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.

[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!

[*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!

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

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!!

[Jennifer13]

Thanks Ausgirl - that's exactly what I was meaning! It's been a whole year.

FWIW I actually think reading to our DD and having lots of books around that she has free access to has been the biggest thing. She's a really good reader at five.