I am honored to have Monique of Living Life and Learning guest posting on This Reading Mama!
I am a firm believer that learning does not have to happen with a book and pencil. I have two boys who love to learn but hated workbooks. Teaching them would have been very painful if I had pushed them to write sooner than they were ready to.
How do you teach busy boys their letters or how to read? I use manipulatives, foam letters, ABC blocks or magnets, whatever you can get your hands on. And if you can’t find anything, make your own from whatever materials you can find at your craft store. You can use foam, cardboard, play dough, string anything really.
What can you do with those foam letters?
There are plenty of different games that can come from these letters, which make learning with them super fun; especially for kids who don’t like seat work.
Order the letters– Scramble up the letters and have your child find them all and place them into order. If your child needs help, encourage them to sing the ABC song.
Fill in the blanks– Order the letters up with a few of the letters missing. Ask your child to place the correct letter in the missing spot.
Letter find – Scramble up the letters and call one out and see if your child can find it. You could also place these on the floor and space them out, then have you child jump or run to the correct letter (great for busy boys).
Matching – Use or make two sets of letters, one lower case and one upper case and have your child match up the same letters.
Play School – Who says you have to be the one calling out the letters? Have your child be the teacher while you order the letters or find them, and have them check your work. Make mistakes and see if your child catches them.
Extensions and Variations:
If your child already knows their letters and you are beginning to read. Spell them out using your foam letters instead of reading them in the book. For some reason learning is just more fun when it is done using something other than a book.
My son would love to use his dry erase board for spelling instead of a pencil and paper. As long as they are learning, I say go for it.
Children can learn to read before they learn to write so have fun playing and they won’t realize that they are doing their school work.
Monique blogs at Living Life and Learning about homeschooling, curriculum, food, reviews and giveaways. She is a mother to 3, biology graduate, and blog designer. You can follow her on Facebook or Pinterest.
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