Easy Tips to Help your Children Learn the Alphabet

Teaching children how to recognize, write and pronounce the letters of the alphabet is important for their early childhood education. Long before you can even dream of your kids reading and writing, they must learn the letters of the alphabet.

Children must first understand what letters are before they understand that letters form sounds, and understand how these sounds make up words. Educationists understand how essential this foundational knowledge of the alphabet is, and they have drawn up some simple methods to teach children the alphabet.

• Use the alphabet song 

If you’re new to teaching or you are putting your first child through their basic education, the idea of teaching something that comes so natural to you might be difficult. The alphabet song is a great place to start for people feeling overwhelmed about getting their children to understand the alphabet. 

These days, there are even more alphabet songs than the classical A-B-C-D-E-F-G song you might remember from your own childhood. A wide variety of alphabet tunes to choose from are available on YouTube and kid-friendly apps such as KidsAcademy. The visuals in the videos also help children learn how to relate words with objects. 

Don’t just stop at singing the tunes with your kids; from singing along to their favorite alphabet song, your child should soon be able to point at the letters and recite the alphabet without the tune. 

• Focus on a letter at a time 

Children learn best when things are repeated to them, but this can get very boring very fast for you. You can spice up your alphabet lessons by bringing in related topics. For example, when you are teaching your child about the letter B, you can teach them about objects that are color blue as well. So, when you say “what blue things do you see?” they can learn about blue balls and other objects. 

• Use flashcards 

Flashcards are great for teaching your kids to memorize words and the alphabet. However, you must be careful not to confuse your child with the more difficult words that can sometimes be on the flashcards. 

Disregard flashcards that contain phonetic sounds, as your child is not yet ready for that level of learning yet. Rather, focus on using the cards that have bold and easy to pronounce words and the letters of the alphabet. It would help if these words are things your kids are familiar with. 

• Eat letter-shaped foods 

Why stop at reading letters of the alphabet when you can eat them? Organize baking sessions with your kids where you bake cookies and other delicious snacks in the shape of the alphabet. While cooking, there are a host of other lessons you can engage in with your child such as – measuring, counting, nutrition, and many more. 

If you are especially busy and want an easier way out, there are ready-made pasta and cookies in the shape of letters. Make lunch or dinnertime fun by spelling out names and asking them to name the letter they are about to eat. 

• Use worksheets 

Sometimes, the simplest learning method is the more traditional one. Learning worksheets such as these alphabetizing practice worksheets will come in handy to teach your kids more about the alphabet as well as help them practice what they have learnt. 

Learning does not have to be boring, and there are almost no rules when it comes to the method you choose to teach your children. These tested and tried methods are just some of the easiest ways to teach the alphabet to preschoolers. 

Remember to stay patient with your children, and in good time, they will soon be reciting the alphabet like professionals.