Any new skill takes time and repetition to learn and it is no different when it comes to ABC’s. So we put together a few ideas on how you can help your child learn the alphabet, especially if they need a lot of repetition because they are having difficulty.

There are many reasons why a child is having difficulty learning the ABC symbols.
– the maturation level of the child in order to concentrate,
– the child’s cognitive abilities to enable them to link verbal sounds they already know to the alphabet symbols,
– the fine motor skills to write the symbols and help reinforce the learning of identifying the alphabet symbols,
– and most importantly the parent or teacher motivational tactics in creating the curiosity of learning the new information.

Because repetition is a part of learning new information it is vital to keep a struggling child motivated with a number of different resources that teach the same skill. To learn the alphabet symbols it does not always have to be repeatedly done by displaying flash cards and getting students to rote learn them or tracing black and white homework sheets of dots and dashes that are meant to represent the letters of the alphabet. However, keeping the learning interesting and varied is difficult if students take a while to grasp the alphabet. So we decided to revamp great teaching methods with a heap of added activity ideas to help you.

One strategy is to create learning stations where busy minds are learning the same skill in different ways and rotated throughout the morning (in a classroom). If learning the alphabet has been set as a homework activity then do a different activity each day throughout the week that reinforces the same skill.

Within our product range we have created many different games and activities that range from $2- $5 and can be instantly downloaded to be used over and over on learning stations. Two flash cards sets that can be used to play Snap! or Memory come with a long list of ideas and use photographic images based on vocabulary young readers need to learn to keep them motivated. and our most popular is the motivating colourful ‘Write N Wipe’ worksheets that can be laminated and used over and over again with whiteboard markers. They are not only designed to help children learn the direction of writing the alphabet but matching pictures with the sound of the symbol too. All our games come with a list of other alternative ideas to build on and keep your students motivated until they have learnt the skill.

It is always recommended you mix these sorts of activities up with singing because children already know the alphabet verbally and can attach the new learning of the symbols by looking at the alphabet letters while they sing. An inexpensive alternative to buying alphabet songs on CD’s is to use YouTube where there are a tonne to choose from and have a highly motivating visual appeal to young learners. Click here to see SER4KIDS YouTube Channel and what we have selected as a few of our favorites. Once there, YouTube will offer more suggestions along the side of the screen for you to choose from.

As parents and teachers we have to let time mature our children, we cannot increase their development of skills any faster than they are capable of learning it, but we can make learning easier by making it fun and interesting. It is easier to teach them the foundation skills we know, in the most motivating ways we know how, so their learning gets off to a good start. Your children will love ‘Learning while Playing’.