4 Year Old Son Doesn't like to Letter/number Work

i wouldn't either.
it's *work.*
at his age it's generally pretty easy to work book-larnin' into his interests. if he likes reading books, do lots of that. when he can read 'dr suess's ABCs' all by himself, even if it's 90% from memory, he's learning letters. if he likes to play with trucks, it's not 'work' to say 'let's put 3 dump trucks over by the sand and use these 2 tractors to fill them. how many trucks to we have there now?'
he's 4.
his job is to play. he learns through playing. take out the 'work' and let him play.
khairete
S.

Let him play and learn on his own for now. He has many school years ahead of him and playing is work to children and they do learn along the way without sitting down with books and pencils, etc. My first son could write his name, print it, at age 2 and I still have it as proof but if I didn't review it for awhile it was forgotten so they can do it but why? They'll learn it some day and they'll be ready for it and now they can play and enjoy life and learn by doing that.

He's not supposed to want to write letters or numbers. Kids didn't for eons and that was respected. Let him develop those little finger, hand and arm muscles any other way. Pick-up sticks, painting on the side of your house with a bucket of water, chalk on the sidewalk, stringing anything, catch and throw large and small balls, do wall push-ups, etch-a-sketch, wiki string, cut up softer veggies for salad, etc. Keep it fun! In the fall the preschool teacher will let you know if there's anything else he needs reinforcement on, but for now, know he is fine.

He will be fine. My daughter did not have all her letter recognition down even right before Kindergarten and I was told on the first day by her Kindergarten teacher they expected them all to recognize the letters and sounds by the end of the first marking period. I was so worried.

My daughter had it all down no problem...within a month of Kindergarten. And she finished the year as one of the top readers.

I tried all summer to work with her and she did NOT want my help. But when she's in school, she soaks it up.

You don't need to "work" with him, he will pick it up in his every day life, you just need to provide him with the opportunities.
Have him count and sort whenever possible: please put four plates on the table, separate the coins from the coin jar on my desk, cut the banana in three parts, can you tell me how many cookies are left? if you have ten socks how many pairs can you make?
Puzzles, unit blocks and pattern blocks are all things that strengthen spacial skills. You can also help him with his fine motor skills (writing) by making sure he gets lots of practice lacing, beading, cutting, drawing, painting, stringing paper clips, making things with play doh, stuff like that.
These are the activities a quality preschool program provides and it's easy enough to do at home. He's got 13 years of worksheets and drills ahead of him, let him learn how young children learn best: HANDS ON!
Oh, and of course, read to him, a lot. While you're reading ask him questions, and talk about the story (what do you think will happen next? why do you think the pig did that?) Reading comprehension is very important later on, it's never too soon to start making a habit of that :)

You don't need ANY help. Your son is fine. He is 4!!! Let him play and do what he wants. I have two boys with September birthday's as well and we had to wait. Best thing I ever did.
I never sat down with them and tried to do numbers or letters work. They just wanted to read books with me and play outside. Guess who's boys are the brightest in their classes? Mine. Guess who's boys have friends and no issues (yet!) with getting along with other students? Mine.
Let your boy have fun this summer.
L.

My 4 year old doesn't' like to work on her numbers and letters, nor does she likt "art," unless it is messy, i.e. finger painting, working with shaving cream, etc.

I don't worry about it. She loves books, and she can read. When she is ready to write, she will write. If you push it, you will create resistance and most likely a dislike for the work. They do it when they are ready.

Just drop it for a while.. The secret is to read to him.. Sometimes, follow the words with your finger. Then continue to read to him even while he is in school..

When you are driving around does he know the "Golden Arches" are an M? M is for McDonalds..

Does he know the first letter of his name? Does he know it if he sees it?

Also google "fine motor skills for young child".. Do them as activities. They are a lot of fun.. You will need some playdo, so he can roll out little balls of clay.. Then have him line them up.. then have him squish them with only his pointing finger on each hand.

Give him a whole box of big paperclips. Show him how yo make them into chains! How long can he make his chain?

Another time, give him a box of small paper clips.. Make little chains!

Have him drive his small cars only using his [pointer finger.. then only with his thumb.. You race him doing the same thing.. See who is the fastest.. have him do this with each hand.

All of this is fun to him.. but it is actually helping to strengthen his fingers and hand muscles..

Outside have him pour water from one container to another.. all sixes of items. tiny to great big..

He should be fine...he's a whole year of pre-K this year before starting K, so I don't see any reason to stress about it, or start pushing it that will turn him off further. Some kids just take longer than other kids to grasp concepts, memorize letters/numbers, etc. - it really depends sometimes on just how interested they are. Also, many kids are not into things that require fine-motor skills, like holding a pen for writing and coloring. I would talk with the preK teachers once he starts about things you can do with him at home that he find fun. There is a great program called "Handwriting Without Tears" that my daughter's preschool uses (try Googling it). You can try having him trace letters and numbers in sand or shaving cream. Check out starfall.com - it is a website for kids that uses games to help build reading and math skills. And keep reading to him!

Nothing better than reading to him, often, pointing out pictures, what the characters are doing on occasion. Anytime you have a new book, before you open it, teach prediction. Show him the cover, ask him what he thinks the story will be about. Help him by pointing out pictures, making suggestions.

Best letters are fridge magnets (Toys R Us has them) and the puffy bath tub letters. Keep them out (on the lower fridge, on the bath tub walls), spell some words with it, but don't force. Also google "waterproof book kids" and check the dollar aisle at Target to keep 1 or 2 in the tub and read to him there.

Eh...I wouldn't push it.
But does he like sidewalk chalk?
Painting on an easel or large paper mural taped to the wall?

What's he "into"? For example, my son was "into" Nascar at that age so he liked adding numbers to coloring pages of cars at that a age.....

Would he like to draw letters/number in shaving cream/whipped cream/pudding on a table?

If he's not into it, don't push it. All you'll do is frustrate yourself and him. Since he's only four and is a full year away from kindergarten, there's no rush for him to know all of his letters and numbers. Some kids enter kindergarten already reading and others enter knowing just the basics (most letters and numbers, but still not perfect).

Since he has one more year until kindergarten, I really would not worry about it. Learning should be fun at this point and it sounds like he really is where he should be.

He will be fine. His job at this age is to play and learn how to get along with other kids. I don't believe in even sending kids to a pre-K program that emphasizes letters. I sent my kid to a preschool where they played outside most of the day. The teachers read books to them and the kids acted out the books but they never formally taught letters. My son started K as a barely 5 year old (mid-Aug birthday) and he did just fine in K. Relax and have fun with him.

Don't push it. My son was fine with numbers but refused to even acknowledge that letters existed until 2 weeks into Kindergarten, a month before he turned 6. Once he finally gave them attention, he learned them all & was able to write all of them in a matter of weeks. Up until then, the more we pushed the more he resisted. He would tell us the color of the ink the letter was printed in, but not the name of the letter.

I think everyone has given you great suggestions and reassurance.
There was a similar question here yesterday, here's the link:

http://www.mamapedia.com/questions/11966483135044190209

Also, I blogged about a fun 'math' game I did with my son-- he's past it now (that is, he has mastered the game) , but it was good for us when my son was your son's age:

http://skyteahouse.blogspot.com/2012/02/dino-drop-introdu...

(By the way, this isn't to plug my blog-- I just have never seen this game used elsewhere.)

my son hates when I try to teach him. He will listen to his dad but not me. I suggest when you have a baby sitter allow her to teach him. He might be more inclined if there is a older boy he looks up to teaching him. My son gets very frustrated with me as I did with my own mother. It was her tone of voice and her you better learn this now attitude. I have no patience and he sees it..shuts down just like I did. I can "trick" him by telling him he needs to teach his little sister and then he is willing because he wants to be smarter than everyone!

My kids really liked drawing and writing on a chalk board I got for them... a fairly good sized one. That might help his interest along.
I would take pictures of their chalkboard art or pictures of their name after it was spelled out, and then tape the pictures on the fridge for recognition... it helped them thrive.

I wouldn't worry about it. He'll pick up a lot more over the course of the next year. If he's not into it when you try to do stuff at home, he's just going to see it as boring work and he's going to push back even harder. Let him do it in his own time. He has a full year before kinder and doesn't need to be pushed now if he's not ready yet (not saying you are pushy, just mean he has time to wait). He is definitely not ready for workbooks if he's resisting them, so hold off on that for awhile.

The best thing you can do is just read to him every day. The more you read, the more he will see letters in the books and slowly start to pick up on more letter recognition.

Also, my son barely did any of the art projects and crafts at preschool his first year, but did almost all of them his second year. A lot of the boys were like that.

If you want a fun toy for him that will help with letter recognition, check out my Discovery Toys page. We have a fun one called Tub Stick-Ups Letter Catch, that is a fishing game for the bathtub. he can fish for letters and stick them to the wall of the tub. He can just play with the letters and, eventually, try to spell out simple words, names, etc. You can see that and dozens of other great educational toys at http://www.discoverytoyslink.com/karenchao