Alphabet

My thoughts on teaching the ALPHABET...
Some theories state that the alphabet should not be taught as "letters" and in the order of symbol to sound but instead they should be taught as "sound pictures" and in the order of sound to symbol. In simpler words, "d" would not be a d (dee) but it would be a d (as in the first sound of dog).  I like a lot of the research that this theory is based from and I think it is valuable when teaching kids to read (ages 4-7). I also think though that it is beneficial for kids to be exposed to the alphabet as a pre-reading skill (ages 3-4) and find it very helpful if kids are aware of the letters and some of the sounds that they can make. This way when they begin to learn how to read you can show them combinations of letters and the different sounds they can make. With this being said, when I introduce a letter I discuss that the letter name and the sound(s). We also look at uppercase and lowercase letters (there is of course different opinions out there on this - my experience is that kids are like sponges and it is best to exposed them to both).

We are adding to our list of letters in the alphabet but here is what we have so far. If the links are colored then you can see the post. If it is not then it is coming soon.

Enjoy,
Sara
p.s. I would love to hear your comments!

A - Apple Prints (and alligators)
B - Bubble Prints (and bubble experiments)
C - Corn
D - Dot Candies (and dot trees)
E - Eggshells (and elephants)
F -  Feathers
G - Gum (and groundhog's day)
H - Hearts (and a hippo and heart hunt)
I - Insects (and igloos)
J - Jello Jellyfish (and jellybeans & jam)
K - Keys (and kites & kool-aid art)
L - Leaves
M - Marbled Mittens (and mazes & monsters)
N - Noodles (and numbers)
O - Octopus (and O's)
P - Pumpkin Prints (and pumpkin decorating)
Q - Q-tips (and quarters)
R - Rocks (and rockets)
S - Seeds
T - Tire Track Painting (and tracks in the snow)
V - Veggie Prints (and vegetable planting)
W - Worms
X - X-rays
Y - Yarn
Z -Zippers (and zig zags)

Check out Teaching Little Ones at Home for her great Alphabet Roll and Graph Printable Game - I love it!