2.20.2014

our favorite finds for learning letters

In March I will be featuring my favorite children's books for Learning the Alphabet in my monthly "Lit List" series, but I wanted to share a few of our favorite alphabet items on the blog today!    
         
I love words and language -- I fell in love with letters and words as a very young girl. I grew up living with my grandparents from birth and my Grandma Bea taught me how to play Scrabble at a very young age -- a game that has been passed down through 4 generations in my family (the same board & everything!). I even have a scrabble tattoo (more on that later).

In Elementary school, I was the girl who loved spelling tests and spelling bees, who practiced spelling words out loud in my free time and who doodled random words on all my scratch paper. I looked forward to writing stories and poems and learning new words and meanings, always expanding my vocabulary. In middle school and high school, I enjoyed taking advanced reading and writing classes as well as 4 years of Spanish; I traveled to Spain and loved being immersed in a world where the language was different from what I had grown to know my whole life. I continued my love affair with language throughout college, enjoying writing lengthy papers and taking classes to achieve a minor in Spanish. My favorite games are always word games -- Scrabble, Scattergories, Boggle & more.
I could read & write and dream of words 24-7 if I had the time. 

So, you can see why teaching Olivia her letters at a young age is not only important, but very special to me. 

Below are my 3 favorite alphabet items to teach your little their letters.

Finding unique ways to teach Olivia her letters is what brings me so much joy. Instead of just reading her a simple book with A-Z, I went on the hunt for the most fun and eye-catching alphabet items. In all that I've come across and had experience with, these 3 are definitely the best of the bunch.

Alphabet Art Cards     
                         
I discovered these ABC Cards from a little baby boutique during my pregnancy last year. The illustrations were unbelievable; I think I would have bought them even if I wasn't pregnant! The fact that I could picture myself using these with my baby girl made it all the better. The alliterations that each card has makes them fun to read out loud to Olivia:

Aa // "Alligator flying in an air balloon playing the accordion with an albatross & an alarm clock"
Bb  // "Bear playing the banjo on a stack of books with a blackbird & a bat"
Cc // "Cowboy on a cow dangling a carrot with a cat & a cupcake"

We giggle over the silly pictures and descriptions. 
There is so much to look at on every card that it never gets boring -- for her or for me.
Not only are these great for learning letters, but they would be lovely hung from a thin string or wire line in a nursery with clothespins or framed and made into a gallery wall for a playroom. I am obsessed with these beautiful works of art. The fact that Olivia is learning her letters is a bonus.

Alphablock



I picked this up from a local giftshop I used to work at last year. I love how sturdy the book is and how creative each page is. As she gets older, Olivia can look at the page, say the letter out loud and then guess what item matches, for example "I" for icecream. The colors are bright and bold and the pictures are clean and crisp. Definitely a book that is different than most and one worth having on hand.

Olivia Alphabet Flash Cards


These were a gift to Olivia from my mom & dad (Grandma & Grandpa) when she turned 6 months old. They are simply illustrated and honestly, it's hard not to buy something when her name is right on the front. They have a lot of empty white space, which is nice that they won't overwhelm a baby's eyes. They will be perfect when Olivia starts understanding how letters sound and the words they form. I know we'll continue to have a lot of fun playing with these in the future.


Some other sets of alphabet cards & items that have caught my eye can be found herehere, & here.

And I can't wait to get these from Anthropologie for Olivia's 1st Birthday.



What are your favorite ways to teach letters and the alphabet to your babes? 

>> Stay tuned for March's Lit List, featuring a wide range of lovely books for your baby, all about Learning the Alphabet, coming at the beginning of the month <<

No comments:

Post a Comment


Back to Top