Written by Educator Ann Briggs
Some fun and easy ways to reinforce what is being taught and help your child feel more confident and successful at school!
Practice spelling your child’s name
We ask your child to spell their name out loud for us every day as we point to each letter in their name. Work this into your daily routine. Pick a frequent task and pair it with learning. For example, every time I buckle or unbuckle my child into their car seat, we will spell his name out loud. When he masters his first name, move onto his last name. After that, try learning your phone number. This one is so important for safety. Next, he can learn his address. Not sticking? Try to add a little rhythm or sing-song pattern and repeat, repeat, repeat!
Letter recognition in the tub
Bath time is the perfect time for learning! You have to be there directly supervising anyway, so take advantage! Grab a set of foam bath letters from Amazon or Target. Start with capitals and then move to lowercase when she is ready. Start with the letters in her name. Have her hunt for them in the tub, line them up correctly, then move on to mixing them up and have her stick them in the right order to the side of the tub. Spell siblings names, Mom and Dad, the dog’s name. Get excited about progress and celebrate correct choices!
Letter Sounds at meal time
Find some fun letter and number placemats and add some learning to your chicken nuggets. Point out the letters on the mat that his food starts with. “You’re eating an apple, let’s find the letter A for apple!” If the letters come easily, try for some letter sounds recognition. “Mmmm-Macaroni, what letter do you think that starts with?” Compare with other items. “Does Mmmm-milk sounds like mmmm-macaroni?” Keep the dialogue going. It’s so fun to see how quickly they catch on. He will feel more confident to volunteer answers in circle time at school with his peers.
Car time
Engage your kids while driving to school or soccer practice. Again, pick something that seems manageable. You don’t need a constant stream of letter reinforcement, but maybe you can choose to find a letter or a number to point out each time your are stopped at a light. Be aware of what the “Letter of the Week” is at school. Go on a letter of the week hunt as you drive. Work on numbers, too. Has your child mastered counting to 20? Try counting by 10s to 100. Count by 5s or 2s! We try this with some of our pre-k and High Five kids.
Ready to read?
We know reading books with our children every day is one of the best things we can do for their minds. Make books readily available. Have books in every room you can grab and enjoy. Let your kids catch you reading and hand them a book to look at, too! How about Family Reading Time?
Create a print-rich environment in your home. Use some painters tape and notecards and label everyday items in your house. Not sure you want this in your kitchen or formal living room? Pick a bathroom, playroom, bedroom and put up some cards. Label the door, shelf, wall, bed, toy box, toilet, sink. These will serve as little learning reminders as you go about your day. Before you know it, your child will be pointing out familiar letters and words, finding similarities in your favorite read aloud books.