what is a good way to teach my 2 year old his alphabet, he is more of a hands on learner?

Question

my son is a really fast learner when it comes to everything but his alphabet it seems. do you have any pointers?

Answer 1

The suggestion about singing the alphabet song in the car is a great one. It will be associated with going places and doing things. If you have the alphabet song on a CD, you can also develop a dance to it for use at home. Once he learns the song, there is still the little matter of understanding that each letter in the song is separate and has its own written symbol. Of course you can start with "his" letter, the first letter of his first name, pointing it out in the books you read to him and elsewhere. And by the way, there are some great alphabet books out there for readalouds.

You can draw the letters of the alphabet on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk, about as far apart as the size of your son's steps. Then sing the alphabet song with him as he steps on each letter. Up through K, the rhythm will be fairly slow and even, but when you get to L M N O P, he will have to step faster. The varying tempo should hold his interest.

Or lay magnetic letters out in order on a cookie sheet, and have him touch each letter as it is sung. You can also spell out his name with the magnetic letters, and touch each letter as you sing it. He will want to try it himself. A child's name has a kind of magical power as far as generating interest in letter activities. You could do that with the sidewalk chalk outdoors, too.

Another hands-on activity with letters can be done by placing colored aquarium sand in a thin layer in a metal pie plate, and tracing a letter with the finger to reveal the shiny surface. There are also many alphabet puzzles available, for when he gets to the age when he enjoys working puzzles.

CM is right about not hurrying a child. No activity is worth a hoot if he isn't interested in it. At age two we are only working on familiarization with the alphabet. If he resists or it isn't fun, wait a while. Readiness is everything.

Answer 2

My 2 year old son knows all of his letters and numbers. He still cant recite the alphabet yet, but is now learning how to phoenetically pronounce each letter. Just like my 7 year old daughter, he'll be reading by age 3. There are a few things weve done with him: We watch sesame street together. When cookie monster (which is our favorite) is about to eat the letter of the day cookie, we tell him "No cookie monster, dont eat the letter N cookie!" Then when he does, we laugh "Oh no!" We also watch Wheel of Fortune. He has lots of books. I'll point to a letter and say, "Whats that?" We got him some big colorful foam letters that stick to the side of the bathtub, and quiz him on a few. Whatever you do, though, don't burn him out. If he isnt interested try a new tactic a little later. There are so many little ways to teach them in any given situation. And read! If he sees you reading, he'll be more interested in reading too.

Answer 3

Good morning. When my twins were little every time we would be playing, riding in the car, ect. I would start singing the alphabet song and they would join in...not always correctly, but would join in and try. Eventually they got it correct. I also did with this with my day care children. Other moms and dads were amazed when the kids would just start singing the song when they got in the car. I also did this with my grand children when I had them for about 2 years. It makes it fun for them...hint...it also helps the "are we there yet" syndrome. Even short trips to the park, grocery store, ect. Have fun with them.
Another big hint is print out the alphabet upper and lower case and hang them all over the house, then as you walk by ask your child if he knows what letter it is. You will be amazed at how quickly they pick it up. You can also add pictures to the letters. For instance add your picture to the letter that your name starts with, very important for children to know parents names.

Answer 4

Leap Frog alphabet fridge magnets..my son didn't get them until he was 2.5 but they were amazing. Teaches the letters and phonics.. "B says 'Bbbbb' B says 'Bbbb' every letter makes a sound, B says 'Bbbb'"
And you can also press the music symbol and it sings the alphabet in a fun tune. My son dances to this still almost daily, nearly six months later.
It comes with the capital letters and numbers 1-10. You can buy the expansion pack with the lower case letters, my mother-in-law is buying the lower case for my sons 3rd birthday.

I'm telling you, go out to Walmart somewhere and buy it..it's $20 or $30 but sooo worth it. And they don't scratch up the fridge, and they're big enough he wont put them in his mouth and choke.

Buy it. So worth it.

Answer 5

Just yesterday, we had this discussion with a research from ASU, she stated that all children learn at their own rate, that you can not force them to learn something they are not ready for. At two years of age, they need to work on communication skills, by the time they are late 3 early 4 is when they start to develop an understanding of the alphabet. Some children do catch on early, like my child, but others do not, especially boys... and no I am not implying that they are slow, but just do not show interest in such things as early as girls. But if you insist on him knowing them at the age of two, you can try the two methods that I use with my kids at school


I use two methods of teaching the alphabet to my preschoolers ( Age 4-5) when they need a hands on approach. They are both inexpensive. The first method, get some of dad's shaving cream and spray it on a service. Draw the letters in the shaving cream, then allow him to try and make them. This gives him the fun while learning. The second method is to use play-do to shape letters. Its another great hands on tool.

Just remember, it has to be fun for him to show an interest in. If you push him to early, it will only discourage his learning later. Good Luck. :)

Answer 6

Kids love to sing and catch on to the Alphabet Song quickly. Also, those colorful alphabet refrigerator magnets are great. You can get them at the dollar store. Repetition is key.

Answer 7

You can get magnets that go on the refrigerator from the dollar store. You can ask him to find a certain letter and put the letters into the alphabet. It worked for my little sister.

Answer 8

Mam
you may buy cd of alphabet songs and play when you are free but make sure it has got some animation with bright colours have cartoons.

Answer 9

i taught my son the alphabet, by writing it on his doodleboard and repeating it...Maybe the magnetic letters for the fridge would help. I did numbers the same way, except we count his matchbox cars... He can count to 30. Good luck

Answer 10

Alphabet building block maybe?