When your child keeps making the same mistake

[grey12]

I don't know how to tackle this....

We've just been trying to write the number 8, which DD was struggling. She kept making the same mistake over and over again and not listening at all. It got to the point of seeing her going blank and me starting to get enraged. I've kept my cool but I'm at a complete loss.... this keeps happening and will happen again....

If I try to make a joke out of it (pretend I'm being shot or wtv) she finds it funny to do the wrong thing I need a different tactic. Can give her treats every time (she's already spoiled by other people more than I would like....)

Could you dot the shape of it out for her to follow

You can print out practise sheets

Leave it and come back to it later.

Then get her to write a capital S, and then join up the end to the start with a straight line.

Sometimes you need a break so you can think of different ways of explaining / showing / doing.

Try a sand tray? Or flour on a baking tray? Use your finger as a pencil. Easy to rub out, can do big 8s, little ones, fat ones, thin ones etc etc. Might take the pressure of the pencil and paper away. And crucially, it isn't practising writing - its playing?!

How old is she?

She was making the S and then going back the same way. Anyways she eventually managed.

She's 4.5 yo in reception

I asked the question in a general way. Is there a nice way to deal with a child who seems stuck and not listening? Am I being impatient? (I'm not usually but it's been tough lately.....)

I'm struggling with her home schooling because the teacher is rushing so much and she doesn't have the attention (or I the time). Grandmother is helping at night to get her to start reading as she seems to struggle with "blending"

Walk away from the 8 and come back to it another day ... or try something messy like drawing it in flour

I'm sure teachers would be horrified but I told mine to do little circle on top of another.

With mine it was all about confidence and she hated getting things wrong so as soon as it was looking "right" on the page I could then suggest a "better way" to do it.

Plus her dexterity and wrist strength was continually improving so this helped.

In terms of your general question, it did make me smile because I am exactly the same. When I see the blank expression sometimes I am just (internally) enraged 😂😂 but I agree with move onto something else and come back when they are more focused/feeling confident/had a snack.

They are still so little, and homeschooling is hard for the older kids, never mind the 4 year olds

Stop worrying about it. I teach secondary maths and have never come across a child who can't write numbers. She'll get it eventually.

Some good ideas above. You could draw it in flour, make it from play dough, draw in the snow/mud, make up a rhyme/silly saying to help her remember how to draw it.

The biggest thing is not to worry about it. Every child struggles with something different, have confidence in her that she'll get it eventually - she will sense that and it will help her to persevere.