Teaching Your Child the Alphabet

So many children just started their first day of school.  In my home, I had one go to their 2nd year of preschool, another start 2nd grade, another start 7th grade and finally my oldest started his junior year of high school.  No matter their age, they all started the same way, by learning the alphabet.

I received Tappy Alphabet app and compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Need a few ways help teaching your child the Alphabet?  Try these!

Hands On ABCs

Let your child really get familiar with what the letters look like.  Using templates like these free ABC printable templates  allow your child to write, color, paint or mold the letters.  The templetes will be a great bouncing off point for getting comfortable with the alphabet!

Identify

Letters are everywhere!  The first letter my daughter learned in preschool was not the letter A, instead it was H, the first letter in her name.  During the first week of school we looked for the letter H everywhere we went.  We spotted it on signs, boxes, papers…everywhere.  She was able to then identify her name on school papers and on her desk at school. Use the world around you to teach your child the ABCs.  Focus on one letter, or multiples, like the letters in their first name.  Have fun with it.

Music

I am one of those people that can memorize anything, if it’s put to music.  Several of my kids have inherited this same way of learning.  So, a great way to teach the alphabet, is with music. Of course, the standard Alphabet song, is a must, but it isn’t the only letter song out there. Check out YouTube for a plethora of fun and catchy songs about the Alphabet. Best part, the bright and colorful videos will keep them entertained and singing.  Many of these songs not only teach the letters, but the sounds that they make.

Books

Reading to your child is extremely important.  Visit your local library for books about the Alphabet. You will be amazed at really how many there are.  I’m not kidding, there are tons! Each book helps present the alphabet in really fun or clever ways.  Add an alphabet book into your child’s nightly list of bed time stories.

Games

Make learning the alphabet exciting.  Do a letter scavenger hunt, find things around that begin the each letter. Another great way to teach the ABCs is by using letter matching.  You can find a million ways on Pinterest  to make easy and fun letter matching games.  Many of these are also good to stick in your purse as a way to keep your kiddo occupied when waiting for the older kids to get out of school, or sitting at the doctor’s office.

Technology

We are so lucky to live in a time that we have so much technology to help our children learn.  Using your tablet or phone and downloading apps, your child can have the alphabet always at the tips of their fingers.  Let’s face it, they want to use your tablet all the time anyway right?  Make it educational and fun at the same time.  My kids have been having so much fun playing with the Tappy Alphabet app.

Tappy Alphabet makes the learning as simple as A, B, C.  Tappy Alphabet is an extremely easy to use, intuitive interface allows children to learn over 100 vocabulary words. All of the fun happens on one page, no swiping required…perfect for little ones.  Tappy Alphabet also includes phonics, letting your child know the sound that each letter makes, before showing them a picture and a word that starts with that letter of the alphabet. Tappy Alphabet has bright beautiful graphics accompanied by a pleasant voice over. 

My children were instantly engaged by Tappy Alphabet.  I’m not just talking about the preschooler or toddler, my almost 8 year old enjoyed using the app as well.  She used it to show my preschooler how to spell her name.  My preschooler and toddler love the colors and pictures.  I love that my toddler tries to repeat the letters and words, she is trying to get a handle on the whole talking thing, so any practice is really helpful! I also love that Tappy Alphabet includes lower case letters as well, it’s really important that kids learn lower and uppercase at the same time, it helps them understand writing and reading easier.

Tappy Alphabet is available on iTunes, Google Play and Amazon App Store. Tappy Alphabet only costs $0.99, and would be absolutely perfect for any child that just started preschool.

A lifetime of reading begins by learning the alphabet.

What are some ways you teach your child the ABCs?