I’ve written a lot lately about teaching my daughter preschool.
Read about my initial thoughts here.
Read about the curriculum I’m using here.
Read about a few things I’ve learned in the process here.
While it’s easy to focus on learning letters during this age of a child’s life, it’s not the end goal. Here’s what I wrote:
“Learning letters and numbers isn’t the goal of preschool. Playing is the purpose of preschool, and throwing in the letters and numbers is just an added bonus. I was reminding myself often that just because my daughter still didn’t know that R says rrrrrr by the end of two weeks, it doesn’t mean the two weeks was a fail. We played, we sang, recited poems and painted. So much paint! The purpose of the R unit wasn’t to engrain the letter or sound into her mind, it was to expose her to a new letter, maybe recognize it, and most important- to play.”
Today I wanted to make a list of activities to do with your kids beside teach letters (that can still promote letter awareness and learning).
Paint. We are BIG advocates for paint over here at our house! Super washable Crayola paint is our go-to. Paint on paper, paint on windows, paint in the bathtub, paint outside. PAINT! Paint flowers, letters, silly faces, rainbows, animals, numbers, and more.
Other artistic outlets such as coloring, cutting and gluing, paper folding, etc.
Sensory bin activities with different fillers. I’d list them all out for you, but I’ve already made a post for that!
Play outside. Discover the world, and talk about it. Talk about the green grass, the blue sky. Wonder why dandelions grow in your yard but not the neighbors? (This was an actual conversation I had with my daughter. Maybe a sign that we need a little more weed killer??)
Build with blocks, build forts, build with safe items from the pantry. Talk about bigger and smaller towers and the letters on the packaging or the colors you are using.
Go on a walk. Discover new places, see new people, and have different experiences outside of your home.
Keep letters around your home to be involved in play.
I’ve said it multiple times in multiple posts, but never forget the fundamentals:
These five incredibly important points create readers. And not just a child that can read, but a child that loves to read. Let’s stop the pressure of children learning letters at a young age, and start creating reading lovers.
A few more resources:
Reading Before Kindergarten- Is It Really Necessary?
Tips On Activities With Young Learners
What Is Play-Based Learning?
“The whole world opened up to me when I learned to read”
Mary McCleod Bethune
