Play Alphabet Match-up!
Research shows that children who know the names and sounds of letters when they enter school, learn to read sooner. You can help!
During the preschool years, children develop at an extraordinary rate. Although your child’s incessant curiosity may be aggravating at times, especially at the end of a long day, it provides an opportunity for you to help her connect daily experiences with words. Small things, that aren’t particularly exciting to adults, can be fresh and fascinating to curious preschoolers. Take something as un-glorious as the standard wooden clothespin. To you? Nothing special. But to your preschooler? Fun just waiting to happen and a great way to launch reading off the page!
Here’s a project that will help your child match sounds to objects he sees every day. It doesn’t take a lot of money, or a lot of skill—it’s easy!
What You Need:
Clothespins
Paper
Tape
Pen or marker
Old magazines
Scissors
Write the letters of the alphabet on small pieces of paper and tape them to clothespins, or print the letters right on the clothespins. Cut out magazine pictures, one for each letter of the alphabet, and have your child match the clothespin letters to the beginning sounds of the objects in the pictures. They can clip the pictures to the corresponding clothespins as they find them!
Recommended Reading
Adapted with permission from "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner (Meadowbrook Press, 1998)
Comments from readers
For a one year old, simply pointing out colors on the walls, toys, clothes, and shoes help the child begin to recognize them. Also, it depends on their learning style. Of course, they may be to young for you to really acknowledge which one they learn best by. Try using a hands-on approach like toys, books, crayons, colored paper, and manipulatives like colored teddy bears you can buy just about anywhere. I started with focusing on one color each day until my children would point out the color when I asked for it or they pointed to it and said the color name. I hope this works for you. :)