Letter learning is an essential component to beginning reading and writing, and play is a great way to help your child with letter recognition as well as learning letter sounds. Try building an “alphabet” tower with your child using wooden letter blocks. You can ask your child to name the letter before adding a block to the tower, or have your child search for specific letters to add to the tower. Another fun way to practice letter learning is to put a “letter” twist on games your child likes to play. For example, you can play letter “I Spy” using Scrabble tiles or magnetic letters, or by asking your child to find items in the room that start with the letter you choose. Another fun game you can play is “Twister” using an alphabet play mat. If your child likes to bake, buy some alphabet cookie cutters and have fun baking and decorating each letter together. You can also use magnetic alphabets sets such as LeapFrog’s Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set for letter fun in the kitchen. By keeping the focus on fun, your child will naturally begin to notice and show interest in letters and words.
