teaching your toddler-preschool kid

[pinkpotato]

Als, i think my learning library dito. di ko pa naiisip introducing her to reading. pag okay na si Ate S, sunod na si H.

affected ka Als sa penmanship ni S. yeah, maganda nga sulat mo. ginaya ko nga yun e. hehe.

goodluck naman samen kasi wala yatang penmanship class ang mga schools dito.

meron ding magnetic spelling ang leapfrog noh? yun ba gamit mo?

[marose17]

@Ally, there's a Loyola Learning Library (I think affiliated ito with the one in Greenmeadows Avenue) across the school of M & M.

My kids also started learning phonetics but I got really pressured when I saw some of their age-mates (since they're in a mixed-age class) who are already spelling, writing and reading four-letter words.  Although during their last assessment naman with their dev pedia sinabi na at par pa their development except for fine motor skills (writing is also a challenge) kaya heto, they have OT sessions once a week to address this domain.  I'm just concerned because unbelievable daw ang copying and writing exercises in prep nowadays.  Ayokong makarinig later on when they're in prep na hindi natapos ng kids ang work kasi hindi na-copy lahat.

We also play the spelling game using M & D's see and spell toy pero hindi namin nagagawa regularly.  I will buy more alphabet type toys pa nga.

@Haps, ano ang test?  Can you send it to me?

I am going to look for a tutor or a learning center na compatible sa tinuturo sa school.

[pinkpotato]

wow, i can only imagine the unbelievable writing exercises, rose. with the age of technology, buti naman at nakakapag sulat and manual copy pa mga bata. copy paste na din kasi uso e.

PM me your e-mail address. Check me if it will work for the boys.

Mars, since they are preemies when they were born [tama di ba?] do you think may effect to? Or ganun lang talaga baka eventually humabol din sila. 

[marose17]

^ By 2 years old dapat naka-catch up na ang preemies sa peers nila in all domains of development.

Sa tingin ko kasi more on work behavior nila, especially in M2's case, ang issue.  It's very challenging to teach headstrong little boys who always need a reason why they should comply.

[hunny_ally]

Haps, S has that leapfrog word whammer. It's a great tool to start them with spelling/ reading.

Re reading, why don't you take turns. Make her "read" you a book. Dont interrupt her. Then when she's done, your turn naman. Just emphasize that since you didn't interrupt her while she's reading to you, H shouldn't interrupt you when it's your time to tell her a story. That will teach her too about waiting for her turn.

Oh send me too the test!


 marose, sobra the writing exercises in some preschool now. Like your kids, S needs to practice her fine motor skills. Hirap siya with the tripod grip. Sa school nila S not so much with writing exercises. And most of the time they use marker pens instead of pencil. Siyempre its easier to write using markers than pencils. So I try to supplement it sa house. . An hour a day we do that. I was telling Haps that I was able to download a font that looks like those in tracing workbooks. Just type it in a word document then print. Maybe you can print a couple of that and accomplish that while you're at work.

[marose17]

^ So true.  In their school now, less pressure nga kasi they want to refine the tripod grip using other exercises (non-writing) before actually going into writing full time.  Process muna before the results.  But that is not the case when they go to a traditional school so I want to work on this aspect now kaysa naman mag-lag behind my kids when they're in prep na.

What is the font that you downloaded?

@Haps, M & M love to be read to.  Dito naman ako happy because they simply cannot get enough of books.  When we go to the mall, they just want to go to the bookstore.  Most of the time, ako ang napapagod reading to them.  I guess iba-iba talaga ang hilig ng kids and we just have to let them be themselves.

[pinkpotato]

^^^ oh ganun pala yun. noted rose. grabe tapos sabay silang dalawa ayaw. haha. ikaw na mars talaga. whew.

^^ sure, i can send you the questionnaires. the school is bacolod Montessori pala. ka edad ni H ang kid so level ni H yun. baka too simple na to sa kids nyo pero check nyo lang. nice lang kasi she didnt know about this lesson naman di naman sya dun nag aral, pero she was able to catch up.

Yes will do that reading style Als.

^ Every time I attempt to read to H and failure kong matapos, naiisip ko kayong 2 ni allison. haha. how your kids are into books. wishing... hehe. malayo kasi patutunguhan ng batang mahilig sa libro! promise! haha.

[hunny_ally]

marose, it's called Trace Fonts for Kids. I can forward it to you if you want.

[marose17]

^ Yes, please.

Thanks!

[younis]

^^sis! paforward din, mahilig din magtrace ang daughter ko. thanks!

[tiggerlily]

Iba-iba talaga ang development ng mga bata. Kaya hindi ko pinepressure din anak ko. About the writing, may nabasa ako before that the scissor skills would help sa writing since it helps control the fingers.

I found lots of preschool worksheets online. We have colored pens too. ayaw ng anak ko ng pencil (inarte). pero ok lang. for his worksheets, ini-explain ko lang tapos ginagawa nya naman. pati magbilang and then match with the corresponding number.

sa google madami ka makukuhang sites where you can download these preschool worksheets. i'm actually in the middle of deciding whether to homeschool or not. maybe up to kinder lang. we'll see...

[inkslinger]

@marose, bata pa naman mga anak mo, don't feel pressured sa mga age peers nya If you're comparing your kids to slightly older kids, you'll really see a huge gap. I've read that a half year age difference between toddlers or preschoolers shows a significant difference in developmental milestones. Kahit ikaw, mapapansin mo na yung mga anak mo ay malaki ang pinag-iba sa ngayon kumpara sa nakaraang dalawang buwan. Sobra kasi ang changes in development ng bata during these stages. Kaya nga yung ibang schools mahigpit sa age requirements for first grade.

Ako nga last year, when my daughter was just 3, medyo praning. Kasi ayaw talagang humawak ng lapis. Mabuti nalang I have an older sister who has "been there done that" who keeps me sane and keeps on reminding me to practice Hakuna Matata when dealing with toddlers. Sabi nya, hahawak at hahawak din yan ng lapis when she's ready. Yung mga anak nya, naging legible ang writing when they turned 5 1/6 to 6. If there are kids I see who write at 3, e mga exemption to the rule na daw ito. Ganun din sabi ng DevPed ko.

Kaya I let my daughter be. She attempted to write when she turned 4 this year. Kahit pangit pa rin ang sulat, nababasa naman and she's really more eager to write than before. In short, isang malaking himala  Lol! Pero may moments pa rin na ayaw talaga. Hinahayaan ko nalang.

[happyfemme]

I want to join this thread for future references, my little C is just 1 year and 3 months old.

He is not talking yet, puro "pa-pa" and "ma-ma" palang.

I read a book, about language development. It says sa book that it is not how many number of words that a child can SAY, but how many your child understand the words he/she is saying.

Your child may say "dog", "cat", "car" but doesnt understand the meaning of it.

It is much important the understanding of a child on everything he/she see and touch.

Whenever i talk to him, he listens and obey what i said. Though hindi pa siya nagsasalita, alam ko naiintindihan niya ako.

Is it advisable ba at his age to enroll him to gymboree/kindermusik or other toddler schools?

[DV]

My daughter is showing interest in writing na (she can write a few letters). Wondering which is a better method in teaching her: freestyle lang, no lines muna, or go ahead and introduce lines and tracing letters. Sa freestyle method, feeling ko hindi ko masa-stifle yung creativity nya; sa tracing and lines, mas may muscle memory. I hope you can also share tips on how to teach writing. Thanks!

[michi247]

^ buti pa daughter mo may interest na sa writing. turning 3 na yung son ko and bumili ko ng tracing book, para matrain na siya magsulat kaso di siya interested, kinukulayan lang ng buo yung page. tinuturuan ko siya kung paano, tapos hahawakan ko kamay niya para iguide, pero after nun di pa rin magawa. ganun din siya sa mga coloring book niya, buong page ang kulay.

[hunny_ally]

DV in my daughter's school they started with molding clay. They have letter pattern flashcards na naka laminate, then they mold clay over that. Then they moved into tracing. Then eventually freestyle but with a "cheat sheet" on top of the page.

[tiggerlily]

My heart is set: I am going to homeschool my kid before Grade 1. For now, ganyan muna ang plan ko. I have seen homeschooled kids who are so smart kasi natututukan sila. Kaya I'm going to do it too. See how it works for us.

It is going to be challenging since I'd be working pero me and my husband will try to make it work.

I know that kids develop at their own pace. So just let them be. Iba iba talaga. I have to remind myself this everyday to keep the pressure off my kid. My kid dati basta lang color ng color.. As in the whole page wala. basta color lang ng color walang direction. kahit sabihin kong wag lalagpas. and then one day, bigla na lang syang nagcolor ng matino. di naman perfect na walang lagpas pero may direction na. like the tree is green. the car is red. the sun is yellow, etc. as in bigla na lang. since then i did some more preschool activities.

we started june. hindi pa consistent yun kasi ako yung taong walang routine, schedule at structure. kapag sinipag lang ako tuturuan ko sya. kapag hindi, ayun tulog kami. hehe!

i think alam na ng ibang sis natin dito how old my kid is. pero di ko na babanggitin. since june to sept he has perfected, abc - big and small caps. he can match them, put them in order and can make their sounds. counting. naming shapes and colors.

this is just academic. marami pang ibang dapat idevelop ang bata like understanding and logic. i am also trying to train him around the house. he would be more than happy to pick up a floor brush to brush the bathroom floor when I tell him to. Or wipe his table whenever.

[michi247]

^ wait ko na lang din na magcolor siya ng matino. may mga favorite color siya, so ngayon red ang favorite niya so lahat ng pages puro red ang color. 

paano niyo tinuruan magbasa yung kids niyo? start ba ng ba, be, bi, bo bu, or word na agad?

[hunny_ally]

^^good for you sis! Buti may tiyaga ka. I'd do that kaso Baka mag-away Lang kami ng daughter ko. Two hard headed people lol. Btw, caution Lang some schools asks for certificate of attendance for preschool as requirement for admission. In some schools pa nga they ask for a copy of the DECS registration ng school. So maybe you can already inquire with your prospect school for grade 1 on how to go about it if you'll be homeschooling your son.

[DV]

Hunny_ally, thanks for the tips. Bilhan ko nga ang anak ko ng letter tracing book and she if she enjoys it na. Kung hindi mag-molding clay muna kami.

Pagturo ko sa kanya kasi ngayon parang picture/symbol style. For example, sa letter A, from top, draw a line going down to the left like a slide, then draw another slide down to the right, then draw a ladder step on the middle. Kuha naman nya agad kaya lang feeling ko mauubusan ako ng 'pictures'. Hehe. Subukan ko rin tracing method nga.

On coloring, she doesn't particularly enjoy coloring pictures with crayons. Mas gusto nya painting or
making her own pictures with watercolor and glitter glue. Binabayaan ko lang basta I present all these activities to her.

On homeschooling naman, I'm also considerig it kaya lang parang I'm leaning towards setting her into a proper school para matuto syang sumunod sa ibang authorities (napansin ko kasi nung sa summer swimming class nya mas sumusunod sya sa akin kaysa sa teacher), and I don't want her to be too clingy to me (since ako na ang nag-aalaga sa kanya I want her to be exposed to other people too). But we'll see.

Kakatuwa naman, dito na tayo nagdi-discuss. Lumalaki na ang mga kids natin. Dati puro dun sa baby bottles and diapers.