This week was really hard for me to figure out what to write, I have been trying to figure out what to do and how to organize learning the alphabet with Molly. My biggest issue, is how old and when to start each individual letter and sound. She is 20 months, and so far we read LOTS of alphabet books, play with and point out her magnet and bath letters, and look through her flashcards(but she really only likes the pictures on these) as well as similar activities.
What age did you start? I have been reading through everyones posts, and have gotten some really great ideas! Thanks everyone!
Here is my list of Molly's favorite things:
A- Animals (anything animal is a hit)
B- Bunnies (she loves anything bunny)
C- Coloring, any and all paper
D- Doll house (favorite toy)
E- Eating (always been a great eater)
F- Freezes (she loves Mr. Freezes)
G- George (Curious George is a favorite)
H- Heidi (she mentions her cousin Heidi everyday, as well as her other cousins)
I- Ice Cream (who doesn't love this)
J- Jumping (she very excited to have learned this one)
K- Kicking (learned this in swimming lessons)
L- Laughing
M- Music (singing and playing the recorder)
N- Night, Night (bedtime routine)
O- Owee's (she had a band-aid for the first time, and now playing owee)
P- Potty (very interested in this one right now)
Q- Q-Tips (she loves to paint with them)
R- Running (she tells us what she is doing... Running!)
S- Slides
T- Trampolines (1-2-3-Stop, I use to teach trampoline)
U- Uncles (she loves her great uncle, and aunts too)
V- Veggie Tales Books (Her Bob book is her favorite)
W- Water (she LOVES swimming)
X- eXtended stays at Grandma and Papa's
Y- Yo Yo's (Grandma has one that lights up)
Z- Zoo (what's not to like)
We started doing similar activities when my daughter was around two-this helped her a ton and she learned most of them this way. I didn't start working on individual letters until she was closer to 3 and had interest in various activities we were doing.
ReplyDeleteI think you could really start at any age. She might do better with themes like A is for apples, B is for bears. Exposure is the key.
ReplyDeleteVery fun - I wouldn't have thought to list favorites in ABC order. Molly is so lucky to have a great Mommy who goes the extra mile for her.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't believe in formal learning (like some sort of dedicated school time) before the age of 3. Children learn best through play, and it seems that you already do a lot of it. It's also a matter of language development and temperament - my daughter was an early talker and her favorite activity was (and still is) reading together. So she learned all her letters before 2. She is still shaky on sounds - it's too bad that letters and sounds are so different in English. It's not so in my own native language :)
ReplyDeleteI love your idea to list all of Molly's favorites. Now I think you should put them into a fantastic scrapbook to remember what all those faves were in her first years of live...just what you wanted, another project!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with teaching young children. Learning through play and fun is the way to go. You will know when your daughter is ready. My son is 3 1/2 and he is just now beginning to be interested. So we are going to begin letters and sounds soon. There is no rush. Life is too short as it is.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fine to start working on the alphabet now, just know that it's more about exposure and first introducing her to the concept of alphabet and not about mastery. Starting with a personalized alphabet book would be a great start, at such an early age it's best to tie letters into something meaningful to your child. Have fun with the activities, try not to push to hard, and know that it won't be the first time you go through them.
ReplyDeleteI think that 20 months is a great time to expose her but to learn the sounds shouldn't be until she is a lot older. You should actually get her to master the letter name before the sound...(I think).
ReplyDeleteI would start actually with her name and not neccessarily the whole alphabet. Her name is very important and so the letters will be important to her! :) While it is an important thing to learn...other things such as colors and names of things might be more prevalent right now...
Anyhow, I posted some pics of my quilt on my page...hope you enjoy! Have a great day!
We started on alphabet weeks when Esme was 15 months. It was mostly a way for me to keep my sanity by giving me a focus and theme each week to come up with fun ideas to do with her - I wasn't really expecting her to learn the letters. She loved it, and did start to pick up a few favorite letters, like O and V. We're running through the alphabet the second time now - she's 26 months - and it's amazing the difference a year makes. (And she loves singing her ABCs now!)
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