Engaging Ways to Teach the Alphabet
And numbers!
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Our family has been in quarantine due to COVID-19, and I can’t even remember how long it has been at this point. We’ve been fortunate enough to stay healthy for this time, but my son has not been going to preschool and teaching is not one of my strengths. Actually, I think the weakness is patience on both ends, but my teaching is also lacking!! I didn't want to backslide on all that he had gained in the school year, and he was just really learning to write his name well when the quarantine started. But I noticed in my attempts to continue to progress his alphabet learning, he was starting to get really annoyed with me. In all fairness, he’s only 3 and I wanted learning to be fun for him. I wanted to make it fun enough that he didn’t notice we were working on learning letters, and here are some products I have found through trial and error that have really worked for us. And by really worked, I mean they have been enjoyable for us without causing aggravation on either end.
I can’t guarantee that I have made significant progress since starting to use these alphabet learning tools, but I have enjoyed having a variety of things to utilize to ‘teach’ with. Even when this quarantine is over, I will be grateful to have these things. We have been having fun using all of them in different ways, and with a younger kiddo I think we’ll be using them for a number of years. Have you found anything different in your family that works with small children? If so, comment below!
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Alphabet Learning Tools for home
Wood Alphabet Puzzle
This has been a huge hit in our house. Why? Who doesn’t love to spell their names with smooth wood letters? Plus each letter matches up to a picture underneath, which helps start to work on the sounds each letter makes. For the numbers, each has the corresponding number of items pictured on the puzzle base. My kids are both able to spell their names with one puzzle, but we have also been spelling the dog’s name and other simple words we can think of, mostly to work on letter recognition. And if I’m feeling really energetic, we dump the whole puzzle out and name each letter as we put it back. My rule is if you dump this puzzle out, you have to put it back together. This has resulted in fewer incidences of 26-piece-pick-up for me!
Alphabet cookie cutters
These are actually pretty fun. I initially bought them to make special treats for birthday baked goods, etc., but they work great for alphabet cookies too! To make it worthwhile, you basically have to make a double batch of sugar cookies (or whatever firm dough cookie you prefer). This is not something you want to do on the regular. But it was actually a cathartic evening activity for me and I would definitely do it again. And my kids love seeing their names spelled out in food! It was a win-win! Side note: I love baking so if that’s not your forte, this may not be your alphabet tool of choice.
Kids Writing Tablet
We love these in my house. They are a great way for toddlers and preschoolers to get used to the physical sensation of holding a pen (stylus), plus they allow for a lot of creativity. Parents can draw a letter or number kids can easily trace, or they can free hand anything imaginable. And with the click of a button it erases and everyone can start over. No sad faces over mistakes or doing it wrong, or some sibling stole my favorite pencil, or whatever! Plus we have had this thing for over 2 years and it is basically indestructible and has required only one battery change. It has flown thousands of miles with us, so I highly recommend this for flights as well!!
Alphabet Sticker Book
There is no substitute for stickers in the world of toddler to preschooler entertainment (ok, except for TV but that’s less interactive). And a good book with reusable stickers is something I search for. This book is a perfect way to get a few more minutes of alphabet learning in without feeling like you’re going to go nuts. Plus this one will wipe clean if you use a wipe clean marker. This book is also great for road trips! My toddler requires refill stickers though, because they end up all over her body.
‘Water Color’ Flash cards
These fun cards reveal a picture starting with the letter on the card. They are also great for incorporating lower case letters into learning. There are 26 cards in the set (!), so that leaves limitless learning and some quiet time for parents! Unless you have a kiddo like my son, then you get about 5 minutes. But it’s something. But the pictures are neat, and we have had fun using these.
These are the tools we have in stock for summer/quarantine at our house to work our way through the alphabet and numbers. And so far, we’ve been doing ok. We can’t wait to hand back the majority of learning to teachers in the Fall though! Balancing parenting with teaching has been a challenge I have not mastered yet, but I’m going to keep trying. I hope you enjoy trying some of these things as well. I don’t know any kids who will turn down alphabet cookies, so that’s always a good starting point!
We have also found an app called Kahn Academy Kids that has been amazing for my almost 4-year-old. Once in the app, there are places to draw, learn the alphabet and numbers, and play learning games that are really helpful. And you can still limit screen time but let them have a little without feeling guilty!
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to Pin for reference! Please share in the comments if you have any tips for learning letters and numbers with toddlers and preschoolers. And I wish you parents all the best over the summer!
