We’re all at the table right now working on various aspects of schooling. Katie has some reversal issues I’m working with her on and she gets frustrated when I make her do them again until she gets the numbers or letters in the right direction. Many times the numbers are flipped in a mirror-like reversal; other times, two digit numbers are reversed, so I have her erase them and write them again.
Just now, after she wrote numbers 1-24, I read them back and explained that the way she wrote them read, ” 11, 12, 13, 14, 51, 61, etc.” I told her we needed to do them again and she said, “This isn’t fair. Why do I keep having to do this?” I explained it was part of learning and she needed to be able to write and read the numbers in the proper direction. She said, “Are you trying to make me be just like everybody else?” Ummm, no, Katie, I’m trying to teach you how to READ.
Are we really having these conversations this early?
Then, not one minute later, Millie shows us all her leg, Rockette-style saying, “Guess what? I’m right footed!”
Good to know.
Half-Pint House 
Would it help to point out that in math and science, getting numbers reversed can cause a LOT of problems? Thank God for teachers and profs who gave partial credit for getting all the steps right, or my grades would have suffered way more than they did. 😛 (I was never officially diagnosed with dyslexia or dyscalculia [sp?], and it didn’t hold me back *too* much, but still.)
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uh, that was me, corrie, under my husband’s name…
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That’s a good word, Claudia. We’re not convinced she’s got a serious case of dyslexia or anything, but from talking to her teacher at school and things we’ve picked up on, we think she might have a very mild case. I’m going to an educator conference next week and will attend a couple of classes on it then. We’re still in the “not too worried, not freaking out” stage. 🙂
And, as for free spirits? Definitely categorizes her. She’s got a cartoonish hint to her drawings, which I love. It won’t surprise me at all if she takes off in that direction rather than an analytical one.
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And that there is why not that many mathmeticians are free spirits, what with wanting all the numbers to be the same all the time. That’s why I majored in art.
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for what it’s worth- Nate’s teacher says reversal is normal for 1st grade and nothing to be alarmed about…..only for what it’s worth
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My daughter had the same issue with reversing numbers at around the same age. Since my father has dealt with dyslexia, that was my first thoughts. The teachers expressed what Claudia said above. Yet my wife and I felt like it wasn’t just a “normal” part of development.
After we moved and shifted school districts, our daughter was referred to an eye doctor who diagnosed the problem almost immediately. There was an eye muscle issue. For us, however, it was more than just numbers . . . it was also affecting her reading.
The initial clue for the doctor was how she colored. She colored in a straight line and moved the paper rather than change directions in order to color the picture.
Anyway, trust your gut . . . . and enjoy the wonderful God-given personalities of your girls!! 🙂 “Right-footed” . . . just too cute!!
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