For all of our previous posts, we have come up with a specific activity and each done our own spin on the same thing. For the letters we are not sharing our ideas with each other ahead of time. We are each going to decide on our own activities to use to teach each letter. This will be a great way to show two different ways of teaching and twice as many activities!
Cynthia (nanny):
1.Creating an abc book with printed pictures (can use magazines too) of things that start with A.
2. Letter Hunts: The girls absolutely love this game! I took some punch out letters I had from my classroom supplies and laminated them. You can usually find these at teacher/office supply stores. While they are napping I tape the letter of the week to places all around the house. (Walls, doorknobs, the floor, etc) Before the hunt I show them an example of the letter and make sure to name it. Then, off they go searching for letters. (I use both upper and lower case) This has been a great way to help the girls identify letters. (You can do this with numbers as well)
3. Flash cards: Most toddlers may not show much interest in flash card practice, but I found Sesame Street themed cards that they enjoy. I like how this set has underlined the initial letter so it's easier for the kids to start making connections.
Arielle (mommy):
1. Picture cards: We got out a variety of letter and picture cards (you can get them at dollar stores, in the dollar section of Target, Walmart, or Lakeshore). I had Lil pick the ones that showed the letter A or pictures that begin with A. After she named each object I had her trace the big letter A.
2. Ipad: Then I integrated technology as I gave her my IPad to practice writing the letter A using one of our favorite apps, Letter School (letterschool.com). This app is awesome because it teaches kids the correct way to write numbers and letters and its super engaging. It is one of the only apps I have that I actually paid for.
3. Alligator A: Next we got crafty with an "Alligator A eating big A's and little a's" (that's the name Lil came up with). I drew a big block letter A on construction paper and cut out the pieces she needed along with letter cards with A's and some other letters (so she would have to pick the correct ones). We wrote "A is for Alligator" at the bottom of the page. This will be the first page in a book of letters.
(As Lil did this, O colored with crayons and markers and benefited from listening to our conversation about A words)
Guru Moment: These A activities can be modified and used for all the letters of the alphabet. As we showcase activities for each letter we can discover new ways of teaching letters in general.
Arielle (mommy) follow up: I was so excited after I read about Cynthia's letter hunt I had to try it right away. I taped letters all over the dining room and gave Lil a T-chart labeled "A" and "Not A" so she could hunt for examples and non-examples. Having kids identify non-examples of letters (or anything they have learned about) is a great way to check for understanding. This a great assessment activity for her.
O was super excited by the letters on the wall, he wanted to take them off and stick them on the paper too so I made a modified version for him, but the time I got done setting it up he was crabby and ready for a nap. :( Next time I'll make his ahead of time so they can do them at the same time.
Things don't always go as planned :)
After a nap he was happy to do the activity. Hooray for a do over!
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