Can you remember when you were little and were just learning your ABC’s? I mean barely even knowing the ABC song? As a mom who sings the ABC song ALL. THE. FARKING. TIME. I can barely even fathom that there was a time in my life sans ABCs.
Over the past, almost 3, years I’ve watched my two children go from not knowing the ABCs, to knowing that song through and through, like it’s etched upon their hearts. My almost 3 year old is now learning the ABCs in preschool. They learn a new letter each week. This week was C, and she came home and knew that C is for Caterpillar. #schleppingnachas (For those who don’t speak Yiddish, this means being proud.)
Now, call me a Tiger Mom, but I believe that it’s my mom job to enrich and build upon what my kids are learning in school, at home.
So I’ve come up with some creative ways to combine learning and play, because no toddler I know is going to sit and repeat flashcards over and over again until they “get it right”. Play is how they’ve learned everything thus far in their lives, and learning the alphabet is no exception.
What’s in your toolbox?
I’ve tried a number of educational tools/toys to try and teach the alphabet to my toddlers. I’ve found two that I love, and I’ve incorporated these tools into the activities I do with my kids.
1. Leap Frog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set
We are obsessed with this toy. We got it as a hand-me-down, but I would invest 100x over. The kids love it, and it seriously teaches them. Even Azi, who isn’t even 2, can recognize letters and repeat the sounds because of it!
2. ABC cards – I can’t find the exact ones we have, but there are A TON of super cute and inexpensive downloadable files on Etsy. Then you can Type-A it (like me) and get them laminated or just cut them out yourself!
So with both of these tools, I’ve come up with a couple of different ABC “games” that I play with the kids. I generally decide which letter to focus on based on which letter Miri is working on in school, but you could just start at the beginning or have your kids pick a letter!
Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
You can do this with anything you have around the house. I always start with the letter flashcard. We say the name of the letter and then say what sound the letter makes. For younger kids you’ll likely have to help with the next step, but as they get older, they can become more independent. Then, we go around the house finding things that start with the letter of the day, and we collect them in the bin.
As we collect each new item we repeat the letter it starts with, and at the end we go through everything we’ve collected.
Seek and Find: Letter Style
There are letters everywhere! Whether it’s on billboards or signs in buildings, the alphabet is everywhere. I take our everyday lives as a great opportunity to sneak letter-learning into almost everything we do. I especially do this with book covers. Before we start a book, we usually look at the cover, and I’ll ask Miri if she can point out a certain letter on the cover. I like to do this with book covers because there aren’t a ton of words, so it’s not too overwhelming. Something like a “stop” sign works well, too.
Say the letter sounds…and repeat!
I might sound like a broken record at this point, and you also might be thinking, “what an annoying mom!”, but I promise you, my kids don’t think I’m annoying…yet! I am in constant dialogue with my kids about what we see in the world. Whether we’re at the park going down the slide, s-s-slide, or at the grocery store getting in the cart, c-c-cart. Get my drift? I could go on all day, and I do. My kids tend to repeat after me, and although I know they may not remember, making letter sounds is a great habit to get into. They don’t think I’m a drill sergeant at all. They think it’s a game! And I always want them to think of learning in a fun and positive way.
Our favorite learning toy is the Leap Frog Fridge Phonics game that I mentioned above. The song is super catchy, and my kids never get bored of putting different letters in to hear the sounds they make.
Feed the alphabet monster
I got this last one from “I can teach my child”. It’s absolutely adorable, and I wanted to post this before I had a chance to take a picture of mine! All you need is an empty, plastic, baby wipes container with the pop-up lid, 26 2-liter bottle tops, 1 in. round sticker labels, some colored, foam craft sheets, and googley eyes.
1) Put a sticker label on each bottle top. 2) Write the letters of the alphabet (either lower case or upper case work!). 3) Using the foam color sheet of your choice, cut out some teeth/mouth and stick it on the front of your wipes container. 4) Add some googley eyes to the inside of the pop-up lid. 5) Have your child “feed” the monster the different letters. Ask them to say the name of the letter and it’s sound as they feed the monster lunch!
Check it out, and share your monsters with me!
Another honorable mention that I stumbled upon.
I hope you enjoy playing these ABC games with your toddler! The possibilities are as endless as you let your imagination go. Happy learning, l-l-learning!
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