Beginning Sounds

The time is almost here!

I can't believe how quickly it came!

READING!!!

Macy is now interested in letters, their sounds, and how things are spelled...oh, exciting times are sure to follow!  When we are riding in the car, she asks what letter everything we pass starts with.  Then, we have to say the word accenting the first sound.  Then, she wants me to spell it for her.  

She has also really enjoyed Old MacDonald had a Farm lately, so we are spelling all of the animals in the song, too.  She can't get enough of spelling!

For an active activity at home, I took out the trusty alphabet blocks and some of her favorite items from around the house.  I give her an item, and she has to decide which sound/letter it starts with.  I only give her 3 or 4 letter/sound block choices at a time to make it a little easier but still challenging.  

Tomorrow, I plan on playing I spy with her using beginning sounds.  I spy with my little eyes something that starts with the b sound, etc.

Computer games are a favorite at our house, so here is a link to some letter/sound games that are pretty easy to navigate for a preschooler...who am I kidding, she can navigate this computer better than I can sometimes!      

      Happy Reading!  

Ten for Tuesday ~ Our Favorite ABC Books

1. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
2. Arf! Beg! Catch! Dogs From A to Z by Henry Horenstein
3. Shiver Me Letters:  A Pirate ABC by June Sobel
4. Animal Antics:  A to Z by Anita Lobel
5. The Turn-Around, Upside-Down Alphabet Book by Lisa Campbell Ernst
6. Dr. Seuss's ABC
7. Hooper Humperdink...Not Him!  by Dr. Seuss
8. The Alphabet Book by P.D. Eastman
9. A was Once an Apple Pie by Edward Lear
10. Alphabet Soup by Scott Gustafson

ABC Match-ups

One of our favorite rainy day activities is a simple ABC matching game.  

We use my old alphabet cards...ya know the ones that teachers put up above the chalkboard that go all the way across the wall A to Z...and some alphabet blocks.  Our blocks happen to be clear and have an object in the middle that starts with the corresponding letter, but any alphabet blocks will do.

First, you mix up the alphabet cards and then have your child help spread them out in the correct order all the way across the room or down the hall and around the corner...whatever works in your home.  After that's finished, you take out one alphabet block at a time and have your kiddo find the match.  She places it on the matching alphabet card and runs back to get another block until every card has a matching block.

This takes about 45 minutes at our house and for some reason has yet to lose its interest...probably because they are never in the same order twice or we make the line go into different rooms...I don't know, but it works!  It takes up a lot of energy for your kiddo to run back and forth to get another block,

which is why it is a great rainy day activity.  

Hope you enjoy this Teachable Moment!

We sure do!!!

Jayme  

Weekend Extension ~ What's in a Name?

Macy has been really into her name lately.  As most kids are, she is proud of each letter in her name.  She loves to point out each word that has letters like hers.  "Mommy, that word has a C just like my name!" she will say.  So, with all the excitement about the ABC's (I mean the M-A-C-Y's) I can't help but try to encourage and extend her love of letters!

Here are some ideas to encourage your little letter lovers to enjoy their precious names even more...

• Write her name out really BIG, laminate it, and then give her Wikki Stixs or playdough to practice making the letters over the top of your writing.  This is also a great fine motor skill for kiddos with disabilities.
• Look in magazines together to find and cut out each letter in his name.  Then glue them on paper.
• Play I-Spy in the grocery store or riding in the car to find letters.  See how many times you can find each letter.
• Let her write her name in shaving cream or pudding on the table.
• Make a book.  Put each letter in his name at the top of a page.  Then, let him find words that start with each letter to put on the corresponding page.
• Make "bean letters" by writing her name in glue and then have her place beans on the glue. (another great fine motor activity)
• If you don't have an aversion to glitter, write his name in glue, and then let him shake glitter all over it. 

Letter exploration is one of my favorite Teachable Moments...enjoy the pride that each letter brings!