February 13, 2013

How can I teach my preschooler how to correctly write letters? How can I make it fun for my kid to learn how to write letters?

Preschoolers can learn how to write letters in many different ways, but my favorite way to teach letter formation is through sensory experiences. To do this, you will need several different materials. First, you will need a letter formation prompt sheet. You can use the one designed by me or you can find another one that you like. Handwriting without Tears has a helpful prompt sheet.

As your child makes each letter, he or she should say the prompt out loud. After saying the prompt and making the letter, he will then make a small dot or press a sticker as he says the letter name. There is a video example at the end of this post. I choose two different sensory experiences each day to help my preschoolers learn how to write letters. First, they trace or make the letter with their finger and then they actually write the letter with a different writing utensil. Here are the 10 sensory writing activities that I use to teach correct letter formation. Each of them will be further explained below.

Tracing or Making the Letter

• Salt Tray
• White Crayon on Black Construction Paper
• Shaving Cream
• Puffy Paint Letter or Sandpaper Letter
• Play dough

Writing the Letter

• Chalk on Chalkboard
• Glow Slate
• Whiteboard
• Bathtub crayons
• Stay inside the Highlighter Lines

Salt Tray

Just fill a pie tin with enough salt to cover the bottom completely.

White Crayon on Black Construction paper

Write a letter with a white crayon on black construction paper and have your child trace the letter with his finger.

Shaving Cream

Pump a small amount of shaving cream inside of a small cookie sheet. Have your child spread the shaving cream around with his hand so that it covers the bottom of the cookie sheet.

Puffy Paint Letter or Sandpaper Letter

Use this puffy paint letter cards tutorial or, if you have sandpaper letters, use those.

Play dough

Have your child roll some play dough into a long roll. He will then use to make the letter. I usually have Little Bear put the letter on a alphabet play dough mat (like these snow playdough mats) for a reference to make the letter.

Chalk on Chalkboard

Have your child use chalk to write the letter on a small chalkboard.

Glow Slate

I got one of these glow slates from the dollar store. Your child can use the included “pen” to write the letters.

Whiteboard

When I do this with Little Bear, I have him write the letter on our whiteboard that hangs on the wall. This gives him practice writing on a vertical surface which is really great for development. With my preschool class, I just give each student an individual whiteboard (or piece of white construction paper inside a sheet protector).

Bathtub Crayons

Either buy bathtub crayons, or use this bathtub crayon tutorial. You child can write the letters on the wall of your bathtub, or he or she can just write on the back of a pie tin.

Stay inside the Highlighter Lines

Write the letter with a highlighter and make sure the line is somewhat thick. Have your preschooler write with a pen or pencil over the highlighter, taking care to stay in the lines.

These sensory activities have really helped Little Bear learn how to write letters. It is important for your child to say the prompt as he writes because that will help him associate the direction the pencil should move with the way the letter should look. Little Bear’s favorite activity is the shaving cream. He laughs every time he touches it. He also likes using the bathtub crayons because we usually go into the bathroom when he uses them and anything different from “normal” is always fun. These great sensory experiences have not only helped Little Bear learn how to write letters correctly, but they have made the process fun!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

January 16, 2013

What is an alternative to sandpaper Montessori letters that will help with learning the letters?

It seems like there is a huge Montessori movement right now and honestly, it’s for a good reason. Plenty of Montessori materials and ideas are extremely helpful for young children. A very popular material is a set of sandpaper Montessori letters. Sandpaper letters are great because they give a tactile experience to learning the letters.

My only problem with Montessori letters is the expense. They are awesome and I wish I had $35 to spend just on sandpaper letters, but I don’t. So, naturally, I looked around for an alternative because learning the letters is hugely important to a child’s success in school. I found a great idea to make letters with puffy paint.

This idea appealed to me greatly because the recipe for puffy paint only includes flour, salt, water, and food coloring. Woohoo! You can’t get cheaper than that. Check out the puffy paint letter tutorial from Train Up a Child Learn as We Go for more specific instructions.

As much as I loved this idea, I did change it up a tiny bit. First off, I do not have an artist’s hand. My handwriting is not terrible, but creating beautiful letters by hand the first time is definitely not something I trusted myself to do. I’m also a little OCD so the letters did indeed have to be beautifully perfect. Little Bear is just learning the letters after all. I want the example letters to be perfect. Luckily, I found a simple solution to this problem. I made a simple printable template for puffy paint letter cards. I printed the template on cardstock and then just squeezed the paint over the letters until they were completely covered. Now my letters were all the same size and formed perfectly straight.

I went back and forth trying to decide if I wanted my vowels a different color or not. The vowels are a different color in the tutorial, but I haven’t introduced the concept of vowels to Little Bear yet. I ultimately decided that now is as good a time as any to teach the concept of vowels and I made the vowels red and consonants blue.

Once the puffy paint letters were all dry, I cut out the squares and they were ready to use. This was a very simple process to get an alternative for sandpaper Montessori letters. I actually made this set of letters a few months ago and honestly, they really do help with learning the letters. Little Bear loves the feel of the letters and enjoys going over each one multiple times. I love that he is learning the letters and doesn’t even realize it. ;)

These puffy paint letter cards have held up very well to frequent use. Little Bear is learning the letters with ease. He has been able to recognize them for years now, but his letter formation is getting much better. Check for a post coming up for more ways to practice letter formation.

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me

January 3, 2013

What is a color game that my toddler and preschooler can play?

With all these color games I’ve been making for Smiley Man, I knew it was only a matter of time before I made some color puzzles. They are finally finished and I think they turned out very well. I really like them because of how age versatile they are. I can use them in lots of different ways for Smiley Man who isn’t even 2. Plus it is going to be part of my tot school with Smiley Man! However, since they have the color words on them, these puzzles are also perfect for Little Bear who is well over 4 ½.

To use these color puzzles, first print them in color (or print out the black and white version and color them) and then cut on all of the black lines. You will end up with 12 puzzles that have 3 parts each. I also laminated the puzzle pieces, but that is purely optional. If you want more durability, you could also print the puzzles on cardstock or cover the pieces with contact paper or packing tape. So far, we use these 3 part color puzzles in lots of different ways. Here are several ways to play for your toddler or preschooler:

Sorting

Put all of the puzzle pieces into a pile and have your child sort the pieces by color. With Smiley Man I only put the pieces for 2-3 color puzzles in the beginning pile. When Little Bear plays this game, I put all of the pieces in the beginning pile.

Matching

Put all of the puzzle pieces in a pile. When I play this with Smiley Man, I only include 2-3 colors in the beginning pile. Pick up one puzzle piece and name the color. Ask your child to find another piece that is the same color. Continue until all the pieces from the pile are gone. When I play this with Little Bear, all of the puzzles pieces for all of the colors are in the beginning pile. I pick up a puzzle piece and Little Bear has to name it. I then ask him to find both of the pieces that match that color. Continue until all the pieces from the pile are gone.

Color Find

Put the puzzle pieces in a pile (for Smiley I only include 2-3 colors, for Little Bear I include all the colors). Ask your child to pick out a red piece (or whatever color). Continue asking for specific pieces until all of the pieces from the beginning pile are gone.

Put the Puzzle Together

Have the puzzle pieces out and have your child put them together. For Smiley Man, I only put out one color at a time. I put all three pieces for one color in a pile and I allow Smiley Man to put them together correctly. When he is done, I give him all the pieces for the next color. When Little Bear plays this, all of the puzzle pieces are in a pile. Little Bear sorts the pieces by color first, then he completes the puzzle.

This is the preschooler version:

Write the Color Words

This game is for preschoolers only. After your child has put together all of the puzzles, have them get a blank piece of paper. Have them pick out a crayon that matches one of the puzzles, then have them practice writing that color word on the blank piece of paper. Continue until your child has written all the color words with the correct color of crayon.

This has been a really great color game so far and I love that Little Bear can do so much with the color puzzles. He knows his colors really well, but he still enjoys practicing them. I just want to mention that I do not in any way expect Smiley Man to recognize the name of the colors. These puzzles are giving him exposure to letters, but I do not expect anything beyond that. Be sure to print off your 3 part color puzzles and don’t forget to check out all of my other color games!

Check out 1+1+1=1 for even more tot school ideas!

We've found some fun people with great linky parties. You might just see this post linked up on one of these amazing sites! Link and Learn from No Time for Flashcards Sunday Showcase from Train Up a Child Share it Saturday from Teach Beside Me Tot School Gathering Place from 1+1+1=1 Montessori Monday from Living Montessori Now Tuesday Tots from In Lieu of Preschool Show and Tell from ABC & 123 For the Kids Fridays from Sun Scholars Finished Friday from All Our Days Weekly Kids Co-op from Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails Preschool & Kindergarten Corner from Homeschool Creations TGIF Linky Party from 123 Homeschool 4 Me