can I talk kid development for a minute?

[iamgrace]

My 20 month old is learning the same shit my 4 year old is. Clare knows at least half the alphabet, can count to ten and knows more colours than Henry.

Now, Henry knows the entire alphabet, but it's a toss up who can ID more letters visually. Henry can iD more numbers visually for sure.

Maybe henry is super low and C is just normal??

Or is this a twy sentwa? Girl vs boy thing? First kid vs second kid? All kids are different?

[thebuddhagouda]

a little bit of all of the above?

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 15:54:40 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

ALSO I don't think your 4 year old is behind at all. I think that's totally normal for his age.

I think he's on the low end of normal. I can be honest with myself about it. I don't want him to be, but I'm expecting it.   I ALWAYS was, and sufferered from an LD. Once I was diagnosed, my life and academic career changed dramatically.  Maybe I'm just projecting, or something.   

[eddy]

I think it is a personality thing. You DS might just have different interests and areas to focus on.

Leo is more advanced with this stuff than Jack was at the age. I think part is being little brother but also part just has to do with his personality.

[ginger]

All of the above.

How much of a 4 is H? He sounds perfectly normal.

[kitty63]

My son tries to copy every single thing his older sister does. He's picking up some stuff sooo much quicker I think because he's determined to do everything she does.

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 15:59:33 GMT -5 ginger said:

All of the above.

How much of a 4 is H? He sounds perfectly normal.

he turned 4 2 days ago.

The colours thing kinda concerns me. Like he basically knows NONE. It's a fluke if he gets them right.

[Narwhal]

I've noticed when I have siblings of previous students, the younger sibling always knows more. I think the younger sibling wants to be like big brother/sister, so they copy and learn what the older kiddo is. I teach Kindergarten and he sounds like he is right where he should be for his age.

[iamgrace]

Oh, and Henry can count independently to 20...most of the time.

I think part of my issue is that he has a cousin 6 weeks older than him that is suuuppper advanced - counts to 100, etc etc

[tictac]

I think it's a little bit of all of the above.

My one sister is 3 years older than me, and I definitely remember at 3/4 years old retaining a bunch of stuff she was learning in early grade school because my parents would review it with her so much.

Idk, you hear somebody spell "purple" 600 times, eventually it'll stick.

[ginger]

Mar 6, 2015 16:05:22 GMT -5 iamgrace said:

Oh, and Henry can count independently to 20...most of the time.

I think part of my issue is that he has a cousin 6 weeks older than him that is suuuppper advanced - counts to 100, etc etc

Try not to compare. Some kids are farther and some aren't, but H just might not be interested in Colors right now. Kids do that from time to time.

But you can start working with him if it makes you feel better. He may know them, but be stubborn. lol

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 16:07:58 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

He has trouble identifying colors?
I don't know whether or not that's normal, but has he been checked for colorblindness? It's more common in boys.

he does and hasn't been checked. I've talked to people about it that say not to worry at his age...yet. I am a bit concerned though.

[Narwhal]

Mar 6, 2015 16:05:22 GMT -5 iamgrace said:

Oh, and Henry can count independently to 20...most of the time.

I think part of my issue is that he has a cousin 6 weeks older than him that is suuuppper advanced - counts to 100, etc etc

Honestly, I know it's so hard not to compare but there is such a vast range for that age. Some kids are great at memorization. Some will excel at sounding out words. Some are more mature socially but lower academically. At the beginning of the year I have students who are across the board and by the end of the year, they all are more on a level playing field. I'm sure I'll feel differently when it's my boys  

[thebuddhagouda]

Mar 6, 2015 15:54:40 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

ALSO I don't think your 4 year old is behind at all. I think that's totally normal for his age.

Definitely. Ethan is 3 months shy of 5 and just now able to identify all of the letters. He's just more interested in drawing/music. I figure as long as he knows what he needs to know to start kindergarten, I'm not going to sweat him not being ahead. 

Maybe I can find him an art magnet kindergarten  

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 16:11:05 GMT -5 @licia said:

Mar 6, 2015 16:07:58 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

He has trouble identifying colors?
I don't know whether or not that's normal, but has he been checked for colorblindness? It's more common in boys.

I was wondering about this, too. Anyone in your family colorblind, grace? It comes from mothers, so, like, if your dad was colorblind, there's a chance you're a carrier.

not that I'm aware

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 16:11:53 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

Mar 6, 2015 15:54:40 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

ALSO I don't think your 4 year old is behind at all. I think that's totally normal for his age.

Definitely. Ethan is 3 months shy of 5 and just now able to identify all of the letters. He's just more interested in drawing/music. I figure as long as he knows what he needs to know to start kindergarten, I'm not going to sweat him not being ahead. 

Maybe I can find him an art magnet kindergarten  

I love watching my kids strengths come out. Henry- nature and numbers (he's been identifying birds and numbers from an early age). Clare- language and mischief.

Lol.

[thebuddhagouda]

Mar 6, 2015 16:16:01 GMT -5 iamgrace said:

Mar 6, 2015 16:11:53 GMT -5 thebuddhagouda said:

Definitely. Ethan is 3 months shy of 5 and just now able to identify all of the letters. He's just more interested in drawing/music. I figure as long as he knows what he needs to know to start kindergarten, I'm not going to sweat him not being ahead. 

Maybe I can find him an art magnet kindergarten  

I love watching my kids strengths come out. Henry- nature and numbers (he's been identifying birds and numbers from an early age). Clare- language and mischief.

Lol.

Yes, and it can be frustrating when your kid's strengths aren't what is going to be "graded" in the first few years of public school, but I just keep reminding myself that he has areas in which he excels and is way advanced. Letters and reading just isn't one of them, and we'll work and help him as much as we can, but it's okay to let him get it when he gets it. 

[emoflamingo]

Every kid has strengths and weaknesses. My youngest can identify all the letters at 2.5 whereas my first was struggling when he was 4-5. But my second child is also way clumsier and has less of a grasp on fine motor skills used in drawing than my oldest had at 2.5. My oldest also knew more shapes and colors by this age. What 3 year old knows what a hexagon is? And says things like "that's ridiculous." That'd be C.

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 16:41:47 GMT -5 @smace said:

I think it's a youngest child thing, wes is way ahead of where x was. This kidnjust told me, "good job cleaning up mom" I mean, full on conversations with a 2 year old never happened with x. he counts, sings abcs, things x didn't really do at that age. I think it's having an older brother doing these things with him that makes him seem like he's way above in ability.

im sure she's bright in her own regard but i wouldn't dial mensa just yet.

lol I wasn't insinuating that I should. My H's cousin was reading at 18 months. She's an actual rocket scientist now. I have something to compare to.

[nannersp]

Mar 6, 2015 16:51:11 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

I think that impressive for a 20 month old!

Agreed. My 25-month-old can't do that.

[underwaterrhymes]

I think kids are generally on a range.

K is almost two and can count to ten, knows his colors, can identify some letters (but not anywhere close to all), knows his animals, is speaking in short sentences, and can keep tune.

But there is a little girl genius in his class who is speaking at the level of a 3- or 4-year old. If we went by her, we'd be really discouraged. I think he's pretty average for his age, but she would definitely throw us off if she was our measuring post.

I'm sure his little brother will be different, too.

[usuallylurking]

I have the opposite problem, DS1 was (still is?) really advanced. He knew and could verbalize and sight recognize all of his letters, numbers, colors and shapes by 18 months. Through no particular effort on our part, either. He's now reading, like full fledged reading, and has been since before Christmas (he'll be 5 in 2 weeks). Poor DS2 hardly said a word until after 2, and I was so worried he had a speech delay, but then he busts out saying things like "pterodactyl" perfectly. Who knows where DS3 will land, but I doubt he will be where DS1 was in 2.5 months from now.

I bet Henry knows more than he's letting on! Plus, like you said, he has different strengths. My DS1 is the one who can't entertain himself with coloring/painting/play-doh because "what should I MAKE, Mom?!"

[redheadk]

I wouldn't worry about it. Someone above mentioned that he likely has areas where he is on the more advanced end of the spectrum and I completely agree with that. Sometimes those areas are less noticeable and measurable for us but are no less important. I had a few Kindergarteners that came to K not knowing any letters. They caught on very quickly.

My DD has known all of her letters for a long time, as well as things like counting to 25, colors, shapes, etc. She's 2.5. Honestly, I do not consider her to be gifted because of this. I think she's smart, sure, but mostly these are things that she's just drawn to for whatever reason. There are other things that she's less interested in.

Toddler/preschooler development is really uneven.

[Deleted]

Mar 6, 2015 17:01:55 GMT -5 @smace said:

On the flip side, x knew his colors by 15 months. For wes. Fucking everything is "color"

Wes, what color is this?

Color.

No, no WHAT color?

Color.

Yeaaaahhhh

For mine everything is 'lellow' and I'm pretty sure it's because she likes to say it. When I ask her to show me the blue object or bring me a red crayon she can do it. But if DH asks she always gives him the wrong colour. I Think she knows it bugs him, little bugger

[starshine1977]

iamgrace I am a teacher of 3-5 year olds. All of things that you mentioned about your son are a perfectly normal place for him to be developmentally, especially if he just turned 4. Even the not knowing colors. One thing to know about preschoolers is they are not going to learn something until it is interesting or important to them (similar to not potty training a child until they are interested). It could be that your son just doesn't care as much about colors. It's not important in his realm yet.

As for your 20 month old...that is pretty impressive. But every child is different.

Hope this helps to set your mind at ease

[iamgrace]

Mar 6, 2015 21:03:00 GMT -5 @randomcdn said:

Mar 6, 2015 17:01:55 GMT -5 @smace said:

On the flip side, x knew his colors by 15 months. For wes. Fucking everything is "color"

Wes, what color is this?

Color.

No, no WHAT color?

Color.

Yeaaaahhhh

For mine everything is 'lellow' and I'm pretty sure it's because she likes to say it. When I ask her to show me the blue object or bring me a red crayon she can do it. But if DH asks she always gives him the wrong colour. I Think she knows it bugs him, little bugger

Our daycare provider told us it's pretty common for everything to be one colour before they sort it all out. Who knows what's rattling around in those little heads! Lol

[peachykate]

Mar 6, 2015 16:02:24 GMT -5 iamgrace said:

Mar 6, 2015 15:59:33 GMT -5 ginger said:

All of the above.

How much of a 4 is H? He sounds perfectly normal.

he turned 4 2 days ago.

The colours thing kinda concerns me. Like he basically knows NONE. It's a fluke if he gets them right.

Jax was like this with colors as well, he turned 4 in October and then one day they just clicked.   I went to the paint store, grabbed paint chips, and then tied them together with a string.  We went over those and then I asked him what color his favorite toys were so it was at least half way interesting.   IDing letters is a total toss up as well.

I'm not personally worried at all, we actually laugh at the stuff he does retain that it's clear that he just isn't interested.  
 

[auntie]

Kids move at their own pace and along the lines of their own interests.

Clare probably has earlier exposure to these concepts and a sibling to teacher her and compete against.

[SpartanGirl]

I think it's totally dependent on the personality of your kid and a little bit of the boy vs. girl thing. My girls were always really interested in learning colors, letters, reading, etc. My little two love to just sit at the table and write and draw. DS was way, way too active to be bothered with any of that. I wouldn't classify him as an overactive kid either, just more so than my girls. He was the first to learn to crawl, walk, climb, the first to ride a bike without training wheels, etc.

I've also found that my younger kids just soak things up as I'm teaching the older kids. They want to be included and are always around.

My brother was convinced that his daughter was colorblind because she didn't know her colors until well after she started Kindergarten. She wasn't though and she eventually got them. She just wasn't interested in learning them.