25th of August and that he starts school in 6 days.
He speaks Irish.
He's a whizz at computer games and will kick most adults asses at Wii Fit plus games. LOL
I think he's a bit ahead of where the books say he should be. My other 2 are on track.
All kids are different, but I know its hard not to compare. Where they are now does not always reflect how clever they will be as an adult.
L-R: Liam (7), Eimhin (6) and Fionn (4)! (Irish names)
Too busy to update the pics for now ...
DS has known upper and lowercase letters since he was about 2. (Not AW-ing -- his toddler obsession was with letters.) He can count to about 50 and can recognize numbers up to about 29.
He hates writing and it's a struggle to get him to write his name. He can write clearly maybe 5 letters. He doesn't really like drawing either and gets frustrated extrememly easily.
He does not know his birthday even though it just passed. He never remembers the month.
One of DD's favorte things to do is to sit down and write/read words. She asks for paper and markers at least twice a day then asks how to spell words or writes out names, numbers and such. I also know about her counting and adding because we talk about it in the car on the way to and from places. I have never had to actually sit down and see what she could do it just comes up in everyday activities, and we never ever actually sit down to do seat work either.
Oh, please. DS has learned most of his letters from his Fridge Phonics toys and Dora and Diego. I certainly don't sit him down at the table and drill him on the stuff. He's 3.5.
The only reason I know what letters he can write is that he's done a whopping 3 of them and drags me in to see the chalkboard. He can write M, X and T consistently. :-)
As I said before, I would much rather he go digging around for worms and stuff than know how to read before kindergarten.
DS - December 2006
DD - December 2008
Really? No I don't keep a list. I know these things by interacting with her throughout the day. Sitting down and drawing with her, singing in the car, talking in general. I don't ever drill her on anything. We just talk about and do whatever she is interested in at the time.
Duh. Coffee hasn't kicked in yet.
When you're competing with other moms, you've gotta remember that stuff.
DS - December 2006
DD - December 2008
It sounds like you shouldn't have any worries. I'm not knocking anyone who sits down and teaches their children academics or keeps track of individual skills at all. But I also don't think it really matters at this point. If your kid has a particular interest and you encourage it, great. But at this age, being able to recite things or write doesn't translate into school success. My DD was in EI and part of her treatment plan included me going to a weekly "playgroup" with her where the parents would separate from the kids for part of the session and we would be "taught" how to teach our kids. I remember the instructor telling us that the best indicator of lifelong academic success is the size of the child's vocabulary in kindergarten. As far as some kids being able to recite the alphabet, multiplication facts and all the presidents in order, those kids started out ahead of their peers but by third grade, the rest of the kids had caught up accademically. Furthermore, the kids who been spoon fed a lot of information at an early age often ended up not having the skills to push themselves later on. They were only able to "memorize" when the teacher gave them specifics about what was expected of them. After about 4th grade, children are expected to start using critcal thinking skills rather than memorization. The kids who had been pushed at an early age actually did worse on tests of these skills. many of them had "burned out" at an early age and were resistant to develop further skills.
Again, I know some kids naturally like letters or numbers or whatever and I am not knocking parents who want to teach these things to their 3 & 4 yos. I just think in the long run, it doesn't necessarily mean anything. If you really want to teach your child some useful skills to prepare her for school, teach her how to get along with others. Make up games where she has to follow strings of instructions (make up a scavenger hunt, etc.). Teach her to figure out how things work. Help her develop a love of readi. For girls especially, work on her self esteem and let her know it's cool to be smart.
When it's coloring time, DS likes to sit and draw the letters H, C, F, E and L. So I now have 10,000 pieces of paper with those letters on them. They're on the fridge. They're in his room. They're in my office. They're EVERYWHERE.
So, yeah, I know what specific letters he can write.
yes I'm marveling at the recall! and LOL Lari. Good point
Before DS was 4 he could recognize all letters. Shortly after DS turned 4 he learned all of his letter sounds and learned to write. I really didn't think he would do it but something just clicked one day. Around 4.5 to 4.75 he was doing word building (like, r+an, c+an, b+an, etc) and starting to read short 3 letter words.
As far as numbers, he's always been able to count up to 20, but doesn't recognize numbers in the teens, twenties, etc. as easily still. And, he really doesn't understand simple addition and subtraction still (he just turned 5).
I was just talking to Annalise's daycare/preschool teacher yesterday, and she said that she's ahead of what most 4 year olds know at this point. (She said all of the girls in her class are this year.)
She can recognize her name and the names of all her classmates.
She knows all her letters, upper and lower case. She can write most straight upper case letters. For instance, she can do the A, L, I, and E in her name. She can sometimes do the N. She tends to get confused with where to start that last line. She needs help with the S.
She recognizes number up to 12 maybe. She gets the higher ones confused - like thinking that 16 is sixty one. Reading speed limit signs she'll say 5-4 for 45 mph. So I think she's just reading backwards.
She can count to 39 by herself. With help she can get to 100. She can't always remember the 40, 50, 60, etc when counting by ones. But she can count by 10s up to 100. I think she understands the concept of counting things, so she could probably count that many objects too.
We haven't worked on writing numbers at all.
She knows her birthday is in May but doesn't know the date.
It sounds like your DD is doing just fine.
Charlotte Ella 07.16.10
Emmeline Grace 03.27.13
dd has been recognizing all upper case letters since the month she turned 2. with no drilling. she just pointed at an H one day and said "H". we would say the alphabet pointing to it at the playground (you know the playsets that have it on it)... but not really every time. she recognizes most lower case now.... although some prints confuse her... like when lower case g looks almost more like an "8" ... has that loop at the bottom ... in some of her older books.
she knows her colors and shapes. she reads some small words .. like "red"" mom" "dad" "cup" "pup" . she's not reading full sentences.
she can write her name. although it's not often she wants to do it. she wrote "mom" on the chalkboard unprovoked. she will write x, N, M, O, L, i and I, T, t. but not if I ask her to... not with worksheets I print out for her. just at random on the chalkboard.
she knows my and dh's full names, knows our address about 1/3 of the times I ask. she does not know our phone number yet. but knows 911. in this area we have to dial the area code for even local numbers... so this may be tricky.
she counts to 40 on her own. can out backwards from 10 to blastoff. she knows the 10s (10, 20, 30, 40...). does some simple math (dh will ask... if I have 2 apples and mommy gives me 1, how many do I have?).
she asks a lot of questions. we ask her a lot of questions to make her think. she's a thinker.
ds is better with fine motor. dd is figuring things out.