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Are you trying to get a jump-start on kindergarten? Is your kindergartener lagging behind? Here are some ideas that will immerse your child in letters and teach the alphabet and beginning reading skills.
Label their room. If your focus is just letters - then label each item with the letter it starts with such as L for lamp. After child know L for lamp add the rest of the letters to the label. You can label your whole house if desired - but child's bedroom is a good start and keeps guests from dodging your tags.
Make an ABC book. Label each page with a letter of the alphabet. Spend some time each day having alphabet search time. The goal is for child to find a magazine picture, a snapshot, a newpaper clipping, or his/her own drawing that has an actvity that starts with that letter such as a picture of child holding up their toothbrush for the letter T. This is a fun way to enhance your child's creative skills as well. You can use Polaroids of digital cameras for instant feedback (important for the younger children as they may have forgotten just what letter they were doing something for if they have to wait for developing. Read this picture book before bed or nap each day to reinforce.
Go on an ABC scavenger hunt. Use a video camera to tape the things you find that begin with each letter. If child cannot find an object for that letter he/she must do something that starts with the desired letter.
Assign a letter of the day. Assign each other a nickname to use for day that starts with that letter (A - my name is Athela today and you will be Andrew or B -my name is Bertha and you will be Barbie). Eat foods that start with the letter, read stories that have that letter in the title etc.
Sing the apple song with each vowel of the alphabet. Here it is.
I like to at, at, at, apples and bananas.
(Repeat 2 more times)
I like to et, et, et, epples and benenes.
(Repeat 2 more times)
I like to it,it, it, ipples and bininis.
(Repeat 2 times)
I like to ut, ut, ut, upples and bununus.
(Repeat 2 more times.)
You can do both long and short vowel sounds when you sing. It is a lot of fun!
Buy or make (paint on a set of wooden blocks- or wonder-under (iron on web) to a fabric cube) alphabet blocks. You can play lots of games with these such and unscrambling, timed unscrambling. Sort the consonants and the vowels.
You can set up two little storage tubs and have the child pitch the vowels into one and the consonants into another (develops motor skills as well).
Using Sidewalk chalk draw out the alphabet on the driveway or sidewalk. Then throw a stone onto a letter. Everyone has to say the alphabet and skip the letter the stone is on. To make it more difficult, don't remove stones for the next player - keep adding onto skipped letters.
Have loads of fun with the alphabet.
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