Kindergartener Has No Interest in Learning Letters

My daughter is 5 and in kindergarten. She shows absolutely no interest in learning the letters of the alphabet or how to print them. At home, I have tried letter games and workbooks. Nothing about letters interests her. The teacher fears that my daughter may become frustrated because all the other children will have mastered the letters before her. Any suggestions? -- No Letter Knowledge
Answer: There is such a thing as developmental readiness. It might not be quite time for your daughter to learn the letters. At the same time, it is obviously important that she learn to do this soon for this particular kindergarten. The best approach at this point is to work letters into her life in such a way that she is tantalized to learn them.
You will need to be creative to do this. Workbooks don't usually meet this requirement. For example, to teach the letters "T" and "V," you might ask your child to bring you the TV guide so you can select a program to watch together. When she gives it to you, ask her how she knows it is the TV guide. Hopefully, she will point out the letters. If she doesn't, do it for her. Repeat this several times. Then go online and find some games that are played with only the letter "T." Next, find games with "V."
You can introduce the first letter of your last name by showing it to her for several days on the daily mail. After several days you can ask if certain mail is for your family. Continue in this way with breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes), fast-food menus (fries) and names of siblings (Mary, Paul, George). Go very slowly in introducing letters through everyday activities. Once she knows a few letters, see if she can find them on license plates, food items and billboards.