This morning I overheard a commercial where the father was worried about his preschooler learning the ABC's and to the rescue comes a computer web site, because he is the father, not the teacher. Well I know you parents have heard this before.... But YOU are your child's first teacher. And honestly, I can see why a parent may not feel empowered, but I am here to help. Teaching your child their ABC's really is not hard or technical. It is really quite easy. Just do these 3 things OFTEN (practice makes perfect kind of thing), even from the day you bring your child home from the hospital and your child is guaranteed to get them down pact. I am even going to give you a bonus to help them transition into reading! I personally have raised 2 children, my daughter who is a typical learner had them down by 3 and my son who is not a typical learner had them down by 18 months.
First step, and this is easy.... SING YOUR HEART OUT, sing your ABC's over and over again and AGAIN. You can even start this at birth, sing when you change a diaper, walk them around calming them, in the car, anywhere and anytime. Sing with them as they learn the song and encourage them to sing it to you often, you can even get geeky and teach them the alphabet in sign language. You see, you want your child to know the letter "w" but how often do we go around saying "w"??? The name is not in the brain and if it is not in the brain, then it is harder for them to retrieve "W" when they need it and they can feel frustrated. But the alphabet song is fun and easy, and your child will be able to retrieve the letter.
Second step I used ... READ! Oh my, every parent should get Dr. Suess's ABC book!!! Read it and read it and read it some more! I read this book so often that I could tell it to you by heart! While you read, talk and point out letters, and really expose them to this book. You really do not want to know how often we read this book!!! There are so many other great Alphabet Children's books out there, hundreds and hundreds to choose from. Just Google Alphabet books and the world of letters will open up to you! Some extra advice, once they start mastering their ability to recognize the letters by sight, then start going over it using the phonic sounds!!! This is an AWESOME way to build a reader without lots of frustration, and it is natural and easy! I tried this and I had a son who was a phonetic reader at 3 and my daughter was reading Junie B Jone chapter books at the beginning of Kindergarten.
Third step, when you are out, just point out letters and take that boring moment when you are waiting for something to review letters, really simple!
Teaching your child their alphabet is really easy, not fancy, not expensive and really no need for a web site. But I do have to admit that I do actually like Starfall and it is free. But what I love the most, is the bonding time, sharing the moment, the enthusiasm and the love. Like everything in life, you have to practice a lot, you have to put in the effort, but it is well worth the time and the bonding is priceless!
