Starting Alphabet Recognition and Reading

Both of my girls starting at about age 2 started playing on the website www.starfall.com. Some kids need more stimulation, but it has been great for my kids. They are learning hand/eye coordination by using the mouse, they are learning about the computer, and they are learning their abcs and more, learning to read. Hope that helps. :)C.

A lot of people suggested the leap frog DVD. I haven't used this, but we did see a marked improvement in my daughter's letter learning ability when we bought her the Leapster L-Max for Christmas along with the letter factory game. It was amazing... she went from hardly knowing any of her letters to knowing all them and the sounds they made. I highly reccommend it!

Definitely Leap Frog's Letter Factory DVD (you can buy it at Target for $9.99).....my 24 month old now knows ALL of his letters and the corresponding sounds...I really bought it for my 4 year who was struggling learning and remembering his...though now, he has a solid understanding the of the letter names and sounds.

Wanted to echo several of the other mom's recommendation for the Leap Frog DVD set (The Letter Factory and The Word Factory). My twins have loved them and it is a fun way for them to learn without even realizing that they were learning. I was amazed to hear my daughter reciting the phoenics associated with each letter (via a catchy little song they have in the Letter Factory video..."every letter makes a sound, the A says aaaa"...) She knows all the sounds now and recently we picked up the Word Factory and she has actually started sounding out some short words in books from time to time. (MAT, CAT, BAT, etc). In our house we have not pressured the kids to learn, but we have just incorporated letter learning toys into their everyday. Examples: Foam letters for the bath tub, letter puzzles, books which letter features (seasme street book, dora book, etc), we have a letters and numbers on one of their placemats, we have refrigerator magnetic letters for one of their activity boards. Writing letters/words on the magnetic doodle boards you can draw and erase. Anyway - kids will all be interested in different things at different times. You know short attention spans at this age...they all go through phases where certain things are very interesting, then they move on to something else, and then may loop back around to it being interest again. Anyway, we just try to integrate alphabet, counting and colors into their day to day in a fun way with out pressuring to learn. Hope this helps. Definitely buy the Letter Factory - easy on you - fun for them and actually tolerable for an adult to watch!

There is a leap frog magnetic alphabet set that when they put the letter on the thing that comes with it, the thing will play music and tell them what letter and what sound the letter makes. My son loved it and now I've given it to my mom for my niece who also loves it.

first--don't rush. My first daughter could have cared less and didn't know the entire alphabet when she started kindergarden :0--fast forward to today, she is in fourth grade and is one of the top readers in her class at a rigerous private school sooooo again don't rush.
My other three kids love the letter factory dvds.You could just put it on for fun time and maybe buy the fridge magnets and let him pay with them during the show. My three-year old loves to do this!
There's also a leapster that has the letter factory 'video' for it including games.
Again, don't rush, the worst thing (I think) is to push it too hard and they end up hating it.
Do read and keep reading books he likes and read for your self around him. He will get interested, promise!!!

I highly reccommend any Leap Frog products!!

I had wonderful experience with "Word Whammer". It goes on your refridgerator and asks your child to spell small words. It also will ask you for the letters if your child is just learning those. I have seen children younger around a year old spelling words on this. My son really liked it.

Check out www.starfall.com.
My 2 yr old and 4 yr old love it!

You can also do a Google image search for alphabet coloring pages and print all sorts of things for him to color.

The Leap Frog fridge letters have been great too.
There are tons of DVDs out there too. Sesame street shows are always a winner.

He may be more interested in literacy "on the go" rather than sitting still for workbooks and flashcards. Try to get him to notice the big "K" on Kroger, point out S-T-O-P at every stop sign, etc (we have taken walks in the evening where we make the stop sign on the corner our destination, then my husband picks the kids up high so they can touch the letters).

When you point out a letter, be sure to say it's sound. Boys seem to like the sounds more than anything!

A trip to the grocery store is a literacy experience too (so says a friend who teaches first grade). Let him help get the groceries off the shelves and put them in the basket, and point out words and letters on boxes and jars in the process. For example, help him notice that you're getting Jif peanut butter with a "J" instead of Peter Pan with a "P". Anything that includes the letters of his name is even better.

I believe Earth's Best and maybe even Newman's Own makes organic alphabet cookies for kids.

Point out the letters and words on things in his world at home too. Show him the "A" on the apple juice jug, etc. You can also get a sharpie and address labels to label storage bins and things in his room. Put sticky notes all over the house...

If you have sidewalk chalk, draw his name on the back porch, then ask him what other things he'd like you to write. If you have a sand box, you can trace the first letter of his name in the sand.

Go to a teacher supply store and get an alphabet border or poster to put up in his room or in your play room. We found a cute alphabet bear poster at www.art.com that my daughter loved.

He'll pick it up when he's ready. It's probably just not important to him right now.

I think that if he's not showing interest in it, he's just not ready. Continue to read to him; that's the most important step in getting your children to love reading. And let him see you read!

Perhaps he prefers to be active while he's learning? Maybe just get some sidewalk chalk and have him draw pictures of things and you write down their names. Or ask him to tell you a short story and let him watch you write it on notebook paper as he's telling you.

I say put away the workbooks for now; they're too rigid for him and no fun. He should be having fun with reading, not working at it right now. It'd be such a shame if, in your desire to get him started, you put him off.

I used the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics with my son. He loved it! I introduced one letter at a time starting with C, the first letter in his name. We worked on that letter for a few days. Then I added D for daddy and did the same thing. With each letter I tried to associate it with something important to him (as much as possible); M for Mommy, G for Grandpa, P for Papa, B for banana etc. I kept a list of what I picked for each letter. I only put the letters we had practiced on the fridge and left the others in a container on the top. I kept reviewing the old letters for a few minutes each day. This worked really well with him. When he'd notice letters when we were out he would remember the association we had made. For ex. he'd always say P-Papa when he saw a P.

Hope this helps.

Hi A.!
I am also a SAHM of two boys ages 4 1/2 and 9 months. My best advice is to put away the workbooks and flashcards. Let your child learn through going to the zoo, museums, nature walks, travelling, etc. That is the best gift to give him and the best way for him to learn the things you want him to. Number one, he doesn't need to know a lot of academic stuff right now. It is challenging but, when it comes to teaching them at this age we have to find ways to make it FUN. My son has been able to play with a lot of children through playgroups and friends and he has learned how to be social and respectful which is VERY important at this age. He has been flown places and camped with our family, gone to museums and aquariums to learn things hands on and in a fun way. I can tell you that if you try to have him learn any other way than that he will refuse. I don't find textbooks fun and studying as an adult. Can you imagine it as a child? My son started to read at the age of 3 1/2. Not because he is some sort of genious, but because he has always had an interest in learning because he has always found it to be FUN! I do recommend the BOB Books for learning how to read but DO NOT WORRY ABOUT IT RIGHT NOW! 4-5 year olds are learning their letters in Pre-K. Ask preschool teachers and they will tell you. Have fun with your children and encourage them to be great in social situations so when they get to school they CAN learn because they are not having problems with other children. Also, my son knows that he MUST respect other adults and parents and this has created him to be able to learn from his teachers by doing what they ask of him. You can see that they are definitely some basics that have to be covered first. If your child is already doing wonderful in those areas, great! Just remember to have fun when you are teaching him. If you want info on great playgroups just let me know! Good luck!

I wouldn't push workbooks or flash cards--I think you have to be much sneakier if he is in the least bit resistant. There are lots of different alphabet books. I found one at the library that was perfect for one of my boys who is obsessed with construction trucks--"S" is for "skid-steer loader" and such. The other thing that has been absolutely amazing is "The Letter Factory" which you can get on DVD or for the Leapster game system. They learn the letters and their basic sounds. Every kid is interested in something different so good luck finding what he loves.

My son loved the Leap Frog phonics DVD series. He is going into kindergarten this year and already reading at a 1 year 6 month level (what they told us at his school).

Like the other ladies said, don't push it if he's not interested. Reading, phonics, etc was just was my son is into, but my younger son shows no interest at all, and that's OK.

We used the Letter Factory by Leap Frog too. The DVD is great. There is also a series put out by a preschool association called Meet the Letters, Meet the Numbers, Meet the Shapes, Meet the Colors, etc. They have a DVD for each major thing the kids need to learn. Highly recommend them - in fact I just asked the FW library to purchase the set and they bought 5 sets so you can probably check it out through them.

Hello,

My daughter is in a Montessori school and the kids are recognizing letters and doing games were they match the animal with the letter it starts with and they are 2 1/2.

They do a daily music circle and they do the alphabet. There some song they sing - - the sing the alphabet as the 3 little bears, papa bear,mama bear and baby bear. So they learn it by rote from the repetition.

But as far as recognition they have a lot of little activities that the children choose from and of course some are alphabet, others are puzzles colors and shapes. The children choose what they want to work on and some kids don't necessarily work on the alphabet stuff and might work on shapes -- but they believe every child is different and they will work on it when they are ready.
Basically they have a 2 tiered box the top with animals, the lower half with letters lower and upper...the kids will match them up. Other than that I don't know what else they do because I am not there all day.

I would do some morning tours of some schools - during class times and see what you can observe.

A.

I use www.starfall.com for my 6 year old, but there are pre-reading things on there as well. My son likes the site, because he feels like he's playing 'video games' and doesn't realize that he's learning too.

Hi A.,

We used an alphabet puzzle to get my 3 yr. old daughter interested in learning her letters. The I got Leap Frog's "The Letter Factory" DVD her to watch. After 4 viewings she was able to tell me the names and sounds of all the letters in the alphabet! I will warn you though, once the song gets into their heads, you'll hear it a lot! This is available at Target and probably everywhere toys are sold.

My almost-3-year-old daughter just started a Montessori preschool, so I have no idea first-hand how effective this is (although I have heard a lot of very positive second-hand stories about this technique), but they use a method that involves the child using 3 senses at one time to learn their letters and phonic sounds. They have a card or small wooden square that has the letter printed on it with sandpaper. At the same time that the teacher is tellling the child the name of the letter and the sound it makes, she is also taking the child's finger to trace the letter in sandpaper, so it helps reinforce the knowledge through sight, sound, and touch. I don't know the entire method though. I know that they don't start out with the ENTIRE alphabet at once. They have the alphabet divided into several small groups, and each group contains several consonants and a vowel, such that each group can also spell short words. I also know that my daughter's teacher makes up a song for every letter of the alphabet and the song usually includes a lot of alliteration with that specific letter. Like I said, my daughter JUST started this, so I don't have first-hand feedback to offer. My daughter has been singing the alphabet song and counting to twenty FOREVER, but has never really recognized most of the letters and numbers by sight, much less associate a phonic sound or value with each one so I am VERY interested to see how this works!
There are a few companies who sell Montessori-licensed materials for use at home, as well as information on Montessori homeschooling; here is a link: http://www.montessori.edu/prod.html

He may not be a workbook & flashcard kinda kid, my first loved that kind of thing, my second hated it we have to do a lot of hands on things with him. Leapfrog has a magnetic alphabet with an electronic thing that 'reads' each letter and sings a song about it and the sound it 'says'. We don't have that one but my friends kids do & it's fun.

Someone mentioned Montessori materials - love em. My oldest went to an M. school from 3-5 and was reading the first semester of his second year there. But, he had a huge interest in it from a very young age. My second is nearing 7 and not reading yet. Every child is different! And some children, boys especially, honestly aren't ready for learning at a young age.

Starfall was mentioned, that is a good site. You could try using the flashcards differently - set out 3-4, go over what sound each one makes, and ask him to find the letter that says "ssss" and hop to it, or jump on it, or whatever.

Just make it fun, and don't worry about it so much, he will learn. I am all about learning through play ;)

RELAX! Let him be a kid- when he is developmentally ready he will jump right in. Many mentioned Leap From items- good stuff. I also highly recommend Montessori. Their whole philosophy is centered around helping the child soar, when he is ready to- lots of good materials for their environment to stimulate interest, but no "hard sell" tactics. Play that is learning & meaningful, but not teaching in the traditional sense. They don't have to know how to read before kindergarten, and just b/c one kid picks up on something earlier than another, doesn't mean yours is an idiot & will be left behind for life- or that the other is a genius. We get too anxious about these milestones for our kids. Breathe! Let jim enjoy just being a little boy & provide materials for him to manipulate & he'll get it when he's ready.

;) D.

I agree with Kelly. I would just give him some more time...if you push you may do more damage than good. Take comfort in the fact that even recognizing symbols like McDonalds, Kroger, etc is a building block for literacy. Just like everything else, some kids are ready for reading a little later than others. :)

I highly recommend the Leap Frog DVD's. You can pick them up at Target or on-line from the Leap Frog website. Every single one is great! I guarantee after just watching it a few times, your son will know all his letters and phonic sounds. Then you can build on it with the Word Factory where they learn to put letters together to make words. Excellent! Plus, there is a Math Factory one that is great too. I know it is a video, but if they are going to watch a video this one they will really learn something with. My son is 4 and now I am doing the book, Teach Your Child To Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegfried Engelmann. My son can really read now easy books - it is amazing!!!

Leap Frog DVDs are awesome. Letter factory is the very best.

We bought the Letter Factory video by Leap Frog. Both my kiddos were singing their alphabet and their sounds after that video. I taught 1st grade for 4 years and started working immediately with my kids. But for some reason my kids loved this video! There are some other videos for small word recognition and so on by Leap Frog. I have found that Leap Frog puts out the best products. But don't underestimate reading to your son. You might not think it is working but he is internalizing what you are reading to him when you do it. My daughter knew her letters and sounds at 2 years old after seeing this Leap Frog video 3 times. She loved it! Plus we read together a lot. Good Luck!

Leap Frog makes an alphabet toy that is a bunch of magnets for your fridge. The kiddo puts the letter in the main box and it says the letter and the sound and sings a little song. It is really fun for them and will introduce the letters in a non pressured way.

He may seem like he should be ready, but he may need to mature a little to be interested. I would make materials readily available and have him exposed to them when he shows interest, but I would not stress over it at this point. He will get it and quicker if he can do it on his own will.