Name: Spreading the Feast Gathering
Start: 2025-07-11T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-07-12T23:59:59-05:00
Location: LaGrange, KY

Tagged: frustrated, help, kindergarten, math, number

This topic has 12 replies, 8 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 1 month ago by Carolyn.

Viewing 13 posts - 1 through 13 (of 13 total)

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May 2, 2012 at 5:18 pm
viljoenavenue
Member
Im doing number recognition with my 5 year old daughter, and the past two days have been really hard. She knows numbers 0-7 and we have been working on 8 and 9 for the past 4 days. Today when I asked her to tell me what numbers 8 and 9 were she acted like she didnt even know and started calling them 5 and 4 and other numbers. I told her I would rather her just let me know that she didnt know them but instead she calls them other numbers. Its really frustrating that sometimes she says them correctly and most of them time she forgets. We have the wood sandpaper numbers so she can feel them and I grab the beans out so she can put beans on top for the quantity….but NOTHING is working. Is she just being stubborn ???? HELP!!
May 2, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Christine Kaiser
Participant
I know it is so hard to do but the best dvice is – relax. I was in your shoes and remember my frustration. Keep doing what you are doing, keeping it fun with games and multi sensory. If you feel a lot resitance coming from her maybe take a time out from it. 🙂
Blessings Christine
May 2, 2012 at 5:39 pm
viljoenavenue
Member
Thank you Christine, I get so frustrated…I need to just remind myself that she will eventually learn it. I just want to move on and not do numbers 8 and 9 for a whole month…haha.
May 2, 2012 at 5:47 pm
Bookworm
Participant
That’s not a bad idea . . . She’s still pretty young. I’d give it a break and try again in a few months maybe? Have you tried drawing silly faces on the numbers–very different ones–and giving them names & a story? If you give it a break, try some different methods, and she STILL is having trouble, and especially if she is also having trouble with letter recognition, then you might want to check further into possibilities that could be making this hard for her. But for now, if you are getting frustrated, it’s a lot better to learn your numbers a little later with a serene mom than slog through it now with a frustrated one!
May 2, 2012 at 5:49 pm
4myboys
Participant
You sound very frustrated. I’m not sure I can offer much help, my boys didn’t really have any difficulty with this, but I did work in a play school. The first thing I would suggest is taking a break. Don’t even go there the rest of the week. Give her, but mostly you, a break for a few days.
What other activities do you do with numbers? Do you read counting books? Does she count well? Do you give her a collection of items to count other than beans to match the number to? Do you have her trace the number with her finger? Do you have her try to draw the number? Maybe in sand, sugar or flour on a cookie sheet? What about making the numbers with playdough? Try using something other than the sandpaper numbers — like foam or magnetic numbers. Does she like crafts?
Can you make a scrapbook together where you make a number together out of some fun materials — 1 or 7 or 4 may be made with popsicle sticks that she paints, round numbers like 6, 8 or 9 could be made with pipecleaners –maybe string beads on them to help decoate them, then she would find that number of something to glue beside it — it can be something simple like foam shapes, stickers, bread tags, paper clips or even pictures of cats or clocks or butterflies that she cuts out of a magazine.
Do you have a number line on the wall or a poster? Can you just stick some construction paper numbers on the wall, give her a “fairy wand” or other stick to point to the numbers with as you call them out? Or you can lay them on the floor and call out actions to do as she moves from number to number (something like the Crainium game Hulabaloo) — Do you play games with numbers such as Bingo or hopscotch?
Just a few thoughts off the top of my head. I’m sure others will have some other great ideas.
May 2, 2012 at 5:51 pm
viljoenavenue
Member
She knows all her letters (recognition) and has known them since she was 2-3 years old. She also can read many sight words, so I know its not her vision. I will try other methods and fun stuff from Pinterest….maybe she doesnt want to just do the worksheet??? I found something fun with numbers to do outside with chalk (draw numbers 0 – 9 out of order outside with chalk and have them hop on the ones you call out) maybe something like that would work. The other day she was doing her math work and she did the number 8 all by herself and then yesterday and today she acts like “WHAT?? I dont want to do this!”
May 2, 2012 at 5:56 pm
viljoenavenue
Member
4myboys, I LOVE all your ideas!!! Yes, she LOVES LOVES LOVES crafts and playdough and glue! I just bought a fairy wand for her to decorate and I will try the number line idea where she gets to point it out with it. I will get to work on some fun craft ideas…thank you so much for your inspiration!
May 2, 2012 at 6:19 pm
Tanya
Participant
I have a kid like this too! (she’s almost 7). Some days she seems to know so much, and other days she seems to have forgotten everything. She’s my youngest, so fortunately I feel freer to just walk away on the days that she struggles, knowing that she will eventually get there (I used to feel more pressure with my oldest – poor thing!). It’s amazing how a break seems to help us both! I have no problem dropping a subject entirely for a few weeks and coming back to it later when she’s more ready.

May 2, 2012 at 6:42 pm
4myboys
Participant
Happy to have helped!
May 2, 2012 at 7:00 pm
Rebekahy
Participant
One of Rod and staff’s preschool workbooks teaches kids how to write numbers with a little poem… “First a circle, then a line, that is how you make a nice” or “Across the sky and down from heaven, that is how you make a seven” Those are kind of fun and helpful. The workbooks are just a couple dollars each. http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/1-10013/?list=Rod_and_Staff_Preschool

Blessings,
Rebekah
May 2, 2012 at 7:47 pm
viljoenavenue
Member
Thank you ladies!!! Oooo I also found this http://www.totallytots.blogspot.com/2012/04/numbers-freeze-dance-little-hands-on.html
May 2, 2012 at 7:54 pm
suzukimom
Participant
I also agree with having a break….

but I noticed you also posted on the RS Yahoo group – so I therefore figure you are doing RS level A. I haven’t really used level A yet – but have you made up the number memory game cards from the appendix? Play memory with the Tally Stick Cards, Abacus Cards (if they have introduced the abacus yet), and the number cards. Do it as fun – not as a lesson.
But for now – take a break for a couple of weeks. There is lots of time, there is no behind. We didn’t even start any formal math until age 6… until the younger kids wanted to do math too…. And if you are doing RS there is plenty of time – it isn’t a 1 book a year thing (even if it sounds like it…) And really, in ANY math program I wouldn’t worry too much about 1 book a year… you want to take it at their speed. And some concepts take kids longer.
May 2, 2012 at 7:57 pm
Carolyn
Participant
My ds is 5 and we have not started math yet, but he loves dot to dots (I think my mom got the workbook at Walmart). The workbook had numbers 1-20. I had to help him with the higher numbers, but I think it really helped him recognize 1-10. HTH