As the mother of young children, I know the pressure we feel to teach our children how to say the alphabet, how to recognize letters and their sounds, how to write, how to count, etc., etc.
We all want our kids to have an easy transition into kindergarten, and we want them to succeed and to really love learning. This is a lot to expect of a three or four-year old who wants to run around and play- not sit and study.
My daughter is very verbal, and she does really like to learn, but that doesn’t mean it is easy. She knows her letters (usually), but she does not like to sit at the table with me and practice anything that resembles “work.”
My son is not yet two, but I know that he will be even more difficult to teach if I use the approach of “sit here and practice.”
I really wanted a different approach, and I have found one. Alphabetology is a program created by Ginny Priest, a licensed teacher and early childhood educator.
I first met Ms. Ginny when I took my daughter to her class called Parents and Children Learning together.
We attended for about a year, and she introduced us to the benefits of her program. She has developed a fun and relatively simple way to help preschoolers prepare for kindergarten.
This does not require intense instruction or practice. There is no schedule to stick to or homework to complete. In fact, there is really no “work” at all.
My absolute favorite thing about Alphabetology is that you get to do fun and educational things with your children.
I am always trying to think of new activities to keep my kids entertained. There are only so many times you can go to the park in a week’s time before the kids are as bored as you are.
The great thing is, it doesn’t require much to entertain a small child. The smallest amounts of imagination and creativity will do the trick as long as YOU are engaged with them and having fun.
To better explain, Alphabetology lets you choose a letter for the day and attach a fun activity to the letter. It’s that simple.
You can do something educational with your children that they will enjoy and remember. For the letter B, you can bring a Banana and a Bagel in a Backpack to the Beach. Wear Blue and Black. Blow some Bubbles while you are there. Sit on a Blanket. Point out Birds. You get the idea.
These activities not only teach letter sounds, but they also allow you to introduce colors, shapes, and numbers if correlate them to the letter. For example, the Alphabetology website show a demonstration of an art project using the letter N.
On a paper plate, the letter N is drawn, along with Nine Noodles. You could also make Ten Tan Triangles.
It is my understanding that children are also supposed to know colors, shapes and numbers before entering kindergarten. This is a good way to practice all of it while still enjoying the activity.
The Alphabetology book also has a section on kinesthetic learning. Each letter sound is connected to a hand motion that you can use to help your children practice.
I have started using this method with my son. He thinks it is fun. It is almost like making the hand motions when you sing “itsy bitsy spider.”
Since he is having fun, he is better able to learn and remember the movements.
The program contains all kinds of activity ideas, foods to cook, and art projects that will pertain to learning each letter and its sound.
Now that my daughter is in preschool, I see that her teachers actually use a lot of these techniques. She comes home with letter packets that have recipes and activity ideas for the corresponding letter.
Another great thing about this program is that it comes with flashcards. I love having something small and portable to carry around.
Now my daughter even uses them to quiz herself. She reads the letter and then tries to think of a few things that start with that letter.
There are additional resources at the back of the Alphabetology book. I love the kindergarten assessment tools. I am able to do a quick assessment on my daughter, and it is easy to compare it to one done a few months prior to gauge progress.
The assessment is simple and short. It does not require that you drill your child for an extended length of time. At the end, you are able to see what letters your children have a firm grasp of and which ones they might need some extra practice with.
The program also comes with additional tips, book recommendations, and beginning reading resources. Overall, I think this is a very helpful, straight forward, and enjoyable way to begin to prepare your child for kindergarten.
For more information on the Alphabetology program, visit www.abcbook.us.
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