How do tactile letters quicken learning letters?

My 5 year old is having trouble learning letters?

• My 5 year old is very smart. He is observant and remembers everything. he is also sweet and shy. he is having trouble learning to read and write letters. we work on this at home and he does at school. The other kids at school are mean to him and he puts up with it. I don't know what to do? I have talked to the teacher, but i don't think that helps. it seems that parents don't teach their children to be nice and respectful anymore. it also seems like teachers aren't allowed to discipline other children for being bullies. What do I do? This whole situation is a mess.

• Answer:

  I'm surprised that the teacher isn't taking this seriously, most schools these days have adopted a "0 tolerance" for bullying policy. I think most parents do try to teach their kids to be respectful and nice but surely you remember peer pressure. I can remember being mean to another student because he/she was the popular girl's latest victim. I always felt horrible but it seemed worse to not be accepted so I went with the crowd. Kids have been teasing other kids since time began and I don't think it will be changing anytime soon. It's not easy to take though when it's your child that is being teased, that's your baby. I actually once felt the urge to slap a kid right across the face when he was picking on my son. As for learning his letters: just keep plugging away at it. All kids learn at their own rate and he will eventually learn them. My son was in K last year and at the beginning of the year he really struggled and scored very low on standardized tests. At the end of the year he was completely caught up and not only met but exceeded the requirements to move up to 1st grade. You're doing a great job working with him at home. My son's teacher said that most kids struggle until around December every year. She said it's like all of a sudden a light bulb goes off and everything they've been struggling with suddenly makes sense.