As a parent teaching the ABC’s to your child can be rewarding and frustrating. Never rush your child to learn the ABC’s too quickly. Studies have shown that most children can begin learning the ABC’s around age two. Let’s explore some fun ways to learn the ABC’s.
Play the “I Spy” game with your child. This is a fun game to play with the whole family as you can sit in a circle and start pointing out objects in your home and what letters correspond to them. You can also play other games with your child to teach the ABC’s. Using the flashcards is a fun game to play when your child starts to recognize the letters. They are able to read through the flashcards quicker and this allows them to challenge their mind.
Bake cookies or make objects that correspond to letters. You and your child can make cookies together and form the cookies into letters. This not only is a great way to help your child recognize the letters, but it’s a tasty treat after a little study time!
Walk outside and point out what letters correspond to. You can identify the letter T with a tree or F with a fence. This soon can become a fun game with your child as you encourage them to find letters that correspond to objects in nature.
Make an alphabet book. As you teach the ABC’s, you should be having fun with your child. Don’t pressure them to memorize too many letters a day or they can become frustrated. Sit down with construction paper and cut out letters together and compile them into a book that they can flip through. This will help them learn the ABC’s because they helped make the book and it will be easier to remember.
Coloring letters is another fun way to teach the ABC’s. Have your child pick crayon colors to correspond with each letter such as P for Pink or Y for Yellow. This encourages them to learn the ABC’s and match colors and words with the letters.
Listening to stories is a wonderful way to start teaching the ABC’s. By age two or three your child should be frequently reading books and recognizing that books contain letters. Starting with your child’s name is also a fun way to start teaching the ABC’s. You can point out each letter in their name and have them sound out the letter with you. This will help them to learn quickly since they are used to hearing their name being called.
Alphabet puzzles are another great way to start teaching the ABC’s to your child. Have them spell animals with small letters such as cat, dog, or fish. It is easier for a child to associate letters and words with objects they are familiar with.
Flashcards are another proven method for teaching the ABC’s. Not every child responds well to flash cards so be patient with your child to make sure this is the best method for them. Using animals to correspond with letters on the flash card is one of the best methods for teaching the ABC’s. Since most children can recognize animals, they are quick to pick up on letters that correspond to the animal.
Read with your child. This is a fun way to let your imagination go back to when you were a child and learning about dragons, wizards, and knights. It’s a great way to bond with your child and help your child learn the ABC’s. Just be sure to make it fun to learn the ABC’s so your child doesn’t become overwhelmed with all this new information.