To teach letter recognition, use fun activities with materials at home. Make flashcards, play games, use magnetic letters, shape clay, write in shaving cream, and hunt for letters in newspapers and magazines. Engage children to become future independent readers.
Letter recognition is the basis for developing the ability to read. To teach a child to recognize letters, it is important to use fun activities. Young children have short attention spans, so any educational activity needs to be creative and exciting to engage in. Letters can be taught using a variety of materials already in the home. If your child participates in the following activities for a few minutes each day, he will gradually be able to recognize letters better and will be well on his way to learning to read.
Using 26 pieces of construction paper, write a letter of the alphabet on each. Grab some old magazines and cut out a picture that starts with every letter of the alphabet. Paste them on the huge size flash cards. Draw pictures if there are no old magazines around the house. Take the cards to a teacher supply store and have them laminated. Another option is to buy a roll of contact paper and laminate them at home.
Practice saying the letters with your child every day. Show the child the flash card, say the letter, make the letter sound, and ask the child to repeat both the name and the letter sound. Place the cards on the floor and have the child jump to a specific letter. Most children love to move and play, so turning this activity into a game will keep the lesson from becoming boring.
Buy a pack of magnetic alphabet letters and place them on a metal cookie tray. Help the child point to each letter and pronounce its name. Let your child move the letters around the tray or trace them as he says the name of each letter.
Using non-toxic clay, help your child shape the letters. Show one of the letters of the alphabet and ask the child to make the letter by pinching and shaping the dough. Children will often be so engrossed in creating the letters that they won’t realize they are learning letter recognition.
Break into the bathroom for some shaving cream and spray it on the kitchen table. Let your child use their finger while they practice writing letters in the shaving foam. This will allow her to practice writing, preparing her for future work using a pencil. The goal is to make the activity fun and practical.
Collect old newspapers and magazines and give the child a box of crayons. Ask the child to hunt for letters. The letter hunt game requires your child to look through newspaper and magazine printouts for a specific letter. For example, if the parent wants the child to recognize the letter “M,” she can ask the child to use a crayon to circle all the uppercase and lowercase “Ms” she can find. Again, this lesson turns an educational activity into something that will keep young children entertained.
With a little creativity, parents can help kids master letter recognition. Turning lessons into engaging, hands-on activities will inspire even the fussiest preschooler. By using common objects in the home, parents can help their children develop into future independent readers.
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