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The best way to teach math is to teach slowly. Make sure to repeat things that u find important.

My son is 71/2 years old and he loves the Leapfrog Tag Reading System! The books have sound effects and the pictures are wonderful. You have to program the system into your computer through the Leap Frog website in order for the pen to read the words off the pages. If you decide to get it, they have Ni Hao Kai Lan, The Princess & the Frog and Olivia are quite nice.

Children learn letters that have personal meaning to them first, so always start with the letters of their first name. You can say, Look this is John's J. John starts with the letter J, and so do Judy and Jordan! Point out their J everywhere you see it. Look what I see! John and Judy and Jordan's J is in the title of our book today. Point to it on the cover of your story book. Maybe you'll see it on a sign or poster too. After a day or two of finding J, go on to Mary's M, Becky's B, etc. Let them write the letter you are focusing on in various ways.

The dry erase board or chalkboard. In their journals. Paint it at the easel. They won't get board with it, and pretty soon they will know and be writing that letter all the time. If they are saying it's me, or my name, when you point to the letter, say that's right, it's your J! They are just recognizing it as a symbol and not really understanding the concept, but that's ok. That's where the comprehension starts. Other children will catch the concept right away.

Welcome Dr. Gentry! Thank you for sharing such in-depth and great information!

Easy spelling games such as a crossword puzzle, a word jumble, or memory are fun. for example, list the definitions of words and have you son fill in the correct word in a crossword. this helps spelling and definitions. jumbles definitely help spelling. and for memory games, make 2 flash cards of each of the words. turn them upside down and have him find them by matching. when he gets a pair, have him say the definition. or vice verse.

Here's a fun math game I do with my son. You only need a deck of cards and something to write on and to write with.

Draw 4 cards and place them all on the table and then draw one more and place it on top. What you need to do is use any mathematical operation possible (adding, dividing, multiplying, subtracting, squaring, square rooting) with those 4 cards to get the number of the fifth card you drew. Whoever gets the number the fastest wins a point. Keep doing it until your deck runs out and calculate all the points to see who won : D.

I need to buy online an assortment of noun cards, not the cartoon kind real pictures of animals, furniture,fruit,vedgetables,etc, Ive tried ebay,amazon.ELC and cant find any.

Amazing talent

I teach phonics because phonics is the only thing that works. If anybody tries to teach sight words they are full of ****** and you need to find your son either a tutor or another school.

Different music may affect different listeners in different ways since we all have our own emotions, memories, likes, dislikes, etc. You can make an argument that all music is emotional.

Very interesting! Great job on this.

Kids do things at their own pace. My oldest was really good at letter recognition and letter sounds early, but then decided he just didn't want to learn any more / work on reading for a few years. He both had to mature and we had to come up with better ways of making it interesting/fun before he'd progress again. We weren't too concerned.

That being said, she'll have a better time in Kindergarten if she has decent letter recognition (writing them, except for her own name, isn't so important). Maybe on paper isn't the right activity now, but instead pointing out letters on signs or magnets on your fridge or something similar-- for very short sessions. There's no reason why the practice can't be fun.

There are better programs out there. Abc mouse has less emphasis on education and lots of emphasis on earning tickets. My kids liked star fall or endless alphabet. As an aside, abc mouse is owned by hard core Scientologists. I felt kind of gross having my money indirectly go to Scientology.

[The Value of a Dollar]

The Value of a Dollar

It's tough to learn about money when you don't have any. Giving kids an allowance makes an abstract concept real and allows them to test smart - and sometimes, not so smart - money strategies. If you're not sure how much to give your child, a good starting point is $1 per year of age, per week. You can make adjustments based on your situation - and your child.

One question you'll need to answer before you start doling out an allowance is should you give money for nothing or in exchange for work? Parents have varying philosophies on this one. Simply giving an allowance will help you teach your child how to manage money, but offering money in exchange for good behavior or doing chores will also teach your child the value of a dollar - If they have to work for it, they may value it more.

Save for the Future

Conventional wisdom holds that 10 percent of all income - earned and gifted - should be socked away for the future. Teaching children early on that a certain percentage of their money should always be set aside - and practicing consistency with this philosophy - will help them establish smart money habits for the future.

It's similar to the adult concept of making savings automatic (setting up direct deposit of a certain amount of income into savings). It may be difficult at first, but after awhile, you don't even notice it. And ultimately, you're building a much more secure future.

When you think your child is ready, it's a good idea to open up a bank account in his name. Putting money into a bank account will help your child resist the temptation to spend needlessly and in the case of a savings account, gives you the opportunity to teach him about the power of interest. It's also fun for kids to watch their money grow in a bank account - like filling a coin jar all the way up to the top.

Good Habits Pay off

Children learn a lot by observation. If you're careless about paying your bills, splurge on luxuries you can't afford and give into temptation too easily, chances are your child will develop similar money habits. Give your child a good example to follow.

At the appropriate age, go through household expenses with your child and show him how you pay bills by certain deadlines each month. By going over your budget with your child, you can demonstrate the importance of being responsible with bills and debt, and the consequences of late payments.

When mentoring your kids about money, make sure you're practicing consistency. It's a good idea to sit down with your spouse to make sure you're on the same page about money management and what lessons are most important to instill in your children. It's also important to talk to other family members to ensure that they respect the lessons you're trying to teach. Consistency will increase the likelihood that your teachings will stick.

Importance of Charitable Giving

Helping those in need is an important money lesson that parents often overlook and one that can be difficult to teach. Buying a toy, for instance, is an easy concept for a child to understand, as they can see the result of their purchase. However, giving money to a "cause" in which the child may not see a tangible result can be tough for a young mind to comprehend. But it's important to demonstrate the importance of giving back to the community at a young age in order to establish a lifelong habit.

Giving money to those in need may come out of the child's allowance or may be a separate fund. One win-win tactic is to give your child a penny - or a nickel, dime or quarter depending on your situation - for each minute he spends reading or doing an educational activity. Keep a chart to track progress and at the end of each week, tally up the earnings and give the sum away to those in need. As extra motivation, allow your child to pick the charity - whether it's a family in need, church or religious institution, or another philanthropic organization. Make sure to talk to your child about how giving income away makes him feel and as much as possible, show him the good he's doing for others.

Frugality Is Fabulous

You don't have to be a Scrooge, but teaching children about smart spending, including the difference between "wants" and "needs," sets the tone for their future. There are several ways to accomplish this, including making it a rule that all non-essentials - games, jewelry, toys, candy, etc. - are on the kid's dime. You might be amazed how quickly your child learns about careful spending when he has to use his own money to buy "nice to haves."

Teaching frugality is an everyday lesson and can come in the form of small actions as well, like not giving in to grocery store check-out lane purchases, instilling in children that eating out at restaurants is a treat not a given, and not immediately rushing out to replace an item that breaks.

It's never too early to start teaching your kids smart money habits. Children are like sponges and whether you intend to or not, are learning about money from you anyway. It's important to take the time to sit down with your kids and show them the right way to manage money. Your effort will ensure a more secure future for your children.