? about child learning to write and read and directions

[Momma Aimee]

Theodore is 4. We are homeschooling -- but we do not push academics. He asks for worksheets, he gets them (and usally does a ton better than i expect) we read. we do crafts related to what we read. we pratice reciting nusery rhymes. we work on his Speech (which is a lot like phonics).

He is SN and expressive language delay -- he talks a mile a minute and never stops -- but you can't understand -- well maybe 60 to 70 % now. It is getting better.

He can write a lot of letters, not all. He can ID all the letters and tell yu some sounds. (thanks to Super Why adn Word World, he and I rarely pratice letter sounds -- Save with Speech)

well he is starting to "write" (draw letters) and "messages"

My question is this:

Is it NORMAL for Theo to want to read and write from the RIGHT to the LEFT??

He has started -- on his own -- i think from watching Super Why -- to try to sound out some words -- usally titles of books and so on ... he will tell me "make it a word" (Word world ) and I will sound out a word for him, at his request, and i point to the letters as i do it.

When he copies me or tries on his own -- he tries to go right to left.

This past weekend he wrote his name FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER -- T H E O and they were actually pretty good letter - abitu 2 inches high -- he wrote it for Grandpa so Grandpa could come to our house and know his name (???? that is what he said).

he wrote it right to left .. (quite spaced out too ... but that will come, i was impressed the letters were only 2 inches big -- maybe 2.5)

normal?

or something i need to worry about?

he sees me write a lot, and i write captions on his pictures for him (what he tells me to write) and we read 45+ minutes a day (or a lot more).

[theretohere]

It's something that I'd gently nip in the bud, now. English is left to right, always- the longer he does it backwards the more ingrained it will be.

[Momma Aimee]

I guess you are right, trying to avoid fustration -- i don't want to make it "not fun" or deter his liking it, yk? but you are right I can't let it be a habit.

I wasn't sure if i should correct him or not since we are not really "working on it" -- it is not a lesson -- it is jsut want he does when we are looking at books or coloring or whatever ...

again trying not to cvreat fustration (something he does NOT do well with).

thanks

[theretohere]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

I guess you are right, trying to avoid fustration -- i don't want to make it "not fun" or deter his liking it, yk? but you are right I can't let it be a habit.

I wasn't sure if i should correct him or not since we are not really "working on it" -- it is not a lesson -- it is jsut want he does when we are looking at books or coloring or whatever ...

again trying not to cvreat fustration (something he does NOT do well with).

thanks

I understadn not wanting to create frustration- but think of the frustration if this is something that doesn't self correct. Does he do well with praise? if so praise his efforts and just gently show his the way it should be- don't make it a big lesson or anything.
Or leave it be and introduce handwriting and teach it during the lesson.

[skueppers]

I can't tell you what to do with Theo, as every child is different, but I can tell you that my daughter sometimes wrote from right to left when she first started writing and it did not turn into a problem.

I did not correct her and she rapidly sorted out on her own that writing goes from left to right. It took longer for her to stop reversing some letters and numbers.

She never did this with reading, but she already had left-to-right order down in writing by the time she started reading.

[Lillian J]

I would just let him be - let him explore it in his own way - and maybe casually work in comments when you're the one writing or reading about the direction it moves. You could also sometimes use little objects to illustrate left to right, or point out the left to right concept in other things that happen around the house - lining up things in the kitchen, lining up shoes at the door, etc. I think he'll notice it on his own soon enough, and I think letting a child own his own exploration and learning experiences as much as possible is very valuable. Lillian

[LucyRev]

My DD is almost 7 and she did this too from the start. "Nipping it in the bud" didn't seem to help any for her. She still does it sometimes, but she also goes long periods writing the correct way. She is left handed though, so I think it is a bit counter intuitive to cover what she's writing with her hand as she writes. She's also pretty right brained in her learning style and is able to draw and write upside down and backwards. It's pretty amazing. I'm not going to tell her to quit that and only write "properly". I am sure it will work itself out in time, especially since she is starting to read more now. She doesn't try to read from right to left. I would be more concerned with that.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by Lillian J

I would just let him be - let him explore it in his own way - and maybe casually work in comments when you're the one writing or reading about the direction it moves. You could also sometimes use little objects to illustrate left to right, or point out the left to right concept in other things that happen around the house - lining up things in the kitchen, lining up shoes at the door, etc. I think he'll notice it on his own soon enough, and I think letting a child own his own exploration and learning experiences as much as possible is very valuable. Lillian

amazingly -- he knows his right and left already -- at 4 !! which to me seems pretty good.

I think i will let it be when he is doing it -- but make a bit more of a point of it when I do stuff ..

and maybe see if he would be intrested in 'coopying" some writting of mine (like his name in big letters) and do that correctly from left to right .. at least for now.

also maybe i will sound out more words when we read -- this reinforcenince reight to left ....

hummmmmm

thanks for all the imput --









i have to say the one thing about homeschooling (not that we really do so much now but the total reseoniblity for it ALL) that gets me is the extream fear of messing him (them) up for life ....

[ocelotmom]

This is totally developmentally normal. Most kids go through this stage, and gradually grow out of it as they gain more exposure to written language.

This is part of the reason why diagnosing dyslexia before about 7 or 8 is more difficult - because many of the hallmarks are within the range of "normal" before that.

I suspect that, at this age, a gentle emphasis on left to right in daily activities is going to be more helpful than correction after the fact.

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

i have to say the one thing about homeschooling (not that we really do so much now but the total reseoniblity for it ALL) that gets me is the extream fear of messing him (them) up for life ....

I totally hear you on that! The level of direct responsibility is stressful, especially when either myself or my child (or both of us!) isn't measuring up to where I think we should be.

[Aeress]

Does he follow words on a page from left to right (eyes follow)? I would check to see if he is doing the above, if so, he probably understands that words begin on the left without understanding why and it would probably self correct.

[Momma Aimee]

thanks gang. I don't think i could do all this with out you all.

I was kinda thinking it might be "devlopmental" I knwo that writting letters backwards and so on is not a biggie till later, so i thought maaaybeee left to right and right to left were "loose" for a while too.

I am going to start making a bit more of a point of "finger reading" at least like titles and so on of books -- and also finger reading and sounding out words -- again book titles and so on .. just to kinda make a bit more of a point of the correct 'way" without seeming to push it.

I will also start offering him to copy or trace a few words -- like his name nice and big -- even if he jsut watches me spell it out -- agian giving the correct direction.

thanks for the "reality check" -- i tend to freak a bit left to myself to think and think about something.

[RiverSky]

My DD wrote in "mirror" fashion for many years, beginning around 3. I would smile and tell her that she was my little Leonardo da Vinci. I remember posting on MDC and asking if this was a problem and most people told me I needed to nip it in the bud, but I just had a sense that that wasn't the right way to go. Instead, I just pointed it out every now and asked if she knew she had written in mirror (she almost never did notice and never did it on purpose) and sometimes she would write half of whatever in the normal fashion and half in mirror). If I reminded her to say write a sentence on a card for someone and try not to write in mirror, to make sure they could read it, she would. Now, at 8 1/2, she almost never writes in mirror fashion and has no problems at all in any other way.

My DD does have poor vision and is left handed, so I've always wondered if those two things contribute to her "mirror" writing.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by Aeress

Does he follow words on a page from left to right (eyes follow)? I would check to see if he is doing the above, if so, he probably understands that words begin on the left without understanding why and it would probably self correct.

I am actually not sure. I guess i should try to watch his eyes when we read? that is when i read to him???

[One_Girl]

My dd was in public school until recently and her 1st grade teacher told me that it is really common for kids to do this occassionally even in 1st grade. I think you should model writing for him and gently guide him towards writing from left to right but don't insist on it. Putting your finger under the words as you read and showing him the direction may also help him understand the direction print goes in.

[Reebekah]

havent read the responses....but here's what i did....
my son (just turned 4) started wanting to go right to left...i didnt want to correct him or make him feel like he was doing a bad job and have him become uninterested (he's easily frustrated).....so i never said "no, stop, you are doing it wrong" or anything like that........instead, i told him that we were going to try something new callled copying, where i write a word and then he copies it......then i said "ok, here's how I write my word, MAN, and i'm starting on the left with the M because we always write from left to right, and then the A, AND then the N"....so i got the instruction in there and demonstrated it without making him feel like he was doing a bad job.....then i had him try a few times, and he did it just like i told him to.....then the next time, he remembered how i showed him and did it correctly.

[nov05mama]

My son started it at first as well...He was SO interested in writing, and I didn't want to buy him an actual 'curriculum' for handwriting, especially at age 3, but I also was really concerned that I would mess him up by letting him 'just write'.
So, I finally caved and bought Handwriting without Tears "Get Ready for School" workbook for preschoolers. He loved it and their methods for teaching it are great.
If you haven't looked at the book before, I would definitely check it out. We just moved onto the Kindergarten book b/c he enjoys it so much and has completed the Pre-K book already!

I was stuck in a hard place b/c we are also trying to teach him Arabic (like daddy) and to tell him that writing or reading right to left is "wrong" would be the worst thing I could do b/c when it comes to him reading/writing Arabic, he will have to go right to left...

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by nov05mama

My son started it at first as well...He was SO interested in writing, and I didn't want to buy him an actual 'curriculum' for handwriting, especially at age 3, but I also was really concerned that I would mess him up by letting him 'just write'.
So, I finally caved and bought Handwriting without Tears "Get Ready for School" workbook for preschoolers. He loved it and their methods for teaching it are great.
If you haven't looked at the book before, I would definitely check it out. We just moved onto the Kindergarten book b/c he enjoys it so much and has completed the Pre-K book already!

I was stuck in a hard place b/c we are also trying to teach him Arabic (like daddy) and to tell him that writing or reading right to left is "wrong" would be the worst thing I could do b/c when it comes to him reading/writing Arabic, he will have to go right to left...

I had looked at HWT -- but the little boxes for them to write in -- Theo is still writting about 3 to 4 inches tall -- which is a new improvement -- it was 5 to 6 inches jsut i swear a week ago -- i do not want to fustrat him.

I actually had thought of a couple of Jewish freinds when i was posting this -- and the different directions of differnt languages.

A

[nov05mama]

Originally Posted by Momma Aimee

I had looked at HWT -- but the little boxes for them to write in -- Theo is still writting about 3 to 4 inches tall -- which is a new improvement -- it was 5 to 6 inches jsut i swear a week ago -- i do not want to fustrat him.

That sounds like the Kindergarten book you may have been looking at...the Letters and Numbers for Me is the Kindergarten one and it's when they first introduce the boxes. In the Pre-K book, there are no boxes, in fact, it's a lot of 'tracing' and coloring and getting used to the motion your hand is supposed to make for each letter.
For example, on the S pages, the activity side has you trace the path for the skiers down the page in the "shape" of an S and then on the corresponding page, actually write S's.

[Momma Aimee]

Originally Posted by nov05mama

That sounds like the Kindergarten book you may have been looking at...the Letters and Numbers for Me is the Kindergarten one and it's when they first introduce the boxes. In the Pre-K book, there are no boxes, in fact, it's a lot of 'tracing' and coloring and getting used to the motion your hand is supposed to make for each letter.
For example, on the S pages, the activity side has you trace the path for the skiers down the page in the "shape" of an S and then on the corresponding page, actually write S's.

that is good to know -- i will have to look at it again, thanks