ABC Activities for Mommy and Me

As a parent there are a few things you need to teach your young child to do and to understand. Obviously they need to learn how to eat, speak, go to the bathroom, and socialize appropriately. Eventually they will need to learn more complicated skills and gain training in order to begin their own profession. However, one of the truly important things you need to teach a young child is the alphabet. Letters are the basic building blocks of any language, and if you want your child to get a good start on reading skills you should teach them the alphabet. There is no reason why you shouldn’t start early; the sooner your child can recognize letters the sooner they can learn to read. However, young kids have an extremely short attention span and learning letters is one of the last things they want to do. They would rather watch a favorite movie or play a game with another child. As a parent you need to find ways to make learning for your young child. Fun activities will help your child to learn crucial skills while enjoying the process. Here are some great ideas for ABC activities for you and your child:

1. Outlining letters. You can purchase coloring books with letters at almost any school supply store. Sit down with your child and show them how to outline letters. As they outline a letter, pronounce the phonetic sound of that letter. Have the child pronounce the letter while they are outlining it. Provide your child or children with colored pencils or markers to make the activity more fun. Kids like a little sense of control and choice in all of their activities, and if you give them a little leeway they will be far more likely to ask to do it again.

2. Letter shouting. This is a personal favorite of mine and my children. Stand in front of the kids with a set of letter flashcards. When a new flashcard is presented the first kid to shout out the sound of the letter wins. Another variation on the competition is to have the kids draw the letter on a piece of paper. A little healthy competition can really help to produce fast learning.

3. Put the alphabet in order. It is critical that your young child learns the order of the alphabet so that they can remember all of the letters. Spread a series of flash cards out on the ground in random order. Have the child try to put all of the letters in order. As with all teaching involving young children you should reward progress. Create positive reinforcement cycles in your ABC games and you will start to see quick success.

4. Letter association. You can help kids to learn the alphabet by associating letters with particular objects or animals. Find pictures of object or animals that the child knows and play an association game with them. When you show them the picture ask them to shout the letter that begins the name of the animal or object.

As you can see, the possibilities for fun ABC activities with your children is virtually limitless. Brainstorm and come up with some of your own. You might even want to ask your child which games they prefer or if they have a good idea for an ABC game. Whatever you do, make sure that the activities are fast paced and fun. A boring game can turn a child off to learning the alphabet, and sometimes to learning in general.