My dd is 3 y and 5 m, I'm looking for web sites they can give me ideas on what kinds of things she could/should be learning. With my oldest daughter, knew more moms with kids of her age. She does go to preschool and social skills aren't a problem. She has the basic abc's 123's . When do they go from knowing their letters to knowing sounds? When should they write their name? Drawing starts to be pictures instead of a mess. Is there a web site that can give you ideas what and when to teach your child different thing?
I don't know any websites, but from what you are describing, she sounds spot on (or a bit ahead, even).
One source you may be overlooking is her preschool itself. I am assuming, here, that it is a good school, with teachers who have training in early childhood development. They can tell you if there is anything to worry about. You also should be able to observe occasionally and you can see what the other kids her age are doing.
babycenter.com
I am not sure it will give you exactly what you are looking for, but it's a great source.
Ever since my first pregnancy I've gotten weekly updates for all my pregnancies and kids from Babycenter.com. You can also join message boards for those who have kids born the same week as yours. Just sign up their ages and you'll start getting the age-specific e-mails. Plus you can cruise around the site and find most the information you're looking for!
I suggest getting yourself a book on early childhood development. It's important not to just focus on milestones, but on all aspects of how children learn and grow (cognitive, social, emotional and physical.*) There is a WIDE range of normal. Ask your preschool director for recommendations. When my kids were younger some of the popular experts in this field were Dr. Sears and Dr. Brazleton (sp?) maybe you could pick up one of their books at the library :)
*for example, a child may recognize and understand letters long before they are physically able to write their name, or vice versa
My son is about the same age and was writing his name in the beginning of this school year. They are starting to learn the spelling of last names, verbally, and tracing letters and numbers, along with trying to write them. I see a pretty big range of fine motor skill development in his class, so don't worry too much. Your dd will let you know when it is time to learn those things. If you push it before she is ready, she may rebel and refuse to even try. This could set up a bad feeling toward learning. Be gentle and play. Start with the first letter of her name, mommy, daddy, sister. Read, read, read, read, read......together.
The preschool has certain things they bring out in order to teach what is age appropriate, let them lead the way if she is in preschool and just reinforce it at home. Have her spot things/letters in books that begin with her initial or family members initials (meaning mommy, not actual first name). My son is starting to learn letter sounds, he is interested and we play at home with the sounds. They are also learning them at school. Most of the kids in his class have turned 4, but he has a late summer bday. Some of the 4 yr olds are getting it, some not. Some of the not yet 4 yr olds are getting it, some not. It just depends on your dd. It is a range of time when these things are learned, so don't force it.
My son loves this placemat he has that has the alphabet on it. My SIL gave it to us when my dd was younger. She outgrew it and now he loves to say his letters as he points to them and is playing with the sounds, too. It is always there and he initiates it. That is the important thing, let her initiate, but have it available. As simple as a placemat. Have fun and play, play, play.
Oh, and there are some 6 yr olds in my dd's kinder class that still have trouble writing their name. Dexterity with fine motor skills is a funny thing.
Letter sounds and reading doesn't usually start until kindergarden. Some kids know it earlier, but there really is no benefit to pushing it. Same with writing letters. I can't remember when the drawing picture part changes into an actual picture!
If you are interested in a website for learning letter sounds, starfall.com is a good one, but I think she is a little young. But that is just my opinion. There is a devopmental milestone checklist that you can google and will give you the major ones. I think it is called the Dever developmental milestone checklist or something like that.
i like playing with my son on websites like pbskids.org or nickjr.com. they have all kinds of educational games on there and if you're doing it with her you can see what's appropriate and what's too advanced for her.
parentcenter.com
babycenter.com
These are really good. You can sign up and add your kids then receive emails regularly to keep you up to date on milestones. I had all ours on that until the were much older and in 3rd or 4th grade.
