Alphabet Games for Toddlers
Alphabet games are a great way to stimulate your child's cognitive skills and spend quality time with her while enjoying a fun activity. If the games are a pleasant experience, this will help you instill in your child a love of learning, and provide your child with the building blocks of learning to read that will help her once she begins schooling. It only takes a little time each day, but the long-term benefits will mount from consistent play.
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Function
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At first, alphabet games should help a child begin to recognize the letters of the alphabet when they see them, then to learn the name for each symbol, both capital and lower case, upon sight. Once being able to name the letters, a child can move on to learning to put the letters in order, such as the alphabet, or putting them together and memorizing sequences for simple words, such as "c-a-t" and "d-o-g." Once a child has mastered identifying his letters, he moves on to learning that each letter has its own sound, which is the beginning of phonics.
Time Frame
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Children's ability to begin connecting letter symbols with their names and sounds can come at different ages. Most children will begin to recognize and name at least some letters at age three or four. Some children can learn to recognize all the letters of the alphabet as early as age of two, while others may not be ready until they are five. This is all still well within the range of normal, so don't be discouraged if your child shows little interest or still makes mistakes after several months of trying.
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Types
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Board games, building blocks, flash cards and puzzles are a great way to introduce a child to the letters of the alphabet. If you want to go high tech, there are computer programs aimed at toddlers, many with familiar characters from shows like "Blues Clues" and "Sesame Street" in which you can help your child click on a letter to hear it's name and sound, or guess letters in a sequence. If you prefer to go low tech, you can make or print out your own letters, color them, hang them on the wall, sing the alphabet song together and point out letters on street signs, magazines and books.
Benefits
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Learning to recognize and name the letters of the alphabet is a great way to help a child approach reading readiness. These mental exercises also help to form connections in a child's brain, called synapses, which improves memory, increases their capacity to learn and fosters cognitive development. Finally, taking time out to play with your child promotes bonding, improves creativity and prevents children from relying on less engaging forms of entertainment, such as television shows.
Warning
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The whole point of alphabet games is to stimulate your child in a fun way. Don't show frustration or anger towards your child if they are not learning quickly enough. If they enjoy playing, just keep doing so and don't worry about mistakes. Eventually, it will begin to click. If you have to nag your child to play, or if playing becomes stressful or a power struggle, consider letting it go for a few weeks or months. You don't want your child to associate learning the alphabet with unpleasant experiences.
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Resources
- Photo Credit bies at sxc.hu
