What can your 3.5 yr old do? counting, writing name etc

[LoveMyGirls]

im currently looking after a 3.5yr old, he is not in nursery so i want to do the best i possibly can for him, what kind of things should i expect him to be able to do by the time he goes to school next september?

so far he can

write his name (roughly, need more practice)
count to 10 on his own most of the time
count to 20 with help
very good at art, enjoys being creative, can draw a man with some prompting
once hes heard a story he can "read" it himself (make it up as he goes along with a rough storyline iyswim)

tia

They do usually concentrate on one thing at a time, in different orders hence the reason children learn to walk at different ages etc. eg. dd1 could walk by 11mths but wasnt feeding herself. dd2 aged 1 (just) can feed herself but not quite walking yet.

Interesting about the left handed thing and being slow to write. ds3 is also left handed (at least I think he is!).

Also, ds1 is left handed and has always been slow to write, although if the truth be known, I didn't really push him at all before school and he started school when only just 4 so maybe he was just too young.

"My DS is 4.5 and unfortunately he still cannot write his name yet he is left handed also but just doesn't have the interest or the patience to sit down and write"

Don't be sad about this, he's only 4.5, he doesn't need to know how to write his name yet!! He will learn all these things in due course at school. As a primary teacher I see no need for parents to teach their kids these things early, as others have said here let them enjoy just playing and being creative at this age, they will be spending plenty of time writing later on! There is no corelation between how soon a child can write their nmae, draw, or recognise letters etc. and later achievement at school when it matters (GCSE and A level).

If your child wants to write their name or shows a keen interest in letters or numbers then by all means encourage it, but don't make them do this stuff if they get no enjoyment out of it or haven't got the concentration or pateince for it [snile]

oops, meant to be

Fantastic thread to read. Shows how all our wonderful children develop in different ways and at different speeds. So my ds2
3.3
Can read names, knows phonic and normal alphabet and can write a few letters
Knows all his colours and shapes.
Loves drawing and painting
Can cut an apple
Can count to 20 and knows about 100's and 1000's
Can dress and undress himself and go to the bathroom unaided.
Have to say though he's tremendously helped by having big brother only 18months older and attending a fabulous Montessori Pre-school.

hate threads like this!! sorry!
Ds cant write his name, he can recognise it and copy it but as for writing it totally independantly no. He can count objects up to about 15 he can rote count to 20+
recognises and names colours
recognises days of the week
Draws people with eyes noses nostrils mouths ears hair legs arms bodies hands feet.
err what else should/shouldnt he be doing.
He also has loads of fun, plays alot he knows I love him. He knows I am proud of him and I dont really worry/care what everyone elses child can do!!

Sometimes he responds to his name, sometimes he can understand simple commands like 'harold please sit down', she can just about put three words together occasionally- thats my phone / house, where my phone... etc etc etc

He's fine though, as are virtuallya ll children however ahead or behind they appear to be.

FWIW my eldest could talk fluently at a year, walk at ten months, do sums and the like ridiculously early and has HFA. What they can do in terms of academia etc is largely irrelevent at this age, it's about being happy, having fun and establishing social skills.

My ds is 3.4 and has just started morning nursery.
He cannot write his name but knows it when he sees it.
he knows the letter his name starts with and knows all letters if you ask him what a is for or what jupiter begins with cos he knows his Fireman Sam alphabet really well but couldn't relate the letters to anything else.
He can count up to 10 easily and has a go up to 20, great if you're not fond of anything between 11 and 14!
He can draw a reasonable approximation of a person if you tell him which bits to draw.
He is very cautious, not physically daring, but has good physical skills when he eases up.
He has a fantastic imagination, is quite musical and has an encyclopedic knowledge of Bob and Sam!

My DS is 3.5 & he cannot write his name or really draw anything that resembles anything at all. He is left handed, so I am not sure if that holds him back a bit with regards drawing & writing.
He can recognise his name though, he can also count to 10, recognise & name numbers to 8, name most 2d shapes & he has little problem dressing & undressing himself.

ds can do naff all of these things

he is highly gifted in being completely lovely though

was getting seriously upset today about all this, thank god its not just fillyboy who hasn't started on Shakespere and Twain and quadratic equations.

oh he's left handed also, so maybe thats part of it.

My DS (3.4) is autistic, so is developing quite differently from other children, but this thread has really shown me HOW very different he is. He can:

• count up to 100 and then back to 0 without making mistakes or needing prompting
• recognise, name and enter into a calculator all numbers up to 100
• tell the time
• "write" his name, and various words, with Scrabble letters
• can't write or draw anything at all, and has no interest in learning to do so (except, maybe, numbers )
• can't dress himself except for socks and shoes
• can only say about 100 words, but is learning a new word almost every day
• has no idea how to play with other children

jajas, ther is a bit of competitive mummy in all of us, and i felt a bit disheartened myself after reading that thread even though i know my son is bonny and bright and sensitive and loving. What i have noticed is how much my ds is coming on now he is at nursery school. I think a couple of years at school evens things out. I'm sure all of your kids are fantastic. maybe we need to stop worrying about what they can and can't do and just enjoy them before they grow up and leave us (sniff)

jajas - really don't worry about it. Early reading and writing makes very little difference to the final outcome on leaving school. They all (NT) catch up to a certain degree regardless. It is a rare child who can't read and write by that stage. I know of many children who couldn't read or write in the first year at school who wnent on to get good exam grades, good degrees and good jobs. It'll be fine

At the ages of 3 and 4 they all vary so much, and most have their own strewngths - just not always academic ones.

LoveMyGirls, what a lovely childminder you are

DS is 3.1 and can count to 10 if he can do it by singing "1,2,3,4,5, once I caught a fish alive"
Can draw a circle and paints great traffic lights
Think he can recognise his name as he does this at nursery.
Likes sticking things on paper.
Can't grip a pencil well enough to write anything.
Can climb high climbing frames and shoot down slides.
Plays happily with other children.
Is very kind to the cat.
Is great at taking himself off the the toilet
Makes a great butter sandwich.
Is lovely to take to the supermarket.
Can repeat many of his Thomas books .
Loves singing.
Great at helping make cakes and pancakes.
Is a good acorn collector and good at helping me plant things in the garden.

Jejas, I'm sorry you and your boys have had a rough time. My DD has dyspraxia and is in Year 3. She really struggled at the beginning but a few years make a difference.

If you are feeling disheartened by this just read Rosie79's post, she is a teacher and has explained that children develop at different rates.

Like someone else said there is a bit of "proud mum showing off" a bit but we are all proud of our children whatever they can or can't do.

Saying all this I believe my DS has come on so much by way of learning since he started school in September. He's so much more aware of numbers and days of the week and shows interest in them also - encouragement is really their only need at this age.

Filly were you really feeling sad about it?

I loved your posts on the subject, I think they were just what we all needed to hear

ds can do eff all of this sort of thing either, but is ruddy genius child anyway

I have always thought my ds 3.1 was AMAZINGLY intelligent but from this post, I can see he is completely normal. Thank God!

He can count to 20 (but I don't think he has a clue what it all really means)

He LOVES art but just about stays within the lines and prefers the monochrome school of impressionism!!!! (ie. all his pictures are mainly just one colour and completely unintelligable!)

He likes music but sings aloud quite shyly and very cutely.

He has a fabulous vocabulary and also makes up lots of his own words which he yells at his baby sister to her absolute delight.

He is very charming and seems to be quite sociable.

All of his friends range from 3 to 4 years old and they can do pretty much the same as he can but not much else.

I do think that some of the children mentioned on here seem vastly more advanced than the majority of children I know. So I really hope no-one goes away from this thread having half scanned it feeling disheartened about their own child's abilities.

I should never look at these threads. I know my baby one is doing just fine, but I find this can turn me into psychomum - why can't my 2y9m daughter read CVC words? Why does she get stuck on 18? In fact I was all for moving back to a city this afternoon as she's seen as quite bright round here...

My ds is happy and knows I love him

He can tell you what happens in virtually any Thunderbirds episode

He loves underground Ernie

He chases the cat and laughs when she runs away, but when he catches her is soft and gentle!

He is VERY loyal to his sister