Is your child learning his letters and sounds? Here is a quick and easy way to practice at home!
All you need is:
Post-It notes
Sharpie
Index cards/Paper
Stapler
Create a "book" of 26 blank pages and staple it on the left hand side.
Cut post it in the middle (make one side slightly larger to write the upper case letter)
Write upper case and lower case letters on post it and stick it in your book on the left hand side. Only use letters and sounds your child knows (see below*). Slowly add new letters as he learns them.
Your child can draw a picture on the right hand side corresponding to the letter
When "reading the book" have your child trace the letter and say "A, /a/ (the sound it makes), apple (or whatever picture he chose)
If your child misses the letter, take off the post it and stick it on the back. That way you can keep track of the letters that may need some extra practice!
*Why start with only known letters?
In Literacy Lessons Part Two, Dr. Marie Clay explains:
The alphabet book is merely a record of what is known with spaces for what is ‘yet to be learned’ That gives the child a sense of the size of the task and a feeling of control over his own progress. It also provides a location to return to when a troublesome letter, still being confused, turns up. (p37)