As mentioned in parts 1 & 2, some familiarity with the alphabet is an important part of readiness for kindergarten. As adults, we think that kids only have to learn 26 letters to know the alphabet. Watch this math…
There are 26 letter names + 26 letter sounds + 26 letter shapes which make 78. Now, multiply that by 2 because there are both upper and lower case and suddenly the total has grown to 156. Printed letters come in all different sizes, colors and styles making countless variations. Voices can be high, low, loud, soft etc. so letter sounds can have a huge variety, too. As if that’s not enough, number squiggles add interference. Do you understand why the alphabet is such a big learning task and why kids need to have lots and lots and lots of experiences with letter names, sounds and shapes before they figure it all out? Flash cards will not cover the variety and depth needed. Kids need songs, books, stories, pictures, fridge magnets, puzzles, play clay, chalk, paints, crayons, stamps, crafts and more to help them with this monumental chunk of learning.They will need some same old, same old repetition and some different new, different new–and fun–experiences.
An effective strategy to help your little one with this kindergarten readiness activity can be to explore just one letter in many ways. Since pumpkin has two P’s it’s great for the letter P. What does it look like (Part 1) what does it sound like (Part 2) and how do we make it (Part 3). Using a big piece of paper trace out a letter P and let your child draw inside it using lots of different colors: a straight line down and a bump around. Say the letter in a few different ways. Try crayons, markers, or paints. This makes a rainbow inside the letter P. Maybe pumpkins are another sort of learning treasure at the end of the rainbow?