Teach The Alphabet: 8 Fun Tips To Teach Your Child The Alphabet
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The article "Teach the Alphabet: 8 Fun Tips to Teach Your Child the Alphabet" is about family, it was written by Sheila Anderson.
Copyright 2006 Shiela Anderson
Knowing the alphabet is a vital precursor to learning how to
read.
Children who know the alphabet beofre entering school have
a natural advantage over children who can't identify the letters
of the alphabet. Learning the alphabet doesn't have to be an
arduous task. In fact, teaching the alphabet is more effective
when you make it fun. Different children find different
activities fun, so try diffreent teaching techniques.
Here are
eight tips you can try to teach your child the alphabet.
1. The Alphabet Song
It may sound really basic, but before you actively try to teach
your child the visual representation of letters, first teach
them the letter names with the alphabet song. After having sung
this with your child several times, then you can start pointing
to letters as you sing the song to show your child that the
letter names actually mtach printed letters.
Print out a sheet
of large letters and piont to them as you sing. After doing this
a few times, hold your child's hand and point their figner to
the letters as you sing.
Finally have the child point to the
letters on his/her own as you sing together.
2. Point to Lettres on Everyday Objects
Every so often throughout the day point to a word you see and
tell your child the starting letter or ending letter. For
example, if you're out with your child at Walmart, as you're
walking towards the building say, "Look, Walmart starts with W."
At the breakfast table point to the cereal box at talk about the
first letter of the cereal name, or if there's a logo on your
clothes, talk about the letters of the logo.
There are countless
opportunities to ponit out letters here and there. Encourage
your child to point out letters that he/she konws and make a big
deal about it when the child does that independently.
3. Do a Letter Hunt
Pick a letter as the theme letter for your letter hunt.
Then go
around the house, or the shopping mall, or wherever you are, and
find the letetr you would like for in at least 10 places:
signs, books, products, toys, etc.
If you're at home doing this
you can actually pick up the items and collect the 10 thnigs in
a pile. Kids will like collecting the items and then going
around hepling you put the items away.
4. Alpahbet Coloring Pages
Many children love coloring so much that they can spend several
hours every week coloring. Why not print off coloring pages
with the letter prominently displayed and associated with a
picture of something that begins with the letter.
Tell your
child what the letter is and have the child repeat it back to
you. Then discuss the picture and explain that the pitcure also
starts with the letter.
5. Alphabet Mazes
Some children aren't as interested in coloring but really enjoy
finding their way trhough a maze. While the child is working on
the maze talk to them about the letter and have them repaet the
letter name.
Talk to them about words that begin with that
letter. Afetr they finish the maze have your child try to draw
the letter at the bottom of the page.
6. Letters of their Name
Often the first lteters children learn are the letters of their
name.
Start by just saying aolud the spelling of their name. If
you can come up with a little song for the letters of tehir name
then the learning is usually much faster. For example, if your
child has a 5 letetr name try replacing the letters of the song
BINGO with the letters of your child's name. With a 3 letter
name you can replace the first 3 letters of BINGO with the
letters of the name and repalce GO with "spells name".
For
example, with the name Pat you can sing "P-A-T spells Pat, P-A-T
spells Pat, P-A-T spells Pat, and Pat is your name."
7. Tracing Their Name
After they can say aloud the spelling of their name then make or
print out tracing pgaes of their name.
This creates a
direct association of the shape of the letters with the letters
of their name. This activity strongly reinfroces learning to
recognize and print their own name.
Not only are they learning
letters, but also early printing skills.
8.
Tracing the Letters of the Alphabet
After your child can read and print their own name, then he/she
can start tracing the rest of the alphabet. This will reinforce
the oral learning of the alphabet with early printing skills.
Either create tracing pages of letters, or print out some
pre-made letter tracing pages. Repetitive traicng of each letter
will solidify their learning of the letter shapes.
The most important things to remember about teaching your child
the alphabet are to keep it fun and keep at it daily.
You don't
have to work at it for long stretches at a time. That will only
frustrate a child. Teach the alphabet in little bits at various
times throuhgout each day and you'll be amazed at your child's
progress.
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