Hellobee Boards

@Rainbow Sprinkles: I'm with you! My 22 month old can count to 3, but is not too interested in going beyond that yet

My son goes to school full time at age 3 and he doesn't know all his letters yet. I mean, he knows the SONG! But that's not the same He can count but often skips numbers after 10 or so. Sometimes he seems to understand them and sometimes he doesn't. Anyway, all this is just to say I don't have any concern about him and neither do his teachers, in fact he has been accepted into a competitive program for next year.

SO I would say Pre-K to K is what's normal.

@brownie: That's an interesting observation, about the language delay and less interest in letters...I was thinking my son is the same in that he really focuses on both the concrete and abstract concepts of numbers but doesn't show as much interest in the letters.

@Pumuckl: I didn't realize you were abroad...but yes, that's typical for schools in Europe and I had a hard time coming around to the fact that they start later but end up scoring better on tests!

@Pumuckl: Haha, I lived next door to you then for almost 4 years, in Switzerland!

My niece is about a year older than my son and my mother in law is always startled by what my son knows in comparison to my niece. She doesn't know any of her colors, shapes or numbers, where my son can recognize them and name them all and he's a full year younger, actually almost 2. But it's all going to come out in the wash, when they're older, I am fully expecting them to be able to read and write, lol.

I do think though, that the model in Europe has advantages. It's more about the set up, making sure you have the tools to learn, rather than the US, which is a focus on the hard skills.