letter/number reversal

[LJay]

My daughter will be 7 this month and she is still reversing some letters and numbers. It seems writing is a weakness for her. She can copy a number a few times, but minutes later when has to write it without looking, it is backwards. It drives me crazy, LOL.
Last year we did quite a bit orally because of this (with practice of correct writing) and having her draw pictures, but this year she needs to start writing in her notebooks. Is this a problem? Is there help?

[shae128]

Ljay, It sounds like you are right on top of the problem, that your daughter is having. As is true for many parents, we can be very troubled, when our children begin to have problems with reading and writing. It will get better with time. The time frame is different for all children. That is one of the best aspects of homeschooling. We can tailor our childs schooling to suit their needs. I am no expert in this area, but I have had some experience. For the letter and number reversal, get some sand and let your child practice writing the letters and numbers in the sand. This helps to give another resource for their memory to recognize the letters and numbers. Nothing like feeling to see the difference. Depending on the letters that she reverses, the word bed is a good example, for them to practice getting these two letters right most of the time. Have your child make an OK sign with thumb and index finger and put them together. This will form something that looks like a bed. Bed begins with a b and ends with a d. When your child is not sure which way the b or d goes, have her make the OK sign and she will see it. You have to remember that some kids know that the letter, that they see is what it is, but some where between what their eye sees or understands, a mixed up message gets back to the brain or on its way to the mouth or hand. My daughter would tell me that she sees bed, but when she would sound it out, she would sound dub. Also, remember that it is more aggravating for the child, than it is for us. Can you imagine seeing one thing and describing it in another way. Ex. Seeing that the tide is out, and reporting that the tide is in. Once I understood this , I realized that the road to reading and writing was going to be longer, than I had allotted time for. And that is OK!!!! I try to help my daughter see her strong points and tell her that if she works hard, she will read just as well as everyone else, it will just take longer. She does have a knack for math, with the occasional number reversal, but this is a minor inconvenience on my part. I know with practice, and math has a lot of practice, she will be fine... Your daughter may not have dyslexia, which is great, but some of the same tools available for children that are, will be helpful for your daughter. There are some programs that I have found useful, this site is very helpful:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellToWriteAndRead/
http://home.mindspring.com/~teachingkids/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SpellToWriteAndRead/files/Reinforcement%20Ideas/

I hope that you or someone else will benefit from the above information.
My daughter and I have been able to climb many mountains using the above method.
Thanks for letting me go on and on and on,
I just can't say enough,
Sharon

[LJay]

Thank you for your input.
I've recently purchased a program, Handwriting Without Tears. I'm hoping it will help. it seems to have some things to do along the lines of your writing in the sand idea.
We are going ahead with our writing program, Writing Strands. Some letters may be reveresed, but at least she will know how to write sentences and paragraphs etc. As for numbers, she is writing some backwards that she used to do correctly before. Some days they are all backwards.
She is reading at a 2nd grade level but once in awhile forgets the b-d letters. It seems if she stops and thinks about it too much instead of going with her first thought, she has trouble.
Lorna

[hh_spring]

Hi,

Handwriting w/o tears is a great program! I love the way they tell kids to make the letters!!

Don't worry too much about the reversal...My son at 13, can still write things backwards, I just say, check that, and find the letters walking the wrong direction....LOL....he has always had problems with b....d. I found a great resource in AVKO which is Audio, Visual, Kinetic, Oral....it is a Dyslexic site, but very helpful and has some free downloads. http://www.avko.org/ check the freebies!!

[kimmeeangel]

I am glad to see others use HWT -- I just recently pulled my child from the public school -- he was struggling with the large class size in first grade. I love the way the HWT makes it fun to write. He was trying so hard to learn how to write on paper with lines instead of how to make the letters correctly and neatly. after just a few lessons form the Kindergarten book he is on his way to not being as discouraged. I find it fun as well.