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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>What Should a 4 yr Old Know?
melissa ann 03:54 PM 09-21-2009
I know all kids learn at different levels. But, I have a dcb who will be 4 in Dec. He does not know his ABC's, numbers, the only color he knows is blue, doesnt' know shapes etc. When we color, he still scribbles. Makes no interest in trying to make any effort in the lines, uses just 1 color and colors in one spot until there is a hole in the page. This is the same boy who has been stuttering. He wants no part in learning. I do try to make it fun and include all the kids. My 4 yr old(who goes to preschool 3 days/week), my 2 yr old son and the 2 1/2 yr old dcg. As stated before the dcg and boy are cousins. Girl has no intest in anything either. They both want to play all day. My son, who turned 2 this past Easter, knows all but 5 or so alphabets, knows his numbers, colors better than the dcb. My son doesn't know his colors, but when we play the color game. Where I have a book with different colors and I have the kids find something in the play room that matches the color on the page, he can find "like" colors. He also does his v-tech tote n'go computer game. But when I give it to the dcb to use to help his abc's & numbers, he just stares into space. I do allow them plent of "free" play time. But I"m at my wits end on trying to help this boy. What is the average age of knowing these things.
The 2 1/2 yr dcg has been using the potty since right after she turned 2. She picked that up real quick but nothing else. My son, on the other hand, has no interest in using the potty but is eager to learn other things. At this point, I'd rather have a 2 yr old like my son, because he can speak cleary, knows what he wants and can tell you. The girl isn't very clear w/her speaking. The dcb still talks in a "baby" way. He still has a babyish voice.
Any help would be appreciated.
Dcb will be going to kindergarten in 2011 but at this point, I don't see where he will be ready. Around here, there are min. things that the child needs to know. He has a lot of work ahead of him. He doesn't know how to hold a pencil. I try to help him work on writing letters. I thought by writing them he would learn them better. For 3 or so weeks we worked on the letter A. And he still doesn't answer me when I point to the letter on the poster on the wall. Is he beyond what I can do for him? Am I expecting too much?
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GretasLittleFriends 06:58 AM 09-22-2009
I have no answers for you as far as what the boy should know already. I too have a frustrating situation with two of my families. One family isn't as bad as the other. I'm not going to get into their issues, as I could write a book, and well, I'm not sure I could always use the right words...

Both of the families I have either do or used to have their child/ren in a Head Start program. The one family dcb is now in preschool and will be starting kindergarten next fall. The other family could qualify for free preschool for their oldest child, but they didn't enroll him...

Anyway, a suggestion I have for you... Do you have the Head Start program in your area? Or does your school district have an ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) program? I know in my area both of these programs are available for free for daycare providers. All you need to do is schedule an appointment and they come to your house for 1/2 - 1 hour to spend with the children. They may have some ideas and resources for you.
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mac60 08:22 AM 09-22-2009
I can't tell you what a 4 yr old should know, but I do know that our kindergarten readiness includes: abc's, counting, colors, shapes, name, address, phone number. Pretty much the basics going into kindergarten. We cover all of these in our preschool time here throughout the year. I am sure that each district is a little different in what is expected coming in to kindergarten. I got the kindergarten packet from the school so I would have something to base my preschool activities on.
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Unregistered 11:33 AM 09-22-2009
My first instinct is that he should know more than what he does already. But truth be told, he's still only three and has almost 2 years until he enters kindergarten. That's a looooong time for a little kid and a whole lot of learning will take place between now and then. Give him some time and don't push it too hard or he's likely to turn his nose up to academics just to get a rise out of you. Start with colors, shapes, counting, and vocabulary, don't worry about letters yet. Do other fine motor activities that aren't focused on writing anything. Maybe go to a Dr. Jean website for some fun activities that your kids will enjoy that aren't blatantly about learning ABCs and 123s.
Sometimes they'll turn a corner quickly and suddenly will want to learn all about whatever and turn into little information inhalers that can't get enough. Or, they won't and will get the services they need from the public school system.
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kitkat 11:34 AM 09-23-2009
I agree with the previous post...he still has 2 years and that's A LOT of time. Everyone learns at their own pace and when they are interested. I know it can be frustrating when you try so hard and it seems like you aren't making any progress. Here are a few ideas:

Read books about colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet. Repetitive and rhyming ones are the best.

Hi Ho Cherry-O is great for counting. If you want the 2 youngest to play, just have them take turns spinning and you remove the cherries.

My dcg will be 4 in Dec. also. She is finally not doing that coloring in one spot til there's a hole thing! I just keep reminding her to color where the paper is white (same thing for painting).

Maybe work on the pencil grip with a marker. Dcg has a hard time also so when we use the markers I really reinforce proper grip and tell her to pinch. Instead of focusing on specific letters, work on writing his name. The letters will probably mean more to him that way.

Keep doing the color game. If he's really struggling, have him take the color with him to compare it to what he finds. If he has to find red, give him something that's red and have him find something that matches.

Keep in mind that if what you do during the day isn't reinforced at home, it's going to be slower progress. If you think that there may be something more going on, talk to his parent and voice your concerns. I don't know if it's state or federal law, but here kids ages 3 and up must be serviced by the school district. If stuttering is a major issue for dcb, then he should be evaluated by a speech therapist to see if he qualifies for speech. If parents don't want to have him seen, you can always call the therapist, explain you have a dck who stutters and ask if there is something that you can do to help him. You should also check with your daughter's preschool teacher for any suggestions. Good luck!
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treasurebox55 10:51 PM 02-19-2010
I just stumbled across this site and thought I would add a bit to the discussion. I have been teaching preschool for 15 years and have my Master's in Early Childhood. Some of what you are mentioning is typical for a young four year old. Some stay at that "play" stage for longer than others. But keep in mind, what looks like play to most of the world is actually learning to a child. There are some concerns to note. The stuttering and staring off into space needs to be watched. I would discuss these concerns with the parents and decide whether it would be beneficial to refer the child over to an early interventionist for an evaluation. As for the writing, he does not sound like he is ready to use his fine motor skills. If he cannot make straight lines or circles in his drawings or artwork, he is certainly not ready to write letters or write on lines. Writing on lines comes only after they are able to line letters up on a sheet of paper in a row and not huge and crooked. With "baby talkers" we have always made it clear to them in the classroom that we respond only to big kids, not whiners, or baby talk. We role model proper requests or statements and expect are little friends to try and repeat as much as they are capable. It does not take much of being ignored for a child who has the ability but chooses not to use it to decide to shape up. You just say, "When you choose to use your big kid words we will....." or Say to Suzy, "You hurt me!" (Rather than screaming and hitting Suzy!)

Anyway, just a few thoughts...I would recommend reading up on the developmental stages of Birth-5 year olds. Our culture tends to push our little ones to be more advanced than what their bodies are really capable of at each stage. I have always lived by the practice of "teach them from where they are" not from where I want them to be at that time! It makes both of us happier and gives them a sense of accomplishment and love for education!
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momma2girls 06:02 AM 02-20-2010
Originally Posted by melissa ann:
I know all kids learn at different levels. But, I have a dcb who will be 4 in Dec. He does not know his ABC's, numbers, the only color he knows is blue, doesnt' know shapes etc. When we color, he still scribbles. Makes no interest in trying to make any effort in the lines, uses just 1 color and colors in one spot until there is a hole in the page. This is the same boy who has been stuttering. He wants no part in learning. I do try to make it fun and include all the kids. My 4 yr old(who goes to preschool 3 days/week), my 2 yr old son and the 2 1/2 yr old dcg. As stated before the dcg and boy are cousins. Girl has no intest in anything either. They both want to play all day. My son, who turned 2 this past Easter, knows all but 5 or so alphabets, knows his numbers, colors better than the dcb. My son doesn't know his colors, but when we play the color game. Where I have a book with different colors and I have the kids find something in the play room that matches the color on the page, he can find "like" colors. He also does his v-tech tote n'go computer game. But when I give it to the dcb to use to help his abc's & numbers, he just stares into space. I do allow them plent of "free" play time. But I"m at my wits end on trying to help this boy. What is the average age of knowing these things.
The 2 1/2 yr dcg has been using the potty since right after she turned 2. She picked that up real quick but nothing else. My son, on the other hand, has no interest in using the potty but is eager to learn other things. At this point, I'd rather have a 2 yr old like my son, because he can speak cleary, knows what he wants and can tell you. The girl isn't very clear w/her speaking. The dcb still talks in a "baby" way. He still has a babyish voice.
Any help would be appreciated.
Dcb will be going to kindergarten in 2011 but at this point, I don't see where he will be ready. Around here, there are min. things that the child needs to know. He has a lot of work ahead of him. He doesn't know how to hold a pencil. I try to help him work on writing letters. I thought by writing them he would learn them better. For 3 or so weeks we worked on the letter A. And he still doesn't answer me when I point to the letter on the poster on the wall. Is he beyond what I can do for him? Am I expecting too much?
Myabe you could talk to his parents on Preschool, and he will need alot of work before entering into Kindergarten!!
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Michael 01:01 AM 02-21-2010
Originally Posted by treasurebox55:
I just stumbled across this site and thought I would add a bit to the discussion. I have been teaching preschool for 15 years and have my Master's in Early Childhood. Some of what you are mentioning is typical for a young four year old. Some stay at that "play" stage for longer than others. But keep in mind, what looks like play to most of the world is actually learning to a child. There are some concerns to note. The stuttering and staring off into space needs to be watched. I would discuss these concerns with the parents and decide whether it would be beneficial to refer the child over to an early interventionist for an evaluation. As for the writing, he does not sound like he is ready to use his fine motor skills. If he cannot make straight lines or circles in his drawings or artwork, he is certainly not ready to write letters or write on lines. Writing on lines comes only after they are able to line letters up on a sheet of paper in a row and not huge and crooked. With "baby talkers" we have always made it clear to them in the classroom that we respond only to big kids, not whiners, or baby talk. We role model proper requests or statements and expect are little friends to try and repeat as much as they are capable. It does not take much of being ignored for a child who has the ability but chooses not to use it to decide to shape up. You just say, "When you choose to use your big kid words we will....." or Say to Suzy, "You hurt me!" (Rather than screaming and hitting Suzy!)

Anyway, just a few thoughts...I would recommend reading up on the developmental stages of Birth-5 year olds. Our culture tends to push our little ones to be more advanced than what their bodies are really capable of at each stage. I have always lived by the practice of "teach them from where they are" not from where I want them to be at that time! It makes both of us happier and gives them a sense of accomplishment and love for education!
"teach them from where they are" Well said.
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Unregistered 08:55 PM 08-30-2011
I want to share some practical methods. for example I taught my daughter about left foot and right foot while playing.For teaching the colors u can firrst have three differnt color ballons and ask him to bring this color balloon than some other color.for counting u can count with some of his favorite things like lollypop etc. To create the interest u can teach him patterns like apple- orange- apple -orange etc.u can download some worksheet from www.education.com and help him to do that. u can tell him about seasons
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Tags:4 year old, age appropriate, developmental, evaluation, interventionist, motor skills
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