Welcome to my Blogging from A to Z April Challenge for 2019! The A to Z Challenge is a blogging event held each April. Bloggers create posts from A to Z beginning on April 1st and ending on April 30th. There is a post scheduled for each day of the month (except for Sundays) with each day corresponding to a sequential letter of the alphabet.
We're almost halfway done with the challenge! It always seems to go by so quickly. I've been focusing on ways I keep my toddler occupied and learning. Today...we're on the letter L and (appropriately) L is for letters!
Like he is with numbers, the Boy loves letters. He enjoys pointing them out and loves to listen to (and repeat in his own toddler language) the alphabet.
We started alphabet recognition with singing the alphabet and showing him his name in print. I also used the written alphabet on paper like I did with numbers. After that, we used flashcards. He is crazy about any kind of flashcards. (The Target Dollar Spot is a total lifesaver in this department and has given us a lot of options.) I went through them with him, flipping them back and forth from the pictures to the letters, and then just let him fiddle with them himself (the bonus of the $1 flashcards...if he destroys them it's not a big deal).
At Christmas, we upgraded to magnetic letters on an easel. The letters came in five different colors and we totally have to control them with plastic baggies (the yellow "S" was lost to a mouth test within the first week), but he really enjoys playing with them.
I recently started introducing him to some sight words, including some colors (which totally makes his day). We push them around and make different words just for fun. I don't focus too heavily on them, but he enjoys learning a few here and there and pointing them back out to me later. He has a crazy scary memory for that kind of thing.
But...as with anything else in this house, the big hit is when we combine letters with water. This kid is water crazy. I picked up a cheap set of foam letters and tossed them in one morning for a fun bonus activity while also accomplishing a bath we had skipped the night before. He had a blast!
He loved that they stuck to the walls. He did not love that his little brother was trying to eat them the whole time. He rescued the R just in time. (I also later found suspicious tooth marks on the G.) There wasn't anything crazy orderly to our play, just letting him have the sensory play of the foam and the bath while repeating letters back and forth. Super simple, super entertaining for him, and a somewhat easy (though wet...both boys love to splash) activity for me.
So...today's lesson? When in doubt, combine a toy with water. It is sure to become an instant hit.
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Not an A to Z Blogger, but love the idea? Go here to see what other fun you can find in the challenge.
Miss a prior 2016 A to Z post? Find your missing link down below...
A is for ASL B is for Bubbles C is for Counting
D is for Dot E is for Exercise F is for Fort
G is for Go Fish H is for Helping I is for Indoor Car Wash
J is for Jigsaw K is for Kinetic Sand
I teach English to small children of other languages. Currently working in Vietnam. I deal with these little loves all the time. Letter games and flash cards. Here is one for when he is ready to start writing. Simple writing (just doing letters and simple words.
ReplyDeleteLetting him write on the windows (with dry erase markers) or a glass wall if you have any make learning time so much more fun. My students love it. It's more fun than writing on paper.
Of course, with small children, you run the risk of them wanting to practice their new skill on the walls that don't clean as easy. It is up to you to know how to discourage or prevent that.
Just a fun learning game if you want to use it.
I am at Transformed Nonconformist. I usually write humor pieces, but I am getting serious this month. I'm writing about people who have deeply impacted my life.
Your profession sounds interesting. I'm not sure I would have the bravery to live in such a foreign location.
DeleteI have seen the window writing before. It definitely looks like it would be fun. And yes...with my eldest, the writing on other surfaces is definitely a concern. We've had chalk drawings on the hardwood floor more than once... :)