A B C ......

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My dd is 2.7yrs and is at preschool. She has been there 5 weeks and doing well.

I want to teach her the ABC she can say it and recognises the letters but i want to reach her to write them and her name and then 123 etc am i going to fast? i have brought these flash cards and a star book but am i being a pushy parent? i wasn't a bright kid at school bullied alot, so want to give DD a head start.

I knew we had a lot in common ... I try to get ds1 to do things other than read books, but it's an uphill struggle! We had to really cajole and persuade him into learning to ride a bike - he has now mastered it, but has no interest in doing it. We got a leaflet about tennis training - a very short introductory taster course - but he doesn't even want to try. He enjoys swimming, and we do that a lot - though it's certainly not where his talents lie.

I don't know whether to play to his strengths, or focus on his weaker areas ....?

He's very visual hmb, too dyspraxic for kinaesthetic stuff- he can't even copy simple actions like waving or even clapping. I think he'll learn by sight reading, as that's how he's doing it anyway. We have some jolly phonics stuff, but I think the pictures are too weird for autistic kids! DS2 however loves them!

Tigermoth- all sounds very sensible to me! (about your son and starting school). I do know what you mean about trademrks, ds1 recognises Tesco and cbeebies etc. When he was going through his numbers phase he recognised the words for some of the numbers as well- this is why I think he'll probably go the sight reading method.

He has been ill since last Saturday- had that flu and has spent the whole time on the sofa. In the last hour he has got up, and when dh came in for lunch demanded he took his coat off then went to look at the washing machine- he's better. He also keeps saying "go to nursery" (not school!) so I know which he prefers.

Jimjams - referring to an earlier question ... I can't offer much advice on learning to read .. but I am not sure Jolly Phonics is the right approach for your ds1. As you know my ds1 couldn't 'make the sounds', which is what jolly phonics is based on. He can make the sounds now (mostly), and does read phonetically, and always has ... don't ask me how! He always seemed to have a concept for each letter in his head, though he couldn't physically articulate them.

ANYWAY what helped for us was Letterland - because that way he could identify the characters successfully, even though he couldn't say their sound. So 'c' was 'devuh dad' = clever cat; 'y' was 'lello lolo man' = yellow yo-yo man, etc.

So if I showed him a picture of a fish, he could tell me what letter it started with, even though he couldn't actually make the sound.

Drop in the ocean I'm sure, but HTH. How's he getting on with SALT btw, has he learned any more sounds?

Sorry Jimjams, I'd forgotten the dyspraxia

Re the letter land stuff. DD (NT) found these great fun and she learned to read very young following on from using them. But if Jollyphinics pictures would freak your ds out, then Letterland would be out as they are also very odd! Very memorable, but very odd!

Interesting kmg- this is why I'm not sure that phonics is going to work at all for him, afterall if he can't say c, a or t then how's he going to learn to spell? He does know all his letter names (self taught) so I suppose he will learn to associate phonic sounds as well. His SALT said its good to try to teach phonics as it does reinforce different sounds, so maybe I should give it more of a go (am at a bit of a loss really). The problem with all the books though is that they have really weird drawings! I need a phonic system of early readers based on photographs. He's far more drawn in by them. We have a series of early readers from NZ that use photographs and I've translated them into PECS and text- he loves them and will often sit there "reading" them aloud. Just need one for phonics like that.

No more sounds as such, atm SALT isn't really working on speech sounds, except for listening a bit. He's having a HUGE PECS push at the moment which I have to say is going really well (despite a big set back this week because of the flu). I think this will really help to decode language for him- and literacy as well I guess, and of course is visual.

His speech sounds do seem to be improving a bit though. He now says eheeuhee or teletubbies rather than aya-an, so maybe he's getting closer.

Having more and more of a feeling I'm going to be going through the same thing with ds2 (in terms of speech - not language- his language is fine).

Ladybird have baby books with real photos. The ones I got for dd were made of board, and about paperback size. They use nice, bright, clear pictures, with simple printed text (limited to single words) under the picture. I'm not sure how far you could go with these, but it could be a start.

i am DETERMINED not to get electronic noisy things for dd for Christmas and have told all family to get her arty things she can do and make( she loves this) BUT we got her a toy from Makro.it's all the letters os the alphabet with a plastic doll attatched and it works like a classroom with a teacher at the front...you have to find appropriate doll to letter and they say."hello i am Anna..A for Anna".i think it's great and hope she'll like it!

I have just spent a lovely, lovely morning at the local wildlife garden with ds, digging in mud for bugs 'liddle bug, liddle bug...what are oo?" Picking up 'big' logs, and sitting under trees having a pretend picnic and talking about where bugs go in the winter (to sleep, apparently) and how we have winter when it's cold, spring when the baby birds are born and the flowers come UP ('hello liddle flower' and then it is summer and we go to the 'ea 'ide. I think he learned more from all that -plus identifying frogs and wiggly worms and hedgehogs etc - than from any amount of flashcards or literacy aids or anything. I wish all children did this sort of practical stuff unti they were at least six. And I totally agree with Jimjams, if children who don't read before seven are missing out on learning opportunities at school then the type of learning opportunities need to be changed immediately or otherwise of course those children fall further and further behind. It seems tragically discriminatory to me. If my two year old can learn about seasons without reading, how much else can children learn without it - and I say this as a person who could read before i went to school and loved it, but cannot see any advantage in making children feel like failures at such an early age. I feel so passionate about this!
BTW I do realise my son sounds like Fotherington Thomas, and he is a bit...

How was the sky, aloha?

Thanks hmb - I'll have a look. Thinking about it even those awful Peter and Jane books may work quite well with him as the pictures are very clear and reaslistic.

I think I'll have to make him some more books. He loves his "on" book (the hoover is on the stairs, the noo-noo is on the bed etc) Although this morning it has been commadeered by ds2 who wants to read it all the time.

Sounds idyllic Aloha- and I agree- far more opportunity to learn than flashcards. This is why I love Steiner early years education so much- it's so hands on and practical- and loads of digging in mud!

And DK tend to use photographs rather than drawings in lots of their books. You could 'add' your own simplified text, rather than using theirs.

I quite like Ladybird books. The fairy story ones are excellent I think. Can you get story books with photographs - I mean apart from ones you make yourself?
I have to say, the more I get to know my son the more I think Steiner would suit him at the moment. Do you know if they read stories to children? He loves that best of all and I'd hate to think it was only pictures and no words to read out loud.

Sorry hmb, cross posted.
BTW we restrained ourselves from saying 'hello sky'!

Aloha - they don't really do books at an early age (they're a bit over dogmatic about that). - they do lots of fairy stories though and lots of acting etc. You could have a look at the Greenwich Steiner School. It's not far from you. Even if you don;t want to send him there you could go to the Parent and toddler group- the people there are lovely- they were so accepting of ds1 when we were having a terrible time, and they got me through a really rough patch (even though they were more or less strangers at the time). It runs every day (although you don't have to go every day- I used to go once a week) and they do things like breadmaking, and outside stuff and they give the mum's lovely fruit teas to drink.

sorry got a bit carried away there- but this was at a time when ds1 was being told to leave various things (even though he's not disruptive grrr) and it was so nice to have found somewhere accepting of him, and somewhere that didn;t try and force him to be something he wasn't (this was pre-dx days of course). So I have very warm memories of that place and how they treat children. If we stil lived in London I would send ds2 there.

I think there's a Steiner at New Cross which is even nearer us, so might well investigate there. I bet my mum would love to take him - she's ever so arty
He does love his books though.

I find that a hard dichotomy too kmg - the balance between focussing on strengths and weaknesses.

I think there's a Steiner at New Cross which is even nearer us, so might well investigate there. I bet my mum would love to take him - she's ever so arty
He does love his books though.

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That's a good idea robin- he can have a scrapbook of hoovers and washing lines In fact you have inspired me- I'm going to do one on different clothes - as he is meant to be learning the names of clothes at the moment- it can be literacy as well. Good idea- thanks!

Ds1 has been given his first bit of "homework". he has to go on a walk with an adult and look for 5 signs of autumn and then talk about it. That got dh depressed as the talking about it bit is obvioucly out of the question, buit anyway I thought we could do a collage type thing. He hates glue though and can't use scissors so I expect I'll be doing most of it. Still it can be desensitisation thing as he hates leaves as well.

I like that scrapbook idea too. My son loves the toy pages of catalogues.

Jimjams, I am just trying to imagine how you and your ds will tackle that autumn project...

Re how to do the project for Jimjams. Schools are supposed to allow different ways of presenting and recording information, for example on tape, drawings, spoken word etc. Could you put together a short video clip you you and ds 'exploring' aspects of Autumn? You and ds in the fog, looking at leaves etc? Does he like to watch himself on tape Jimjams? If so he might 'get into it'. he could then use his words for what he is seeing, and that might help the nursery teachers with understanding him.