Teaching my 3 year old twins the alphabet

[zap]

I am wanting to teach my twins to write alphabet and then move on to teaching them to read. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Catastrophic]

Start singing it

The kids really pick up on it. go over and over an over it ;D do it like 2/3 times in a row and then leave it for a little bit and do it again ;D

Cat xox

[zap]

What about writing it? I have found a website that I can download free tracing worksheets or it that expecting too much?

[Catastrophic]

I'd stick to getting them to know it first.

[*Ang*]

Truthfully at 3 that is expecting a bit too much to hope that they can write it. When they go to kindy/school it is all taught there and they will be revisiting it all and can possibly get bored - my mum is a teacher and has seen this happen. Its fantastic if they can go to kindy learning how to write their name but it is in no way expected.

Starting to recognise letters is a good help for them - maybe start with the letters in their name and make it into fun rhyming games eg A is for apple etc. If you are adamant on teaching them how to write then you can buy books where they trace over letters and then erase them (like whiteboard type of pens)...I have found them helpful as you can resuse them a number of times.

Personally you will find that if you teach your children to love books and read to them heaps they will actually pick up on the letters and sounds really quickly when they start their formalised learning. I wouldn't be rushing them at this age, they have plenty more years ahead for that!

[zap]

Ok but my only worry is don't the teach it by sound now at kinder and school? I don't want to confuse them!

[Catastrophic]

My children were taught by the letter, and by singing it. it makes it easier for them to remember. Sounds come after they know the alphabet. So once they get the A-Z they then start to learn the sounding.

Also with writing, I do think they are a little too young, and you'll have more luck teaching them the alphabet. But if you want to teach them start of with 1/2 letters and let them get those ones, then build it up. One on one time where you can sit down and show them how its done and get them to copy will help. As will the books Ang talks about.

[Rowellen]

Maybe start by getting them to recognise the letters first. Do you have those alphabet foam puzzle mats? We get DS to put the letters in, saying the letters. Like "this is a "D". Can you find the "D"?" My DS can recognise some letters. I agree with the others that it might be a little early to actually write the letters but there's no harm in starting early. Let them set the pace so they don't get overwhelmed.

[Floweryfields]

You are definitely best off teaching the sounds the letters make first rather than the name of the letters as phonics are very important in learning how to spell once they get to school and this is how preschool (in Qld anyway) teaches it. Have a google for letterland, this is what we use at work with our groups and it is very successful.

I wouldn't push it too much at three, just go for fun learning - writing usually doesn't come till they are closer to 4.5/5.

[Jennifer13]

My DD's preschool did a system where "Annie Apple she says A" and so on through the alphabet, a letter a week. I know they switched to a more Australian specific program this year, but I can't remember what it's called. They learnt to write, recognise and say the letters one by one.

I also got DD the Wow! I can read series that she loved. They work through letters in order of importance/use. Tracing and recognition of letters and words that start with them.

We did this in a very informal, this is a colouring book/activity way, not teaching as such.

[Floweryfields]

My DD's preschool did a system where "Annie Apple she says A" and so on through the alphabet, a letter a week. I know they switched to a more Australian specific program this year, but I can't remember what it's called. They learnt to write, recognise and say the letters one by one.

I also got DD the Wow! I can read series that she loved. They work through letters in order of importance/use. Tracing and recognition of letters and words that start with them.

We did this in a very informal, this is a colouring book/activity way, not teaching as such.

That program you refer to is the letterland I mentioned!

[HotI]

You can get foam letters to play with in the bath. You can have all of them in there and let them play or just start with the letters of the kids names, M for Mum, D for Dad... and see if they start to recognise 'their' letters.

[The[cookie]Doctor]

My DS is Feb '08 and I wouldn't have started him at this stage, however he has lots of LeapFrog gear that he has taught himself

The fridge magnet one helped him learn the alphabet song as he could sing it as many times as he wanted.
Then he can select a letter and it says "A says a, every letter makes a sound A says a" and we would say ... for 'apple' etc.
He also has a game that has taught him to write. I wouldn't have expected that in the slightest but he has taken a keen interest and can write many letters.
It has also helped him recognise numbers.
I feel like a slack as mummy for not having been able to teach him myself but i by no means thought he was ready.

At this stage I let him do it for fun, I do try to explain that we use the little letters most but he writes some in upper case and some in lower.
For example, he can't do an E in lower so he does it in upper case.

That said, he still can't really count to 10. And we have been practicing that for a loooooong time.

[Bronzdbebe]

My DS is also Feb 08 and we started out by singing our ABC's mostly because I got stuck for bed time songs and he kept saying to me "new song Mummy, new song Mummy" and I couldn't think of anything one night so I sang ABC etc and he loved it then one day he started singing it and now can confidently sing his whole ABC's. In relation to writing it he can write his name, this is something that he has been learning at kindy and I have been helping him at home but only at his request, or if he has drawn a picture I will say "would you like to write you name on it so Nannie and Pa know who this is from?" and he will write it and he can also recognise his name and the letters in his name when they are written elsewhere too but apart from that he doesn't have much of an idea as to the other letters, he does have cards and the Alphie robot but he has only just started getting into this...

[zap]

Thanks ladies! I just want to slowly introduce it as a fun activity not a regimented chore. I don't think it is all up to schools to teach this to our kids and it concerns me as class sizes get bigger and bigger that some kids are going to slip through the cracks. Also having four boys under 4 I don't want them to miss out on the type of mental stimulation a mother of say two kids four years apart is going to get ... If that makes sense?

[Artechim]

I would go with recognition first, then move to writing later. Depends on their own ability really, some kids just won't have the fine motor skills at 3 to be able to write (and they get super frustrated and turned off it if they can't do it right). Others can write early.

We read alphabet books, ones with the letter and heaps of pictures/words starting with that letter. There is a good song, The Phonics Song on you tube be KidsTV123 which is good and fun.

[jackrose]

The most important thing you can do with your children in order to teach them is to play! Play is the best thing for teaching them anything, plus, the good thing is it is fun too!

Children learn so much from play and it is such an important foundation for later learning. They can still learn so much 'incidentally' by having time to play, explore, experience life and it is learning in a way that we are designed to. The problem is that when we begin to try to teach kids formally, we can over-rule the natural learning or even worse, undermine their natural love of learning and undermine their confidence.

A great quote I got from my mother who is a kindergarten teacher with 45+ years experience in early childhood development, sums it up (although I am not sure where it came from so cannot provide a reference)

"Children who are rushed into reading and writing too soon miss important steps in learning and may suffer later on because the lack the foundation the need for using language. Children who are taught to read in preschool may be able to sound out and recognize words but they may also have little understanding of what they are reading. If they haven't been given time to play, they won't have explored objects enough to know what words (like 'hard, harder hardest) mean."

So, that said, the best way to incorporate 'teaching' reading into play is to read to your children. You can use language which is wonderfully descriptive in daily life to open them up to as many variations in our language as possible, point out familiar letters such as the letter at the start of their name when it appears on words in their everyday life, answer their questions and describe things, describe things, describe things! Sing nursery rhymes and chant silly rhymes and songs. Immerse them in play with words such as storytelling, 'reading' signs along the road in the car and making the same signs at home with their play cars and train tracks and make shapes or patterns with magnetic letters on the fridge. Write letters (as in good old snail mail) with your children, even if they are just scribbles and send them off to family and friends making sure you get replies in the mail. The engagement of litricy skills in exciting things like mail and communication with people is really exciting for kids. Make your own story books with photos from your daily life such as "making porridge for breakfast" or "What I saw on the way to the park". Children love to see pictures of themselves and to see them in story and book form is a great way to engage them. Write down on their drawings what they describe so they get a grasp that those funny things you scribble are words and show them to other adults so that they can engage in the drawings and the stories that go with them. Help them recognise familiar things like their favourite cereal at the shops and recognise the words printed on it. Help them enjoy and further develop their innate love of learning through discovery.

That said, if your child does show interest in taking things further, go with it. Let your child lead you in the pace they are ready to learn. Children at this age are just born to learn when they are given the time and space to do so.

This will be, hands down, the best way to introduce your child to reading and will mean that when the time comes to formally learn it all, they will be engaged, ready, resilient and competent and much less likely to slip through the cracks.

Also having four boys under 4 I don't want them to miss out on the type of mental stimulation a mother of say two kids four years apart is going to get ... If that makes sense?

You know what, sounds like your boys will be fine as you are thinking about them, asking the questions and try to do the best by them. This is streets ahead of lots of kids. Doesn't matter about the number of kids or the closeness in age when you have a desire to do best by them. Quality not quantity! (well maybe quantity in regards to play )

[zap]

Well I checked out you tube for the phonics clips and they where a big hit with all my boys! Even ds 4 who is 12 weeks today was cooing to the song!!