Alphabet Books and Tips on Teaching Your Child Their ABCs

I found this fun blog post on the following blog: I thought it had some fun ideas worth sharing.

http://greatbooks4children.com/2010/12/17/alphabet-books-and-tips-on-teaching-your-child-their-abcs/

I love watching children develop around me. It’s very interesting to see how each one is unique in their development and to observe what comes easily or challenges a child. My children didn’t struggle with learning their alphabet. In fact, my son amazed me when at around 15 months he pointed to our security company’s sign in the front yard and started naming letters. ”R” “C” “N!” I’m obviously big on reading, so it’s very possible that when I was discussing letters and sounds with my girl (2 years older), he was listening and learning without me realizing it. And you can’t discount the power of Sesame Street!

We also had alphabet books lying around, so that was probably a contributing factor. I know that many children struggle with learning to recognize letters. Here are a few tips :
Make it fun – Can you make a game out of finding letters? Maybe on license plates, in magazines, in books as you read them…. letters are everywhere so the possibilities are endless.
Make flash cards – You don’t have to use them in a drill fashion. Just put a letter on each card and draw or paste fun things that begin with that letter.
Let them trace the letters – If they are very young, have them trace it with their fingers. Making sand cards are great for this. Using colored sand, place glue in the shape of the letter and then sprinkle it with sand. Your child will feel the texture as they trace it with their fingers. If your child is coordinated enough, let them trace them with a crayon or marker. There are dry erase boards that are printed with the alphabet that you might find useful.

Eat the letters – Get alphabet cookie cutters and make cookies or Jello Jigglers in the shape of letters.

Fun Books with an Alphabet Focus

Alligator Alphabet by Stella Blackstone – Can you think of an animal for every letter of the alphabet? In this delightful ABC book, young children will learn the upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet as they meet a parade of exotic and familiar creatures – from alligators to zebras, and impalas to quails.

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Help Cleo guess which word goes with each letter of the alphabet. The rhyming text of this guessinggame encourages learning, while the two-page spread of all the items at the end allows more alphabet practice. Hardcover edition includes a Cleo alphabet wall poster.

Click for more about Cleo’s Alphabet Book

Learn your ABCs while meeting twenty-six African animals in this simple rhyming text. Notes at the end enhance the learning layers with facts about each of the animals featured. I love that this book has animals I was unfamiliar with!

Click for more about African Animals ABC