How to Start Teaching the Alphabet to Toddlers?
Understanding and learning the alphabet are the most fundamental step in the journey of any youngling. It is the moment when kids start to put words and connect concepts to the world they see before them. On the surface, it might seem like a simple task, but it requires a lot of effort and reinforced learning to fully grasp the A’s, B’s, and C’s. This article discusses some of the techniques through which little toddlers can learn alphabetical order.
Learning through Sounds of Music.
Music can be a powerful learning tool in nursery school as just hearing alone, and an infant kid says their first words in the world. The rhythm of songs helps kids memorise the words faster and creates connectivity. The word A comes first, then B, then C, and so forth. You can use traditional ABC songs and then songs with irregular rhyming, which creates an equal imprint on the minds of younglings.
Understanding the shapes
Alphabets are an important part of the visual learning of toddlers as it helps them associate meaning to the shapes. You can use their basic perception of depth and how things look into identifying each letter individually. Try to create fun games such as putting the letter D into a plastic-shaped D-hole, helping tots connect dots.
Focusing on Individual letters
Kids can have a fragile memory with many visual items out of sight and mind. It makes learning more about consistent reinforcement by simplifying focusing on letters for some time. For example, teachers at international schools in Pune celebrate a single alphabet and emphasise it.
Asking kids to connect words
At some point, once kids get a basic sense of the alphabet, it’s time to ask them questions that force them to come up with answers. What word starts with the letter E? What words begin with the letter M? They have to access their previous learning in nursery school and understand the context of the question to answer.
Teaching through variation
Once one starts to understand the alphabet, it’s time to introduce some complexities, such as teaching them lowercase alphabets. Here, the kids will have to rely on their sense of memory and understanding to adapt to these new letters. You can even introduce phonetic words which resemble alphabets, such as sea laugh but do not have C or F in them. All this ensures that they have to think hard about it and understand the nuances of language.
Let kids create letters.
If there’s one thing kids love the most, tasty treats or introducing them to the idea of arts and crafts to create letters. In some Pune international schools, kids create alphabets using clay or baked foods. These fun activities further make learning the alphabet more active than passive learning.
Final Thoughts
While Alphabets for adults might seem like a small thing for young toddlers, they lay the basic foundation of their future learning. It is essential to be empathetic and put yourself in the kids’ shoes. The best form of learning always happens when teachers teach and use methods while considering a student’s previous knowledge base.
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