"K" June 14, 2013
"A" (and "K" review) June 19, 2013
"T" June 23, 2013
"Y" June 26, 2013
"K-A-T-Y" June 26, 2013
At the end of Preschool I had been noticing that Katy is a bit behind her peers when it comes to letter recognition. She knows the alphabet song and can sing it with gusto! She can verbally tell you the letters (in order) that make up her name. However, when it comes to knowing the difference (and pointing to the correct letter) between an "A" or a "B," she's clueless.
I'm not saying that she's unintelligent. That's hardly the case- Katy correctly uses words like, "apothecary," "exquisite," and "scrumptious" in sentences on a regular basis- seriously! Instead of saying that something is, "yummy," she tells us that it's "delectable." We dine "al fresco," not just "outside." I'm telling you, this girl has an extensive vocabulary! Also, the girl has a personal library that rivals some public library's children's sections, so it certainly isn't due to lack of exposure to letters, books and/or the written word.
Up until this point, I haven't really pushed it. I figured, she's a smart girl (too smart for OUR own good!), she'll get it eventually... Mostly, though, I just think it just boils down to the fact that she's just not INTERESTED in learning her letters. I don't want to go all "Tiger Mom" on her, but I do want her to have a good foundation.
So, after talking it over with my reading-coach mother (thanks, Mom!), I decided to start introducing a new letter, each week. Since she is already somewhat familiar with the letters that make up her name, I decided to start there.
I broke out the alphabet flashcards and prominently display the letter of the week. I cleared off a shelf in her playroom to display books that are either about the letter of the week and/or have a lot of that week's letter in the book. I got an alphabet border from the dollar store and put it up at Katy's eye-level. Then, occasionally through the day, I ask her to point to the letter that we are working on.
For each letter, I use these printables for Katy to practice writing the letter of the week. I also use these printables to help Katy get used to consistently identify the specific letter we are working on.
Since starting this educational adventure, I've learned that Katy is an auditory learner. So, I try to verbally say the letters out loud, throughout the day. I also give her something to associate with the letter. For example, "K is for Katy," "A is for Apple." While reading books out loud to her, I ask Katy to look at the words and point out the letter that we are working on. Also, I'm trying to be more active about pointing out letters when we are doing everyday things (on signs, on menus, etc.)
We don't spend a whole lot of time on any one activity. We aren't super stringent on the order of things, either. For now, the goal is to get her to recognize letters and be able to writer he name. Mostly, we're just trying to incorporate letters more and more into our daily dialogue.
Depending on the letter and Katy's comprehension of it, we can either spend more or less than a week on any one letter. It's not a science and I don't want it to be a drudgery for Katy.
So far, though, I'd say that Katy is progressing nicely...
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