Whats the Best Way to Get your Child to Want to Learn?
952217
Bribery might help, give him something to look forward to at the end of each nine weeks and if he does well you could take him on a mini trip or buy him a game he wants. Some kids are motivated in diff ways so don't worry it might be something personal in his life like friends or girls, hope all goes well!
233252
Every child learns in a different way. Some kids are visual learners, some are auditory learners, and others are Kinesthetic learners. Your son sounds as if he may be a kinesthetic learner and likes to do hands on activites rather than boring old paper work. Talk to your child's teacher about how she presents the material. See if he or she can find a way to present written work in a different way that he will not only enjoy but he will also learn from. Good Luck!
843182
Check into the book Reading Reflex. A child needs to have a strong ability to decode the words before being able to understand what s/he's reading.\n\nIf I'm understanding you, she needs more practice in blending sounds together? You can just play games on the side to encourage the blending of sounds together. Example: "I'm thinking of a word with the sounds /k/ /a/ /t/ [say the sounds, not the letter names]. Can you guess what the word is?" The above book has different activities and things to help.
943889
I home school my kids and have had wonderful results with a book called "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons" by Siegfried Engelmann.  I know several 3 and 4 yr olds who have learned with this program.  You can take it at your own pace and you see results very early in the program.  There are also some wonderful curriculum out there for preschool, some have been mentioned already:\n\nhttp://www.mfwbooks.com/\nhttp://www.sonlight.com/\nhttp://www.bright-beginnings.net/\nhttp://www.caitscurriculum.com/\n\nHere are some great links to websites dedicated to early childhood learning.  I use them often for great ideas for learning and fun!:\n\nhttp://www.handsofachild.com/2/\nhttp://www.preschoolrainbow.org/index.htm\nhttp://www.muddlepuddle.co.uk/index.htm\nhttp://www.enchantedlearning.com/Home.html\n\nI hope that helps, if you are planning on home schooling after preschool I would recommend finding a home school support group in your area and get plugged in with other families who homeschool.  \n\nBlessings.
497590
Keep in mind that she is 5! I think it is a little early to take her to have an evaluation for learning difficulties or anything like that, as has been suggested by others. \nAlso, I think a short attention span is normal for a 5 year old- a rule of thumb I have heard is 1 minute for each year of age- so I would be expecting her to concentrate for 5 minutes at a time. \n\nHere are my ideas:\n\n1) Help her to be interested in books\n-let her see you reading, whenever you are reading- point out signs when you are driving, reading the instructions/ingredients when cooking, talk about looking in the tv guide to find out what's on...\n-take her to the library, let her choose the books.\nThere are lots of appropriate books on all sorts of topics (such as looking after pets, making things, etc).\n\n2) Teach the letters in the most creative ways you can think of!\n- draw them in sand with your fingers\n- let her type them on a keyboard\n- make them out of play-doh (I have alphabet cookie cutters, or you could just roll long snakes and make them into the letters)\n-teach her an alphabet song (I like "ants in the apple")\nWhile you're doing these kinds of things, talk about the letters, and the sounds they make- e.g. for B- this is 'bee', it says the 'b' sound.\n\n3) Read to her\nReading material which is appropriate for her to read might not be very interesting for her. If you read books to her which are a bit harder, but more interesting, this will help her to be interested in books.\n\n4) practice reading creatively\n- you could make 'labels' for things in your home (door, fridge, oven, bed), and ask her to help you read the label, and stick it where it needs to go.\n- write her little notes\n\n5) practice for a short amount of time- maybe 5-10 minutes. Come back to it later, rather than tiring her out- she will enjoy it more this way! \n\nI hope these ideas are helpful!
76714
Lots of practise using lots of different methods. Have it written on all his stuff so he recognises it. Write it on paper with him using pens, textas, crayons, paint etc. Get magnetic letters and practise spelling it out on the fridge. Get pavement chalk and write it on the concrete. Spell it out using alphabet cookies.\nYou can dot out the letters and he/she can trace over them.\nYou could hold his hand and help him form letters and "Skywrite" them.\nJust practise doing it lots of different ways. Make it fun and make it frequent but in short sessions so you don't tire him / her out and you don't make him / her resistant to your attempts.\nYour child has to want to do it or they will not succeed.\nFinally, if it's just not happening maybe he/ she is not ready yet and just give them a little time before you start trying again.
712824
Make themrelate to something real, and the kids will remember them. Repetition is fine, but boring and they will not really learn it for the long haul. Try songs, poems, rhymes, stories, movements. Ask them to tell a partner what they know about the word or how it relates to real life. or have them write a story using the words in correct context.
378782
If you mean "which toys will help my child to learn" then.  Larger toys when small.  Smaller toys when growing older, as in,\nDuplo then lego. Big trucks then small cars. As in stubby crayons on large sheets of paper,  then thinner pencils and smaller paper etc.\nAs in large balls, then smaller ones.\nOlder children picking up and putting  tennis balls into a bucket is very good for eye hand co ordination essential for writing.\nMost importantly, Reading books with your child from the beginning will teach literacy. Again, big pictures  for little children, then smaller pictures and finally none for older children. Read with/to them till age 12 or 13, it is ok and fun!
299541
Start with picture modules for vocabulary, and have the child read books that speak directly about the pictures they contain (Pre-Primer/Level A/etc.). Use flash cards, word-picture matching, etc. to increase word recognition speed. To build speaking vocabulary, do lots of acting-out practice with verbs (e.g. "walk," "see," etc.). Children learning a second language learn just like an infant learning a primary language... first, basic nouns/verbs; next, comprehension of the overall idea in longer statements through noun/verb recognition, sound cadence, and context; later, adjectives and adverb modifiers... Then verb conjugations, article use, complex grammar patterns, etc.\n\nAlso, model reading to the student...in my school we use big books, through 5th grade (content is at grade level, it's just a "big book" so that the whole class can see it easily). Make sure to point out nouns and verbs in the picture as you read the text aloud.\n\nSo start with those Pre-primer (picture-text exact match) books -- your school (system) should have some excellent non-fiction for the early elementary kids, so check with a K-2 teacher or your Title I office. \n\nAdditionally, phonics decoding is a nightmare for the ELL student, because there are so many spelling patterns due to English being a mish-mash of several different languages (did you know the letter "s" has 3 sounds? example: sun, is, sure). Get yourself training in Orton-Gillingham or another complex phonics approach that addresses ALL the spelling combinations, not just the first couple of primary patterns.
97699
Please tell us a little more about your child and we'll try to help.  Generally children do want to learn and children are not lazy.  We need only watch children as they play or when they are doing things they enjoy to realize they are not lazy.  \n\nIf children won't or can't learn it is because something is wrong.  It often means the work is too hard, or too confusing for some reason for the child.  Or it may mean the child needs to be taught in a different way or using different materials.\n\nSo tell us a little more and I expect you'll get some better help.
159473
TV shows like Sesame Street are good, too.  If you want them to learn to read English, they first have to speak it.  Have them learn correct pronunciation from native speakers.
975450
One letter at a time until she gets it down...\n\nwrite the first letter about 10 times in a row, let her watch you write it and tell her the letter each time.  Then let her trace it.  Then 10 more times write the letter but not full use little dots, let her trace it.  Then once she gets tracing it and saying the letter, let her write it herself about 20 times.  If she gets it down move to the next letter.  Same process until all letters are completely learned.  Then try putting two letters together with the same process and add more as she progresses until the entire name is learned.  Don't burn her out in one sitting though as she may become frustrated and give up, or to much info at one time and she may forget.  \n\nThat is how I taught my son.  Hope it works for you!  Good Luck!
200766
In the UK we use programmes called Sounds-Write and THRASS which encourage children to listen to the sounds in a word and break it down in order to spell it correctly. They are not listening only for single letters but for block sounds too - th, gr, ee, etc.\n\nWe have lots of word games that we play. One of the most popular is a jigsaw puzzle type game for putting parts of words together to see the different words you can make and spell correctly. Children have a picture in front of them which they then 'label' with the puzzle pieces. ie picture of a frog; child finds 'fr' and 'og'.\n\nYou can use everyday objects around the house to encourage your son to speak. 'J' for juice. 'B' for bed. Get him to say these things with you. When you go shopping, give him his own list and help him work through it around the store, crossing off words as he finds the object. This will help him link words with daily life. \n\nTry not to make a huge thing out of it though. You don't want to put him off! His achievements, however small they may seem to you, need praising and he needs constant encouragement. \n\nI hope you understand what I mean.\nGood luck.
260033
The above respondant has great ideans.\nBe at the child's eye level when giving directions or just talking with child.  Put away things that you would have to say "no " about.  Have great manipulative materials:  cool toys, of course--but also play doh, crayons, markers, finger paints. . . not all at once! but available.  Toys to stack like blocks.  Little kids need to be shown how to do it.  Sit on the floor and show them, play with them.  Not just blocks, anything.\n\nPut a sheet over a table and play tent , and take a flashlight in there!  Give them cups and empty bottles (plastic) and a colander (strainer) in the bathtub.  Put food coloring, just a few drops, in the bathwater.\nLet them help cook, measure; talk about what you're making. . . grow something, in a pot or in the yard. . . \ntake care of pets together; go on walks, and read read read.\nLimit tv and video games, and let whatever they watch be age appropriate. . . have fun. think about what's fun and do it with them.  Dance crazy, sleep in the backyard together, buy a sandbox, or put some sand in a little rubbermaid container and play with in on the front porch. Answer questions when your kids ask, about rainbows or God or where babies come from. . . remember what it felt like to be a child. . .
321579
try this  web site  for preschoolers \nwww.freewebs.com/letsread/\n\nanimations and music enhance learning
175420
This is a great age because everything is such a new and unique experience and they are learning so much every day.  Some ideas:\n\n--Play games involving memory skills, alphabet, numbers, vocabulary.  Have scavenger hunts to have them find red items or items beginning with B, etc.\n\n--Play age-appropriate board games like Candyland or Memory Match\n\n--Color in coloring books\n\n--Look for homeschool oriented activity books for the age.  Walmart usually has fun stuff that isn't very expensive.  Or make your own "activity sheets"\n\n--Get physical--play games that involve jumping, dancing, stretching.  Simon Says is a great one  for this, or Follow the Leader or Hide and Seek.\n\n--Get them involved in doing simple things to help you with your chores like sorting laundry, cleaning up toys etc.  Find ways to make it into a game.\n\n--Bake cookies and let them help decorate the cookies\n\n--Read, read, read, lots of storybooks.  \n\n--for times when you need some "mommy time" videos/DVDs can't be beat.  There's lots of educational stuff out there, too.  My nephews love PBS kids shows and you can get compilations of them.\n\nHere's some websites with some more ideas:\n\nhttp://www.dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/Pre-School/\n\nhttp://www.perpetualpreschool.com/
657637
Find open-ended toys... typically toys that don't have batteries. Toys that have more than one use. Frankly I'm a bit skeptical about the true value of Leap Frog for a child that young. \n\nWaldorf & Montessori style toys are a good example of open-ended toys that will encourage your child to use his/her imagination and inguinity. Play silks are great as are other simple objects. Kids who have a few toys often exhibit more imagination than those who have piles of them. A friend of mine recently observed this own phenomena when she packed up most of her son's toys in preparing to move. \n\nLess (or no) TV is better ... esp. at that young age. If you are going to let your toddler watch any TV at all it should be something with a redeaming value... like what they have on PBS ... Sesame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, etc. I've heard experts recommend that you limit it to one hour per day or less. \n\nSome good web-sites for Waldorf Toys are:\n\nwww.bellalunatoys.com\nwww.magicgarden.com\nwww.atoygarden.com\nwww.fairycove.com  (beautiful hand-dyed play silks)\nwww.willowtreetoys.com\nwww.islandtreasuretoys.com\n\nKids need to be engaged in the real world in order to stimulate more brain development and encourage real-life, hands-on learning. You can turn every day activities into an opportunity to learn... from a walk in the neighborhood (you can talk about what you see from people, plants, neighborhood animals, insects, the weather, etc.), a trip to the grocery store (talk about what you're buying & what you can do with different foods, talk about why you choose one thing over another, explain why healthy foods are good for his/her body, let him/her help by putting something in the basket or helping you to put produce in a bag), let them help you in the kitchen by "washing" vegetables, stirring, helping to meassure, dumping premeassured ingredients into the bowl or pot, etc. We use a step ladder with our daughter in the kitchen. She loves to watch and "help." Sometimes she will pick up a sponge or rag and try to help me clean. It's so fun to see what they pick up on!  :)\n\nThere's a great show on PBS (KCET in LA) called "A Place of Our Own" that has tons of great ideas. They also have a web-site: \n\nwww.aplaceofourown.org\n\nThey also have a DVD series if you can't get it on your local PBS channel. But, do check out the web-site!!!\n\nPlaydough (you can make it yourself easily & cheaply), paints & paper, a bowl of beans or flour, etc. and something to scoop with, something to make music with ... from pots and pans to bells that they can shake to a drum or kiddie xylophone, or whatever you have laying around the house. You can make noise-makers for your child as well. Sometimes the simplest of objects turn out to be the ones with the most play & educational value.\n\nMusic Together classes are also great for developing music, language & future math proficiency. Other children's music classes may offer a similar benefit. But, MT uses a method that combines fun songs, body movements & music theory through harmonics & simple scales ... for instance they might sing "ba ba ba ba" in a harmonic scale and then ask the kids & parents to repeat it. \n\nIt's great because it works with where the kids are developmetally. It's okay if the child wants to get up and dance or run around when others are sitting and it's okay if the child doesn't want to give the instrument back when they move on to the next one. My dd usually doesn't sing in class & often runs around with the other kids. But, then at home I will hear her sing the songs sometimes when she thinks no one else is listening. :) And I always have so much fun with her whenever I go because it's parent & child participatory. (Her dad usually takes her Sat. mornings.) They also give you a CD (with two copies... one for the car & one for home) that have 25-35 songs on them. They have nine