My 5 yr old son knows?

My 5 year old son knows how too count to 100 by 1s and by 5s and by 10s can read the alphabet can read books, Knows address, state city zip code. How do we get our 4yr old to be able to read the alphabet and numbers.My 5 yr old son knows?
Each child is different as demonstrated by your two children. It would be best not to try and compare them as it will lead to resentment throughout their lives.



Second, it isn't how smart you are, but how you are smart. Your son is doing really well with letters and numbers. I'm sure your daughter does well in another area. Maybe music, something physical,

communication, making friends? Whatever she likes, pull that into the reading, writing and numbers. If she really likes animals, then read about animals, count animals, and write about animals.



Play games and make it fun. Use positive encouragement. Praise her efforts and her accomplishments.



For counting, you could do some of these games:

Have the child jump up and down and count the number of times they jump. Count by 2's, 5's and 10's

Have your child take really big steps and count by 1's, 2's, 5's and 10's.

Tap a balloon and try to keep it in the air, count the number of times you and your daughter can hit the balloon before it hits the ground.

Count the value of pennies, nickels and dimes.

At the store, if you find something that is $10 or $.10 you can count how much it will cost for 10 of them. Same thing with something that is $5 or $.05.



For reading and letter recognition, I love the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom"

There are some fun ideas to go with the book here:

http://123child.com/bb/showthread.php?t=鈥?/a>

As you read to your daughter, help her point to each letter in the book.

"A told B and B told C" So you point to the A in the picture, then B, then C.



Good luck, remember to celebrate the differences between your two children. One will always be better at one thing, and that is okay. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses:)
So your 5 year old son is not smart because of you? So kids just are not interested yet. She is only 4 dont pressure her to much on trying to be as smart as her brother. She will learn when she starts school. Just work with her everyday for 30 minutes don't pressure her to much because you will only make her not want to do it at all. My son is 3 and he can count and do his alphabet and speaks spanish and english. But he started going to school at 1 and I think him being around the other kids helped him a lot to learn. I would work him everyday with flashcards and reading books.My 5 yr old son knows?
:-) Ah...so you have a couple children like mine? :-) My eldest I didn't have to work much with and he well knew most of the Kindergarten curriculum before entering into Kindergarten but my middle son...well, he's another story. He's 4 as well, birthday is next month so he'll be attending Kindergarten. He definately marches at his own beat. Like has been already mentioned, no two kids are alike and so really, I wouldn't be too concerned about your 4 year old. Again, it has been mentioned that she probably has other strengths and most likely is more social :-) It follows the pattern usually. She'll get there! Counting to 100 by 1s, 5s, and 10s is something they learn in Kindergarten to know by the end of Kindergarten as well as reading. Most likely it's not "refusing to learn" but not interested in the topic. Let's think about what typically we expect of most 4 year olds before they enter Kindergarten. For counting--rote counting by 1s to 20; recognizing numerals out of order to 10; address---this is a memory thing. It just really needs to be repeated over and over in small portions. Adding a bit to it as she is successful with the rest. Saying it in a singsong fashion helps it be more fun...but you want to know what is more fun? Have something sent to her in the mail. A child's magazine...a book...etc. Then show her what the address looks like. Check out the mailboxes along your road...they all have different numbers. Have her create art and send it to grandparents and relatives and encourage them to send back a thank-you note (you can include a stamp so they are morely to do it :-)) She'll get there! As for reading----does she recognize the letters in her name? Really, that's all they "expect" the children to know. Of course, in my experience there will be some who will recognize all the letters, upper case and lower case but on the other hand...some don't and really it's not an issue. Every child develops at a different speed. Something more important than the letters of the alphabet is that she likes to hear stories and she shows comprehension through her expressions/actions/words. When you read a book, track the print from left to right so that she gets that feel of reading from left to right and up/down. Play rhyming games etc. If she likes the computer, she may enjoy starfall.com.



It's already been mentioned to pull in what she likes to do. That is tried and true :-). Early childhood professionals are excellent at slipping in basic concepts and other skills while the child is playing with somethign they enjoy.



If you want more specifics about what activities/games you can do with her...feel free to message me. I'll need to know a bit about her personality (what she likes to do and what she doesn't like to do) and where she is now, developmentally, and where you want her to be. Enjoy your little ones! Celebrate their differences :-) If they were all the same we'd be driven crazy! :-PMy 5 yr old son knows?
Try Nick Jr Tv, for one. Honestly, my cousin wanted nothing to do with learning ANYTHING, and had to repeat preschool because of it. Educational tv ONLY (and only about an hour and a half per day at that) really helped. Point out things as you're driving... "LOOK! That big red "M" is for McDonalds!" Or, "Hey! That big :"S" is where mommy works!!" etc. If she wants something, like say...skittles, tell her she can have 5, and make her count them with you before she can have them. Don't be a natzi about it- as long as she watches you do it she'll observe it, which is half the battle. Point to each one, and count slow. Have her send pictures or something to grandma and grandpa, and hold her hand while she fills out her name and return address on the envelope. Have her call ppl to talk to them (grandparents, etc), but make her dial the phone. Point to the numbers and say the names of them. If she wants a drink of milk, talk about how MMMMMMilk starts with an M. Associate things with her. When you see things that start with the first letter of her name, show her..."Hey, look at that, Susie!! Sketchers starts with an "S" just like your name does!"



Make it fun, make it educational, but most importantly, be consistant, so it sticks!!
Mom, the best thing you can do is NOT compare them, focus on her strengths and feed that, the rest will come on it's own. We have identical twins (4 years) and we have to constantly remind ourselves they are different and have to retract when we start to say "why do you try XXXX just like your sister" or "Sister can XXXX, why don't you try."
Have him play with the 5yr old.



But seriously, work with him every day. From birth to 6 years old is the most important time for learning in a young child's life.
try not to show favoritism to the 5 yr old. give the 4 yr old great compliments like great job or wow or keep up the good work
Same way you got your 5 year old son to.