Learning to Read – Alphabet Lessons

November 10, 2013 · By ·

Alphabets
One of the ways to get your child started on learning how to read is to learn to recognise the alphabets. Apart from knowing the form of each letter, children need to learn and use the Alphabetic Principle, i.e., system of letters associated with a series of sounds, to acquire phonemic awareness.
Phonics instruction is an essential ingredient in early reading instruction. The majority of English words are phonetically regular, thus teaching the most common sound-spelling relationship is extremely useful for readers. When children are able to learn the relationships between letter and sounds, most of them will be able to successfully decode words and English words become accessible to them in print.
So when should you introduce alphabets to your child? From 2 years old to 4 years old, language is developing very quickly. Thus it is the best time to provide children with experiences that are relate to the development of phonics and literacy. 
Alphabet lessons at home should not be just based on the child’s age, but on the readiness of each child. Each child differs in their rate of progress, some 3 year olds will be able to work happily on phonic activities while some others will prefer to work on kinesthetic activities and craft. Some 3 year olds will immediately show that they understand the idea of the sound, while some others will not. It is important that the parent offers a hands-on experience that a young child will enjoy, with no pressure and no failure.
Alphabet activties
The best method of introducing the alphabet or teaching reading is that it is delivered through a pressure-free, enjoyable multi-sensory experience; incorporating visual, auditory and kinesthetic elements. There is no need to introduce sounds in an alphabetical order, start with easily recognisable sounds that begin familiar words related to interesting objects and concepts.
View this video to learn the individual letter sounds for all the alphabet :
For more alphabet phonic practice, drop by these interactive sites online:
– Starfall: Click on letters and hear the sounds and words beginning with the letter
– Chicken Coop : Practice Phoneme matching
– Sounds Fun : Click on the alphabet for the right sounds
 
And here are some of my alphabet lessons introducing alphabets to my son, K :
– Letter F
– Letter M
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Sensory Experiences and Sand Play

November 8, 2013 · By ·

Sand1

Sensory experiences are very appealing to young children, they delight in the feeling, seeing, smelling, listening and it give hands-on experiences with various materials, by manipulating the materials through placing, pouring, tipping as well as shoving. It can be therapeutic for children, as the tactile play with the materials allows them to express feelings that they may be too young to verbalise.

Sand and other materials
You can get sand cheaply at from plant nurseries but if you want it sterilised, it will be better to get the more expensive ones from toy shops. You can sterilise it yourself but I don’t recommend it as it can be quite tedious. You do not need to buy a designated sand tray, however it has to be large. Other containers that you can use include baby bathtub, large storage containers, inflatable wading pool or even an unused cat litter tray.
There are also many material options to replace sand; materials like rice, beans, corn, uncooked pasta, gravel, shredded newspapers/paper. However my preference is still to use sand as it is a versatile material.
– Sand is portable, so children can find many ways to push, pull, pour in and out of containers, shovel and pour it out of funnels
– When sand is wet, it changes colour, and it can be shaped, the finer the sand the more intricate the shapes can be
– When water evaporates from a structure made with sand, it collapses and when too much water is added, structures do not hold their shapes
 
Ideas for Sand Play :
Dry sand
Sand2

1. Provide containers of all shapes and sizes, some funnels, moulds, scoops and spoons
– these can be used for exploring the properties of sand, for counting activities, looking at shapes and comparing weights and length.
– learn about new vocabulary used in capacity, such as ‘more/less than’, ’empty and full’.
 
2. Stimulate imaginative play by introducing animals, dinosaurs, play people and farm animal figurines to the sand. 
3. Play treasure hunt and bury items in the sand for the child to locate using their hands. 
4. Pre-writing activities (can also be done with wet sand)
– Put a small amount of sand in a tray, smooth is out with a ruler. Show your child how to write and draw with his/her fingers.
– Give him/her a stick, tooth brush or paintbrush to practice letters, numbers, shapes and patterns. 
5. Use a sifter or a panty hose (this is good for very fine sifting) to sift the sand.
 
Wet Sand
1. Use spoons, recycled plastic food containers, sand moulds pat down with sand, turn upside down to make castles. 
2. Use Legos or other toys to make imprints in the sand. 
3. Collect a few stones, twigs, seashelles to make a sand garden. 
4. Use toy tea set and have a sand tea party. 
5. Use toy diggers and dumptrucks to transfer sand from one place to another.
 
Extend children’s thinking with these questions :
– What will happen if we mix sand and water?
– What will happen to the sand if we add different amounts of water?
– What tools can you use to move sand from one place to another?
– What are the words we can use to describe dry sand/wet sand? 
Sand and other sensory experiences can give your child hours of fun playing and learning. It might get a tad bit messy with sand and water spilled on the floor, nevertheless, you can extend the play by getting the child to help you clean up thereafter. Have fun!
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Learning with Playdough

November 1, 2013 · By ·

Playdoughpic recipe
Playdough is not just a “fun” activity for children, as it also provides hands-on, active-learning experience, supports children’s growth and learning in many areas.
Children learn about math concepts through their experiences with playdough, especially when children are given the opportunity to help make their own playdough. Parents can read out or draft out the recipe, encourage them to follow the recipe and gain learning opportunities in the areas of measuring and counting. When playing with playdough, children make observations about the shape, size, notice who has more or less playdough and count how many pieces they have.
These experiences encourages children to practice skills with the math concepts of numbers, operations, geometry and even spatial sense, all of which will help prepare them for later, more complex math concepts.

In the areas of social and emotional development, the use of playdough in play helps very young children gain a sense of competence; children often express pride in their creations when they use playdough in purposeful ways (e.g., “Look mommy! I made a pizza!”). By playing and pounding their hands on Playdough, children can also use it as a healthy and safe outlet for releasing extra energy and expressing their feelings.
Playdough allows children to practise their fine motor skills. Children use their hands and fingers to pound, poke, flatten, role, cut. These activities help children develop better eye-hand coordination, control and dexterity with their hands, which will be critical skills they will need for writing and drawing. Playdough also allows children to express themselves through art.
Playdough also helps children build literacy skills. By following the above play dough recipe, they acquire valuable experience with print awareness and early writing concepts and make the connections between printed and spoken words. There are also many ways to extend literacy learning; like introduce new descriptive words in conversation during play and practice pre-writing skills by making playdough alphabet letter snakes (letter templates are found here).  
Screen Shot 2014 07 08 at 1 39 27 PM
It is not only an enjoyable open-ended material but also contributes to numerous areas in a child’s learning and development. Playdough can be top of you and your child’s learning through play’s list of things to do! 
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