I taught Little T her ABC’s just after her second birthday. That was before I read David Elkind’s Much Too Early and researched on the benefits of delaying academic training. I have since backtracked and have committed to nurturing her creativity, sense of wonder, and imagination first for these precious early years.
However, to those of you who are about to tackle the alphabet, I wish to share how we did it. It was fun, fast, and easy!
INTRODUCE IT Write a letter clearly on an easel or a piece of paper and introduce it to your child. Make sure to give her time to examine it.
LOOK FOR IT Ask your child to look for the letter on an alphabet mat (like the one pictured above) or a manila paper divided into letter squares.
MASTER IT Children love to move. Once your child has become familiar with the letters, it’s time to remove the visual aid and just call out a letter one at a time with a matching movement activity. Run to D, wiggle to H, twirl to F, jump to Z, etc.
Apart from letter identification, this activity addresses your child’s need to move and develops her gross motor skills, spatial awareness, and listening skills as you give her clues on where it is: behind you, in front of you, near, far, etc.
We also used this technique to teach about colors and a little bit of number identification. Let me know how this works for you!
Make magic!
mariel
