ABC's and 123's

Samantha has been singing the alphabet song from about 18 months. She loves reading. I will read her a book and she will try to read it back to me page by page. Most children begin to recognize a few letters between the ages of 2 and 3. Between the age of 4 and 5 a child can identify most letters.

Children are like sponges, their little minds are ready and willing to be taught anything and everything. Samantha and Madison love everything cute and colourful. They both love to point out colours, shapes, animals and other objects in books. I have been trying to teach Samantha how to identify the alphabet and numbers and so far so good. We have made great progress and these are a few of the tactics I'm using.

　
1. Alphabet Magnets

They are cute, colourful, fun and effective in teaching children their letters. They have been around for generations - I actually had a set when I was growing up. Magnets are highly entertaining to kids as they can be moved around the fridge. I began introducing a few letters at a time. Samantha didn't seem like she was listening but to my surprise she was memorizing what I was showing her.

2. Scribble time - Alphabet Time

My girls love to doodle with their crayons. So what better way to teach them the alphabet and numbers. We will be colouring and drawing and that's when I throw in a letter or number and have her trace the letter with me.

3. Flash Cards

Flash Cards are a great way to help kids identify and remember letters and numbers. Having your children help you create you own flash cards is a fun and effective way to get them to remember the alphabet.

4. Alphabet Bingo

Create your own bingo cards with the alphabet and play your own bingo. Call out a letter or number and have your child cross it off or place a sticker on it.

5. The Alphabet Driving Game

Driving in the car is a great way to teach you kids. Not only are they strapped in and can't run anywhere but they are really forced to listen to you. Start with A and try to get your child to point out anything that starts with A, then continue to move down the letters in the alphabet.

Teaching your kids the alphabet is the first step in teaching them to read. Teaching them early will help their little minds develop and grown intellectually.

I would love to hear new and fun ways to teach my girls letters and numbers. Feel free to share your stories.

SSMom