During our recent hiatus from One Year Old Preschool for G in order to have our new little one and get settled into being parents of two children, G has become absolutely fascinated with the Alphabet. She simply loves the ABC’s! She has gone from saying “A, B, C” to saying almost the entire alphabet in a matter of a couple of months. In order to sort out some of her basic misconceptions about the alphabet and give her a basic introduction to the letters, I decided to start thinking about how to introduce the alphabet to her.
I had seen a bunch of tips on teaching the alphabet to toddlers, but most of the tips we for children a bit older. So I did some brainstorming and came up with some simple ideas for introducing the letters. The result is what I am calling Alphabet Exploration.
What is Alphabet Exploration?
It is a VERY basic introduction to the alphabet for children 18 months old and up. It is simply getting them used to what the letters look like and talking about the sounds they make.
What will it look like?
We will spend a week on each letter, starting with A and going through to Z. Each day when G comes down for breakfast there will be a flannel board (I made my own) with the letter of the week in uppercase and lowercase in felt. Next to the board (or hopefully on a shelf someday) will be something that G easily recognizes (mostly toys). We will stop by the board and talk about the letter of the week and say, “A is for ____.”
Otherwise it will be something different each day. There will be activities, crafts, conversations, and books to reinforce the letter of the week. The alphabet will not be a constant discussion, but more an integrated teaching opportunity we take as our day takes us places. That said, I will try to be intentional about the toys of the day and the activities we do as part of our exploration. I have a basic plan of what to use in teaching G by taking my cues from her. Her vocabulary and understanding of concepts will inform how much or how little I push the letters on her.
Sound like fun? Want to join us in our exploration or have some ideas that will help me teach my little one? I would love to hear from you!
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love the great ideal