Fun ways to help your child learn the ABC’s

If you want your little one to get a head start on reading, then you can help them learn the alphabet from a young age. There’s no harm in teaching your toddler a little bit every day, especially if you make it fun!

Play-Doh

If there’s one thing kids can’t get enough of, it’s Play-Doh. During playtime, sit next to your toddler and help them cut out the letters of the alphabet. You can even play the ABC song in the background and sing with your little tot.

Get toys that teach the alphabet

When you buy new toys for your toddler, try to get ones that have an ABC theme. Since most children love new toys, it’s quite likely he or she will be playing with them a lot. This will help your child get plenty of exposure to the ABC’s.

Letter of the week

Choose a letter of the alphabet at the start of each week and base learning activities around that letter. This could mean making a collage of things that begin with that letter or trying to pronounce it the right way.  This is a great way of slowly building up your child’s knowledge of the alphabet.

Memory game

Write a letter on a piece of paper and use a safety pin to pin it onto your child’s top in the morning. Every now and again, ask them what the letter is and say, ‘This is__, can you say __?’ Don’t forget to give them plenty of hugs and kisses for the effort they put into saying the letter correctly.

Foam letters

Replace that rubber ducky with one or two foam letters. While you give your little one a bath, call each letter by name. For the letter A you can say, ‘The A is swimming in the bath with you, can you say A?’ use new letters every time your little one takes a bath.

Remember, not all children learn at the same pace so don’t get too bogged down on all the details, have fun with it!