As kids, one of the most important things we learn is the alphabets and letters. This is important to learn as most of our written language is based on alphabets and letters. Reading development is based on the understanding of alphabets and letters. Every language has got alphabets and letters, but it's essential to know the difference between the two.
Alphabets is a set of letters arranged in a fixed pattern/order that is used for a writing system.
The English language has 26 alphabets.
The Russian language has 33 alphabets.
The Greek language has 24 alphabets.
The Latin language has 23 alphabets.
The Arabic language has 28 alphabets.
The letter is a symbol that represents a sound in its written form. Letters are building blocks of any written language. Some examples of alphabets from the respective language are :
English - C D E L
Russian – РБ РЗ
Greek – Α Δ Θ Λ
Latin – C D K L
Arabic – ا جـ سـ ضـ
A letter is a single symbol within the alphabets, whereas alphabets are the collection of letters in order.
Letters make words; words make sentences, sentences make language; language helps in communicating with the world.
Teaching the alphabets is the foundation for reading and writing. Here are some of my favourite ways to teach the alphabets and letters to the little ones.
1.Alphabet Songs: Singing alphabet songs to your child will introduce the letters to them in a fun way. Start singing the alphabet songs to them at an early age. Youtube is the most accessible source to find such songs.
2.Alphabet books: Plenty of alphabet books are available in bookstores. Pick the ones that have alphabets with bigger images. Read them to your children at an early age. Try to pick up hard cardboard books which are non-tear able and good to handle with kids. You can also download and print the "Alphabets Reading" from our worksheet section and get them laminated.
3.Sandpaper letters: Take sandpaper, cut out the letter shapes and paste these cut-outs on thick colourful sheet. Now, trace the letter with your finger and say it. Ask the child to follow you in doing so. This is an easy way to teach formation, and the children will learn identification too.
4.Alphabet puzzle boards: The educational toy shops carry a variety of such boards. Get one such board and start using it with the child. You can call out an alphabet and ask the child to pick that up from the board or ask the child to put up that alphabet on the board. Along with identification, this activity will help in improving the fine motor skills as well.
5.Letter colouring: Draw big size alphabets on A4 sheet paper (not more than 4 alphabets on one sheet) and call out any alphabet on a sheet. Ask the child to colour that alphabet with crayon or a pencil colour. The child will again learn the alphabet and improve fine motor too. One such activity is available on our worksheets section.
6.Letter painting: As the next level to the last activity, draw large alphabets on A4 sheets (only one alphabet per sheet). Name an alphabet and ask the child to pick up that sheet. If he is not able to do so, you can help him. Provide some paint colours and paintbrush to the child. Now, ask him/her to paint that alphabet. This can be a messy activity but will be fun as the child will learn colours also, and learning is essential to some mess. You may let the child use his/her finger to colour if they are not comfortable with the brush. Feel free to download the worksheet related to this activity from our worksheet section.
7.Letter Art: Prepare or download other copies of the sheets from activity 6. Take some paper stickers/bindi and prompt the child to paste them on the chosen alphabet. This is again a fun way to learn.
8.Alphabet stamps: Inexpensive alphabet stamps (A-Z) are readily available at educational toy shops, or you may order online. Ask the child to pick up the stamps of the prompted alphabet and mark them on a paper. Next step to this will be writing the child's name using these stamps. The child will learn alphabet identification, arranging them in order, improve fine motor and learn name identification.
9.Letter mat: Take a pack of unprinted visiting cards and write A-Z alphabets on one side. Now lay them in order like a mat on floor or table. Read out the alphabets to the child and then ask him to readout. Now place the cards upside down the same way. Pick up one card and call out the alphabet. Ask the child to pick up another card and identify the alphabet. Keep playing one by one till all the alphabets are called out. You may repeat if the child is enjoying the activity.
If visiting cards are not available, you can cut square/rectangular pieces of thick paper and use them.
10. Letters play dough: Take another set of worksheets used in activity 6. Take some playdough and ask the child to trace the alphabets one by one (A-Z) using playdough on the worksheets.
11.Alphabet cookies: These days multicoloured alphabet shaped cookies are available at almost all the bakery shops. Buy a few packs. Now put alphabets A-Z in a plate and prompt the child to eat the cookie named by you. This is another fun way to make the child learn while eating.
12.Prepacked food alphabets: Many companies manufacture alphabet shaped foods like pasta (alfabeto), alphabet soup, cereals and crackers. Some such brands are Heinz, Barilla etc. You can buy some of these and make the child learn while they eat.
13.Tomato ketchup/jam alphabets: Take a squeeze bottle and fill it with some tomato ketchup or jam. Now ask the child to draw alphabets in a plate using ketchup/jam. If they are not able to do so, you can draw, and the child will identify. As a reward, he/she gets to eat that ketchup/jam.
14.Sand tray: Take a square or rectangular tray with lid. Put some sand in it and make wet. Now, draw alphabets using a finger on the damp sand. Ask the child to repeat. This will make the child learn drawing the alphabet and strengthens the fingers. When not in use, replace the lid on the tray and store away.
15.Letter hunt: Cut out A-Z alphabets on cardboard, or you may obtain readymade as well. Put then in a small sack of cloth. Ask the child to fetch one alphabet at a time and name it.
16.Alphabet balloons: Take small balloons and blow them up with air. Write alphabets with permanent marker on the balloons. Put them in a tub/bucket and ask the child to fetch one by one and identify the alphabets. Or you may name an alphabet and ask the child to search for it. Keep playing until the child enjoys in a single session.
These are some of the ways to make the child learn in a fun way. I hope it will help you in your child's learning journey. Feel free to write to us for more details and watch out this space for more useful tips.
