First of all, as you mentioned, her father is moving away and she's having a tough time dealing with that situation. Being that she's only 6 years old, I really wouldn't pressure her about reading and writing right now. I would concentrate on seeking counseling so that she can learn to deal with her intense emotional feelings.

Will her father still be in her life? I'm sure there are a lot of uncertainties and your daughter is probably feeling scared and lonely. Make sure to nuture and strengthen your relationship with your daughter and make sure she feels secure with you and her surroundings... and then I would worry about her school work.

If your daughter is sad or depressed, it's going to be very difficult to motivate her about her school work. Once she's in a better place, I would talk to her teachers to see how you could increase the motivation but if you pressure her too much, it may backfire completely.

It's a complicated situation and I'm glad that you're seeking advice.... but I really do think that you have to get to the root of the problem before you will see any changes.

Best of luck!

Maybe try taking her to the bookstore to find some books she really wants to listen to you read to her or to read herself just to spark her interest. You could also buy her a journal for her to write down some of the things she is thinking and feeling about her dad or about anything. Maybe you could have 10 minutes every day when you both just sit and write (you write in your journal, and she writes in hers) - don't correct her journal or anything, but just getting her to sit and practice writing and get her feelings our could help. You could also try using sticker charts to motivate her - maybe she gets a sticker for every book or every 10 minutes spent reading or writing or working on things the teacher has sent home, and she gets a reward after so many stickers? Good luck!

Make reading more fun. Like see how many words she can read in one minute out of a book.
Or you read one page and she reads the other page.
Last night Ri had a paper that didn't have to be turned back in. But it had numbers under each - . ANd below it had leters with numbers under them. You filled out the sentences by using the letter number thing below. So she didn't want to do it, so I made it into a game. I made a copy and we had a race doing it. She did her's and I did mine.
I also bribe Ri with getting to have a friend come over after school on Thursdays if she does well in school all week. Another thing I do is I buy her a new web kinz if she does good.
She was also doing very well in math, but reading and writing was terrible. She has brought it way up with just playing games. And of course the bribes helped.

It may be the case that your daughter is "dyslexic" I don't know how to spell the word. It is a learning disability that has nothing to do with the intelligence of the child that causes the words to appear jumbled to her eye. Many people are never diagnosed with this disability because it is interpreted as a lack of intrest of the child. My father was diagnosed with it at the age of sixty when he decided to take some college courses. His parents and teachers just called him lazy as a child in school and he grew up thinking he was dumb. Have your child tested. I'm sure it's not too early and the sooner you can get her some help or tutoring with her reading the better she will be able to cope with reading in the future. I could be wrong but it wouldn't hurt to check it out.

Ok sooo thanks so much to recommending checking out dyslexia. I completely forgot it runs VERY strongly on her fathers side and after much research she has a LOT of symptoms. I am calling the pediatrician Monday to schedule some testing. Thanks so much! love you guys

I guess it may sound stupid to say I forgot something like that. But with Cameron's autism taking a front seat, my mind has nowhere else... sorry. Its tough being a single mom sometimes but oh so worth it!

My partner's niece is 9 and is a perfectionist...gets upset with herself if her work is not done right or if she gets things wrong. Our daughter , 7, on the other hand could care less...lol..she is proud when she gets all her spelling right or other such things, but overall is negative towards schoolwork saying she can't do it right, or it's too hard. She HARDLY ever prints as neat as I know she can, and hates gym class..MY nerevs are shot!!lol...I explained that she doesn't need to be perfect, or always get things right but we expect her to try her best at all things she does, even if it's a subject that she doesn't like. I told her that I didn't like Math as a kid, but loved writing....she exclaimed "I love Math"...and we laughed about that. Then I told her that even though I didnt like it I tried my best anyways, and so she should in gym as well. Gym of all things to hate??lol

Its possible your daughter is dyslexic and could need lots of encouragement to improve in a gentle way. Childrens books these days are very good for encouraging repitition of word odrer. Whatever you do you shouldn't relax to much otherwise your child may lose interest. The one thing you shouldn't worry at all about is a cerrer for her. As child at 6 will have changed her mind, 10 times by the time she is 14.

Read to her, buy word games and letter cards. Buy educational books with stickers and stars for awards. Every now and then when she does well praise her and give her something small as a reward for her efforts.

Remember Rome wasn't built in a day.

Talk to the school about testing her for any learning disabilities. We did the same with my 7 year old daughter and they are working with her independently, within the classroom.