What is the practice?
Interacting with your child around a wide variety of alphabet toys starts the process of making letter learn- ing fun and enjoyable. These toys can be alphabet blocks, magnetic or foam letters, alphabet puzzles, or any other toys with the letters prominently displayed so your toddler gets used to looking at them.
What does the practice look like?
Letting your toddler play with letter cookie cutters in sand, cornmeal, play dough, or real dough, using sponges cut into letters in the bathtub or with fnger paint, and talking to her about what she’s doing are all examples of good use of alphabet toys. A toddler playing with magnetic alphabet letters, stacking al- phabet blocks, stringing large alphabet beads or han- dling oversized letters in smooth, bumpy, rough, or soft textures starts becoming familiar and comfortable with these letters.
How do you do the practice?
The important thing to remember when your toddler is playing with alphabet toys is to make it fun by provid- ing a variety of materials, praising her efforts and fol- lowing her lead.
- Help your child start to identify the letters in her name by pointing out the blocks, stamps, or other materials that have those letters, and praising her when she fnds or recognizes them.
- Make connections between the toys your child is playing with and the sounds the letters make. For example, when your child hands you the block with the letter B on it, name the letter and its sound, and encourage him to do the same.
- Does your child play enthusiastically with alphabet toys?
- Does your child point out familiar letters on his toys, or anywhere else he sees them?
- Does your child imitate you by naming sounds and letters when you are playing with alphabet toys together?
- Try to avoid making alphabet toys seem too “hard” or too much like work. Even if he doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the letters themselves, they are still becoming more familiar to him, which will make them easier to learn later on.
How do you know the practice worked?
Take a look at more fun with alphabet toys
Sponge-Letter Printing
Twenty-six-month-old Tally and her mom are playing with fnger paints at the kitchen table. Besides us- ing her hands and big brushes, Tally uses a handful of sponges her mom has cut into the letters of her name. She picks up the T and runs it through the red paint. “Look what you did using the T,” her mom exclaims. “You made some red.” Tally looks down at the streak on her paper. “That’s the one that goes ttt, ttt like in your name,” Mom continues. Tally picks up the L and looks up expectantly while her mom makes the sound for it. “What are you going to make with that?” Tally puts some blue paint on the L and streaks that across her page. “Very pretty,” her mom says. “Can you try pressing it down, like this?” She presses the L sponge directly onto the paper, making a print. “I can do that,” Tally says after watching, and carefully presses the sponge. “That’s great!” her mom says. “Your L is just like mine!” Tally examines the two papers. “I made L,” she says proudly.
Making My Name!
Dallas, who is almost 3 years old, loves helping his dad fx and paint things around the house. One morning his dad tells him they’re going to make a wooden sign for Dal- las’ room “so everyone knows it’s yours, just like the ones your big brothers have in their rooms.” Together, they trace the letters in Dallas’ name in pencil on blocks of sanded wood, saying the names of each letter as they go. Then Dallas watches from a safe distance as his dad uses a table saw to cut out the letters. “What color do you want for your D?” his dad asks. “That’s the most important letter, because it’s frst.” Dallas picks a color for each of his letters, and together they apply base coats and the fnal gloss. When the project is completed, Dallas has a great new name plate for his room, and knows all the letters of his name.
Alphabet Blocks Are Tops!
E van, who is 30 months old and has Down syndrome, is play- ing with big alphabet blocks with his dad. He enjoys helping his dad pile blocks on top of each other, then gleefully knock- ing them over. “Wow, we’re making a really big tower,” his dad says. “Are you going to put even more blocks on there?” Evan nods and reaches for another block. “That block has an E on it,” his dad says, “just like in your name. E for Evan!” Evan looks at the E block for a moment, then back at his dad, and asks “Evan?” “That’s right, that’s you!” his dad says. “And this is your letter.” “Evan,” he repeats, and then carefully places his block on top of the other blocks.
