Learning letters ?

kennedys_mom

What are you doing to help LO learn letters?  I bought DD flash cards but she's not interested and I'm not sure how to make them fun for her. Any ideas would be appreciated!  Thanks!  

memali26

DD1 knows all of her letters, though she mixes up a few sometimes (M and W, etc.). I'm a big believer that at this age they learn better through through play, so we didn't do anything special, just worked the alphabet into our day. We've been singing the ABC's when we clean her up after meals since she started solids, she has foam letters in the bath, a huge foam alphabet puzzle on the floor of her room and a smaller one with Sesame Street characters she pulls out a few times a week. We read every day, talk about letters when we see them on signs, write names of different family when we're coloring, that kind of stuff. Someone also gave us a LeapFrog Fridge Phonics set that she LOVES, though I could do without stepping on alphabet magnets in the kitchen all day, they hurt almost as much as Duplo blocks :P

pinkcallalily

We didn't do anything special, he just learned his letters & numbers through playing.  He has an alphabet mat, foam letters & numbers for bathtime, puzzles, and other toys.  I honestly don't really know when he started learning them, but one day we realized he knew some of his letters when he was playing on his alphabet mat.  Then he would point to other letters and have us tell him what they were.  I think it's just something he really likes so he learned them for fun. 

MrsWindyCity

We didn't really do much. I think it all started with Dr. Seuss's ABCs. I would point out the A, B, C. Once he started doing that on his own, I just randomly would tell him what other letters were - but mostly he would point and ask himself - whether it was letters on our shirts, in books, etc. Someone also bought him foam letters for the tub, so H would point those out to him occasionally (he gives him baths). Z was really, really interested in letters for some reason, so we just sort of followed his lead and he could identify all of them around 21 months.

DTNZ4Ever

MrsWindyCity:

We didn't really do much. I think it all started with Dr. Seuss's ABCs. I would point out the A, B, C. Once he started doing that on his own, I just randomly would tell him what other letters were - but mostly he would point and ask himself - whether it was letters on our shirts, in books, etc. Someone also bought him foam letters for the tub, so H would point those out to him occasionally (he gives him baths). Z was really, really interested in letters for some reason, so we just sort of followed his lead and he could identify all of them around 21 months.

 

This. But I think it was later than 21 months as Ds really didn't start talking until after 2.

kennedys_mom

Thanks for all the great ideas. The alphabet mat sounds like something she would like. Where did you guys get yours?

M+K=3

I got the alphabet mat from Babies R Us. Melissa & Doug also make great alphabet and number puzzles. DS learned ABCs and numbers around 18 months through utlizing these tools. The mat is great as well because you can use it for color recognition as well. So now I can say, find mommy the purple 8, or what color is the H?

If you can afford it, I highly recommend getting an ipad. We have downloaded lots of educational apps and DS is a wiz at using it. By last Fall (2 years and 3 months) he could count to 20 in English. 1-10 frontward and backward, and 1-10 in Spanish.

 

NerdyMama2

I put letters all over the fridge and when he goes over to get a snack I point to a letter and ask him what it is. He loves it! 

cherrys

My DS has the Leap Frog fridge phonics, letters for the bath tub, and we bought a smaller Magna Doodle.  My DH and I will write letters on the doodle and DS will tell us what they are.

He knows/recognizes about 90% of the alphabet.