Children’s names are usually the first written words that they learn. From a very early age, they may be able to recognize their first letter and will often announce, “Look! There’s my E!” We can support children’s literacy development by using their interest in this most important word as a springboard for other letter learning. Most…
Literacy
10 Hands-On ways to practice the Alphabet
One of the main goals of preschool literacy instruction is to teach young children the alphabet. For some children, this comes very easily and naturally but for many others, it takes a lot of time, energy, and practice. It is tempting to think that sit-down practice with paper and pencil is the best way for our…
Easy Name Practice Worksheets
One of the most important things that we can teach our young children is how to write their names. It makes life SO much easier if children can write them when they enter kindergarten, so that the teacher will know which paper/picture/book/project belongs to which kid. We practice every day in preschool, but making customized…
Alphabet Write & Wipe
Our preschoolers need lots of opportunities to practice writing in ways that are developmentally appropriate. Sometimes we practice writing the letters of the alphabet in salt trays and, of course, we always practice writing our names. Another way that our students like to practice is with dry erase markers. We made these Alphabet Practice pages to…
Free Penguin Emergent Reader Book
One of the things that I most often hear from parents when their child is learning how to read is, “She’s not really reading. She has just memorized the book!” Guess what?!! That is reading! That’s what emergent readers do! They pretend to read just like they see parents doing! They read books over and over…
Name Books
We spend a lot of time learning to recognize, spell and write our names in preschool. I am always looking for hands-on ways that the students can practice. They love things that they can practice in class and take home, like their Name Folders. When I saw the idea for Name Books on Fun-A-Day I knew…
Alphabet Sensory Play
Preschoolers love sensory play because it meets their sensory cravings and provides a stress-free way to play. They also love to do simple wooden puzzles. We combined these two favorites to make an alphabet sensory play center. We filled a sensory bin with dry alphabet noodles. They are available at many grocery stores in the pasta aisle….
How Children Learn their Names
Learning our names is the springboard for literacy learning in preschool! Children’s names are the most important words to them, and learning them leads to all other types of learning. When we talk about teaching children their names, it is important to consider these three stages. Recognization The first stage of learning names occurs when…
Should Children Write their Names with Capital Letters?
When I created our Name Folders, one of the many ways that we teach children to recognize, spell and write their names, I did not anticipate such a stir about the fact that our younger students write their names with capital letters. People ask, “Why are you teaching in all capitals?” and comment, “Nice idea,…
Name Folders
One of our first important literacy goals in preschool is to be able to recognize and spell our first names. Younger preschoolers (3-year-olds) practice spelling their names every day at school. We use a different name game each month. Now it’s the end of the year and most of our students are able to identify…