There is no reason to be stuck in a boring rut when trying to teach ABC’s to your young child. Whether you are a parent or other caretaker of a young child you can find fresh and creative ways to teach the alphabet. Best of all these techniques will have your youngster enthralled with learning more about the basic building blocks of reading. Early teaching of the alphabet can set your child on a path to easier academics. Here are some ideas for teaching ABC’s in a fun and creative way-
- Decorate your child’s bedroom with ABC art-There are many different alphabet-themed children’s room decor that is now available. The constant exposure to the alphabet will help them in memorizing letters. It is important to keep in mind that you do not have to spend a fortune; you can create your own pictures and signs as well. Just grab some construction paper, cut out pictures of different words and label them. For example “A – Apple”, “B – Boat”, etc.
- Remember that every letter has a keyword. You can show your child picture books and say, “Oh look, this is an A. A is for apple. Along with this include flashcards of the letter A along with an apple when the child gets older. You should review and repeat this method for all letters, over and over. Using books as a visual aid is very important as well. Do not forget to reinforce this when reading stories to your child, point to a letter and say, “What letter is that? B and B is for baby.”
- The multi sensory approach-You can take a large table and cover it with salt. Then let your child trace different letters into the salt making sure they do not eat it! You can also use this approach with whipping or shaving cream or anything your child would be willing to put their hands into. This exercise helps improve sensory integration as well.
- Dot to dot-By the time your child is three years old they can begin doing dot to dots. One great way to teach ABC’s is to make your own letter dot to dots and then have your three year old trace over the dots of letters. This can be an important practice for your child. Experts have shown that there is a neurological connection between the tracing and writing; and the information that is being processed in the brain.
- Edible alphabet-Whether it is cookies, pasta, biscuits or a large sheet cake covered with edible letters the making of an edible alphabet and be both fun and delicious. Best of all you can take the time to bond with your child and teach them at the same time you are having fun. Take the time to cook with your child and help them learn the alphabet with truly delicious results.
- Have an ABC scavenger hunt-This can work especially well for a birthday party. The kids will have lots of fun and not even realize that they are learning as they go along. Divide the kids into two groups and give each team half of the alphabet. Have them search for items that match their letter. The team that finds the most items in a set time wins! If children will be going house to house make sure that they do have some adult supervision.
- Use Alphabet stamps-Kids love to use stamps! You can purchase an inexpensive set of alphabet stamps at your local craft store. Along with a few pads of ink your kids can have lots of fun stamping out the alphabet. You can make random pages or letter pages for an alphabet book.