Learning letters and their sounds is the first step towards literacy for young children! Luckily, there are plenty of fun ways to teach kids to recognize the letters, as well as the sounds they make! Here are some of our favorites:
Make letters part of daily life
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I learned the alphabet as a kid, because my mom had put an alphabet border – like the ones you find in schools – up in our family room. I really like foam letters that fit into foam pieces (like the ones in this play mat), because they help kids keep the proper letter orientation. I also love these alphabet wall decals – very tempted to get a set for our home in California!
Make the most of music
Singing accentuates the sounds that letters make – vowels last longer and consonants are emphasized. Looking for ideas? Try my music for toddlers post. I think you will find that music has many other parenting benefits, as well! Need some songs to get started? Check out these 30 Fun Alphabet Songs from fun-a-day !
Play Games
I love this letter sounds race from Inspiration Laboratories, and this alphabet letter splash from Teach Mama is perfect for summer learning. Life at the Zoo even has an alphabet baking series – so you can eat your way through the alphabet!
What are your favorite ways to help kids learn letters and their sounds?
This post is the seventh of eight in the Get Ready for K Through Play series I am working on with Bernadette of Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Megan at Coffee Cups and Crayons, Vicky at Mess for Less, Cerys at Rainy Day Mum, and Kristina at Toddler Approved. Be sure to check out their posts as well!
- 20 Alphabet and Phonics Activities from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
- Water Balloon Phonics from Mess for Less
- Active Alphabet Activities from Toddler Approved
- Gross Motor Phonics Game from Coffee Cups and Crayons
- Chalk Letters from Rainy Day Mum
Drop by our Get Ready for K Through Play Pinterest board for more ideas!
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MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
We had removable alphabet wall decals in Aiden’s room in our previous 2 houses. They came down and went back up pretty well. I haven’t put them back up though. I’m not sure I did a great job protecting them on our last move. Some of the letters are a bit folded.
That’s great to hear that they worked well for you. I do think I want a set for our house in CA!
I’m really enjoying this series – I love your ideas for learning through play!
Up through middle school I remember using the letters in our foam letters puzzle to trace for presentations, so I quite understand the appeal of those puzzles.
Ooh now I’m thinking I’ll have to keep our foam letters around for a LONG time…
The key is to focus on sounds and lower case – the skills children most need for success with print. Leave names and lower case for later to reduce confusion, especially for at-risk students.
Love your idea for making the most out of music and using that to help learn sounds. Such a great idea!
We love the Jolly Phonics songs and books. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCjJYB07aSU :) I’m pretty sure I had fridge magnets growing up.
Jolly Phonics is brilliant! Watched the songs with Lily, and she was enthralled!
What a great idea to use music to learn letter sounds! I think music is really effective and fun too!
I agree! I find that music especially helps with remembering.
Love the every day natural approach to learning letters!
We read EVERY day! We like alphabet books but even better are simple pattern books that teach repetitive sounds and easy familiar words. Shared reading is a natural way for children to begin recognizing letters and letter sounds. (No flashcards but rather everyday book talk between parents and children.)
Miss Enigma also likes her little dry erase board. She copies letters and words from around the house or books,erases and has a go at a new set.
I also started journal writing with the kiddos when they were toddlers. At first it’s just a bunch of scribbles. The kiddos have access to an alphabet guide and slowly letters start popping up with the scribbles and drawings.
We have done all of your suggestions – thanks for adding them as a comment in this post!
Starfall.com! This is how Anna learned her letters and sounds :) Lovely picture!
Starfall is a great resource!
Oh, and the photo is 2-year-old Emma (before I ever started blogging!)
By far the best way my kiddo learned his alphabet was through magnets on the fridge! He loved those letters and numbers and figured out their sounds and was able to identify them by sight pretty early on.
It’s amazing how they pick things like this up by playing with toys! Fridge magnet letters are fantastic!