Not Learning Letters

[glperky]

This is not HOD related so I don't know if I am allowed to ask this question, so if I am not, please forgive me and delete this.

I have a DS who will be 7 in Nov. We have been working on letters and their sounds since he was 3. We have used Leap Frog videos, Reading Eggs, Star Fall, games, curriculum, etc. but he doesn't retain them at all. He knows how to spell his name which has two Es and two Ts, but if I ask him to write one of those letters, he doesn't rememebr what they are, along with most any letter. Last night I was pointing to letters on the key board and asking him what they are and I would point to the T and he would say "E" so then I would point to the E and he would say "E". It was this way with most of the letters. At this point, I have no idea how to help or where to begin research on what might be wrong. Can anyone give me some help and insight? Thank you.

[StillJulie]

I don't know. I have a DD who will be 7 in November. I did not start trying to teach her letters much until this past school year. She knows a few more than your son, but not by much. I switched from All About Reading (which we'd worked through the Pre-Reader level) to the Reading Lesson. Thanks to my3son's reminder, I went ahead and ordered the accompanying CD. I'm trying to be very informal this summer b/c I think pressure is the last thing she needs. I did buy the AlphaTales book and CD (b/c she LOVES to look at books), so she picks that up fairly regularly to listen to/look at.

[glperky]

Julie,

Did you like the AAR pre-level? Would you recommend it?

[StillJulie]

Julie,

Did you like the AAR pre-level? Would you recommend it?

Not really. No.

AAR levels 1-3 have worked very well for an older child of mine who is below grade level in his reading ability. For a new reader, I think there is WAY too much on a page. It's a STARK contrast to the Reading Lesson.

[pjdobro]

Have you tried LHTH? I know it uses a lot of different approaches to help a dc learn the letters. Something that has a multi-sensory approach like that might be helpful. We came to HOD a little to late to use that guide, but I love the looks of it. I think the songs that go with the letters, the active play with them, and the touch approach is really great. It covers a lot of different ways for the dc to see, hear, and play with the letter. Maybe your ds just has a different learning style that you haven't tapped into yet.

[glperky]

Patty,

Thanks for the idea. Haven't even thought of going that far back in the guides.

[Nealewill]

With that much practice, I almost wonder if something else is going on. Have you tried The Reading Lesson? It is very similar to AAR. AAR just goes more deeply and with more special sounds. My son is 8 and I know he doesn't know all of his letter names and he can't sing the alphabet song. But he can read LOL. I wonder if you take it slowly and keep going if that will help. Also - I found that my kids didn't need to know letter names to read. All of my kids learned sounds long before learning the names of letters. Even my two youngest - they don't necessarily know how to write all of the capital letters still. I have a chart and I just show them.

But I would like ask - how is his math. Two things - does he understand math? And can he read or write numbers? If he can't read numbers, then I might consider taking him to a specialist to have him evaluated. This will save you from guessing. And it might be expensive but it would at least point you in the correct direction.

But I will also pray for you for guidance. A friend of mine, her son didn't read till 9 and he couldn't sound anything out at all. He still doesn't. He has memorized all the words. That is how he reads. And he reads at a post graduate level and is only 16.

[glperky]

Daneale,

He does struggle with math too, but not as much letters.

We have tried The Reading Lesson, more than once. He cant seem to get the blending down. I will help him sound out c-a-t and then he'll say cap or something to that effect. If he has the words cat and cap on a paper and I ask him to circle cat, he can do it after I stress the T sound several times.

Have you used AAR? I am wondering if I should try it and just start at the pre-reading level. Any input?

[daybreaking]

I want to encourage you that some children just take a bit longer to learn to read. I remember my daughter doing things like saying cap for cat. I think she saw the "ca" part and was guessing at the whole word. At one point I wondered when she would ever learn to blend, as it just wasn't coming together. Then, all of a sudden, to my surprise, one day it clicked for her and she started making great progress with CVC words. When we hit the long vowels, again there was guessing and adding in letters that weren't there. Once again, one day it all clicked for her. She's now 7 and has finally taken off with her reading and flies through easy readers. Some children just need more time, developmentally. Having said that, here are a few thoughts:

1. Have you had his eyes checked? Perhaps there is a vision issue going on that is making it difficult for him. It could be something as simple as a focusing issue which could be corrected by glasses or it could be a tracking issue which would require vision therapy. Even if his eyes are seeing 20-20, his eyes might not be seeing together, which would make reading very difficult.

2. Perhaps you could try a sensory approach, such as putting a layer of salt on a plate and having your son trace the letters in the salt. I agree with the other posters about using the techniques in LHTH, as they are very multi-sensory.

3. If he is really hung up on the names of the letters, perhaps you could shift the focus to the sounds they make. For instance, when pointing to a letter on your keyboard, rather than him saying the letter, try having him say the sound(s) it makes.

No matter what is going on, one thing I would recommend is make sure you are doing a lot of reading aloud to your son. If he has been working on phonics for 4 years, without success, that could lead to him to seeing himself as a poor reader and to viewing reading negatively. The reading aloud times will help keep reading in a positive light for your son.

[*~Summer~*]

My dd now 11 was a slow reader, and at 7 or 8 we did CLE's Learn to Read and she really took off with her reading. She loved it too. She struggled with math until we switched to CLE's math also.

[Nealewill]

I have used AAR for my middle child because he had a language delay and couldn't understand how to break words up into syllables. So he used level 2 and level 3. He had no concept of a syllable, prefix or suffix at all. Other than that, he did great. He also was a little bit below is peers with math as well. But now that his language has significantly increased, math is not longer behind and he is actually ahead.

I don't know that I think AAR would be the answer unfortunately. You can definitely try it though. They do have a 1 year money back guarantee. That is a long guarantee! I don't know if you have heard of the Logic of English or not. I have a friend who's child is severely dyslexic and she used that program for her daughter. It is even more kinesthetic than AAR is. I like AAR for how they taught my son about breaking words up. They also helped my son to understand how to read words with multiple vowels and words with constant teams. But if your daughter tried TRL, then AAR probably won't be a good fit for her either because they are extremely similar - Level 1 and TRL are practically the same thing IMHO.

I am hoping other moms on here with other kids who have the same problem can chime. In sounds like your oldest did well with CLE when she was a little bit older. I wonder if time in general will help. And not to ask the obvious, but have you tried CLE with your ds? Maybe taking the whole summer off and starting in the fall will be a good fit for you. Also - I completely resonate with daybreaking! My oldest was very much like this. She struggled with reading until she was 8. And then one day, she just read well. It was amazing to see. It seemed like all of the sudden it just clicked. So that may be the case for your son.

And glasses - my youngest actually got glasses this winter and she can read so much better now. She always read well but before, she would only read large print books. But now she loves to read and reads a of other books with smaller print.

[luv2homeschool]

I just have to think that after almost 4 years of teaching that there has to be another reason he has not learned his letters. Have you had his eyes checked? I would start there. If that checks out then he may need an evaluation by a reading specialist.

[glperky]

I just have to think that after almost 4 years of teaching that there has to be another reason he has not learned his letters. Have you had his eyes checked? I would start there. If that checks out then he may need an evaluation by a reading specialist.

Christine,

That is my thinking! I am not concerned, at all, that he isn't reading yet, that's fine. But not even knowing the letters in his own name when he can spell it, is what concerns me.

Waiting on a call from the Dr. to get an eye appt.

[MelInKansas]

Just another idea for you - my oldest DD struggled with learning letters. I think she was 5, and she could only identify four letters, A, J, M, and O. It dawned on me that these are the initials of our family members at the time. When we would try to study letters I would show her, we would talk about it, read a poem, do an activity. I would go back and show her the letter again and she would have no idea what letter it was. Then one day as we were studying the letter K, I handed her a key to hold. She is a kinesthetic learner (which I know now, I probably hadn't realized it yet at that point). She associated K with the physical key she was holding (and afterwards when I showed her K I also showed her the key). She remembered K after that.

I second the idea of using LHTH at least in part. There are so many different sensory ways they interact with the letter, and doing the letter for a whole week really reinforces it. When we did LHTH my 2nd born was 2 and she learned the letters that year. Yes, do figure out if eyesight or anything else is playing into it. Patience, patience. I will pray for a good solution.

[glperky]

Thank you Melissa for the idea. I will give it a try.

I do have a call into the eye Dr. to schedule an appt.