Language is a natural skill that we learn from childhood. It is a cognitive skill to speak and communicate with other people as we grew familiar of the world around us. To toddler, learning alphabet remains an important learning milestone as Math and Science because it is a primitive building block of language.
Learning the alphabet needs to begin at an early age. It is recommended for parents to start teaching their kids sounds and letters before they even begin pre-school at 3 years old.
Every child learns at a different pace from others, thus you cannot expect mastery right away but should work more on familiarity. A good level of recognition of sounds and association to letters should at least be present in a health child development.
Starting simple is the key. As much as we don’t worry about teaching our kids how to walk and talk, teaching ABCs to your toddlers need not to be stressful to both children and parents. There are two general steps help children to learn alphabet: 1) remembering alphabet; and 2) recognizing alphabet.
Effective Ways of Remembering Alphabet
Visual presentation is important especially for toddlers 0-3 years old where they are still developing their cognitive skills. There are following some creative suggestions on how to encourage your kids to learn the English alphabet:
- ABC Game
Playing random games on alphabet come in handy when taking your kids out for a drive. It helps get rid of the boredom plus you can review the alphabet with them through playing simple question-and-answer or spot-the-letter games. - Alphabet Song
What is a nice drive without a fun song inside the car? Singing the alphabet song can top off your trip after your alphabet games. It is recommended to keep CDs of nursery rhymes and songs in your car to listen to with your kids. - Alphabet Flash Cards
Flashing cards can also be considered as a memory game for alphabet learning with your children. This is an effective way of gauging their level of familiarity with the letters. You can have different sets of flash cards such as a group with letters and another one with photos for your kids. It is always good to have drawings. - Alphabet Color Book
One of the best ways for children to learn is channeling their creativity. Toddlers are very receptive to colors and a colouring book is perfect in teaching them the letters of the alphabet while having fun. Colour books are available in bookstores along with crayons and pencils to use for this fun-filled activity. - Alphabet Finger Painting
A child enjoys nothing more than playing with their hands. Let your kids play with paint as you teach them to write and read letters with colors. Support your child’s creative side by engaging with them in fun activities such as alphabet finger painting. - Making Alphabet Foodies
Another fun way of learning is to cook with your kids. Baking cookies in different alphabet shapes are exciting for children especially when they eat them after. You build a healthy mind and body for your kids when playing with them in the kitchen. Customized pancakes work, too!
Recognize Alphabet
Like learning anything else it is vital to help kids putting learning in use. For Darren, we constantly on the lookout for alphabet he can recognize on day-to-day object, signs, books, or media devices. Provide immediate feedback and encouragement is important, letting children know alphabet is a skill that can be applied in their day to day live.
Teaching young kids, especially toddlers, can be very challenging for a parent. Children tend to get bored easily so you have to continuously think of different ways on how to get your child’s attention. The list we just went through is just a few basic tools to help you start in teaching them. However, as they grow older, they would want to explore more and learn more and that is what parents have to cope with every day.
