“Does My Child Know—Really Know—the ABCs?”
When children are toddlers and preschoolers, parents often like to teach them little tricks to show off how smart or talented they are. Sometimes it’s throwing a ball. Sometimes it’s making the sound of an animal or giving a high five. One of those things is singing the ABC song—but is it ENOUGH?
Let’s think about it for a minute. Just like when a child learns to count, there will be some content that is reversed or accidentally skipped over. For example, your child might sing, “A, B, C, D, E, F, G, K, L, M. . .” We know that MOST young children get a little confused on the “L, M, N, O, P” part too. The ABC song is such a part of our culture that many of us haven’t stopped to think, “Is there another way?”
Now, I’m not saying, “DON’T TEACH THE ABC SONG!” I like tradition. I have many positive memories singing it as a child. However, even if your child can flawlessly sing the song, it really only means that your child knows the ABC order. That’s it.
It does NOT mean your child can recognize upper and lowercase letters.
It does NOT mean your child knows the letter sounds.
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So, that’s it. That’s the main point of this post: Singing the traditional ABC song does NOT mean your child knows the alphabet. It does not mean you’ve done enough practice. It’s a fine thing to do—especially if it gets your child excited about learning, but there is so much more needed to learn the ABC’s.
Here are a few tips:
Find other songs that include the letter sounds.
LeapFrog’s The Letter Factory cartoon is about a half hour cartoon that walks through every letter and its primary sound. There is singing, dancing, and exposure to both upper and lowercase sounds. I own the DVD, but you can stream it or find it on YouTube. One friend of mine played it in her car’s DVD player the entire summer and her child had learned the alphabet and letter sounds before starting school. What a great advantage!
Another wonderful resource for ABC songs is by KidsTv123. You can purchase the songs on the website. You can also watch animations with the songs on the KidsTv123 YouTube Channel. I think that my very favorite is “Phonics Song 2.” Not only does it go through every primary sound the letters make, but it also gives a key word/image to help attach the sounds to the particular letters. It’s like having an ABC chart in your head! There is a playlist just for ABC songs on the channel in case you get tired of hearing the same one over and over.
If you would like ideas compiled and ready to go, be sure to check out my Busy Mom’s Guide for Teaching the ABCs!
2. Play with 3 D letters
You may use letter blocks, letter magnets, foam bath letters, wiki sticks (wax coated yarn), or play doh. Picking up the letters and playing will help familiarize your child with the shape, its orientation, and provide more opportunities to talk and ask questions about the letters and sounds.
Letter blocks can sit in your living room for stacking and play.
Letter magnets can stay on your refrigerator for play and experimenting with sounds.
Wiki sticks are easily carried around in a ziplock bag in your diaper bag or purse for quiet times to entertain your child.
Foam bath letters assure that your child gets letter practice every time they take a bath.
Do you see how these few products can help you out in learning letters from lots of play and exposure?
3. Find letters in your child’s environment
From the cereal box to books on the shelf to road signs—there are letters all around us! Don’t let them be a mystery to your little one. Play simple I-Spy games where you go searching for the letters around you. This will be something fun to do—even if you’re riding down the road—and can engage several children at one time. Not only that, it will help your child become familiar with various types of fonts. You can even extend the learning by searching for items that start with the same sound.
Letters in your child’s environment also include names in your family! Use the refrigerator letters or blocks or foam letters to spell your child’s name or “Mom” or “Dad.”
4. Show how the letters are useful.
This is basic, basic, basic! We read and write every single day. Involve your child. Read out loud when you read your recipe or directions. Let your child see you write down a shopping list or a to-do list or even a greeting card! When you are purposefully doing those things in front of your child, the natural inclination is for your child to imitate you (leading to wanting to learn the ABCs to do so).
My newest course “A Busy Mom’s Guide for Teaching Your Child to Read” is going to be released soon! It will walk you through the next steps after your child learns the ABCs. Follow The Parent Teacher Bridge on Facebook and Instagram. You can also join my mailing list here.
Be sure to visit my YouTube channel for more ideas!
My Instagram shows our journeys as a homeschool family always learning.
Remember, you are your child’s most influential teacher.