Learning Letters
There are so many letters to learn!
It may take dozens or hundreds of exposures before a letter becomes permanently stored in a child's memory.
Below are a few tips for working on LETTERS with your child.
Be Systematic - Introduce letters in smaller sets, four or five at a time. Start with the letters in your child's name. Keep working on those letters until you have achieved mastery. Then introduce a couple more letters or another small set. Continue to review the previously learned letters.
Begin with Sounds - The sound is most important for reading and writing
When you introduce a sound discuss what your lips, teeth and tongue do to make that sound.
Then introduce the letter that makes that sound.
Lowercase letters are used most often in reading and writing.
Having a picture or object to associate with that sound/letter is very helpful.
Ideas: sort objects that start with that sound, have a letter hunt, find the letters in the environment & make the sound
Make it Multi Sensory - trace/make a letter on a table, carpet or in sand or in yogurt on a plate.
Make the letter out of playdough, with a dry erase marker on a whiteboard, with paint, etc.
Provide Repetition - Lots of repetition may be needed. Provide a variety of activities
Work in Smaller Time Chunks - Respect your child's attention span. Three five minute sessions may be more productive than one fifteen minute session.
Call them ' letters ' .... (and not ABCs)