Children Love to Learn

A is for Alphabet

When kids are learning the alphabet. Whether it's the letter names or the sounds they make or the shapes of each letter.

It's good to have multiple ways to practice the alphabet and reinforce the skills they're learning.

Since kids are very hands on when they're learning letters I like puzzles where they can feel the shape of the letters.

Books to read to them on their topic(s) of choice to reinforce the sounds the letters make.

And making writing letters fun, so it doesn't feel like work. Use crayons and (left handed tip) -> use wet erase markers (instead of dry erase) on a wipe clean surface (wipe clean books or wipe clean board) so they don't accidentally erase what they just wrote. Have them write in rainbow or experiment with different colors, so it's fun!

The more enjoyable and fun reading and learning is, they more they'll WANT to learn and read.

B is for Bedtime Stories

Reading stories at bedtime is one of our favorite routines!

No matter the age of your kiddo. Read aloud every day.

Even when kiddos can read to themselves. It's so important to keep reading aloud to them.

As they get older you can take turns reading aloud the story to each other.

Read books aloud to:

• build vocabulary

• build knowledge

• be a reading role model

• it's something special to do together, which in turn helps children's brains associate reading with a good feeling

Read at their level and a bit above their level.

What is a favorite book you read aloud to your children?

C is for Chapter Books

It's possible for every child to love reading. If they don't love reading then they haven't found their favorite book. And/or they haven't had a feel good feeling with the experience of reading, yet.

So important for kids to find books that they love. Reading in schools a lot of times is about how many points they are earning.

But what about reading for the joy of it?!

What is the last chapter book you or your child read for fun?

D is for Drawing

Drawing is lots of fun! Be creative and draw what comes to mind, no matter how it looks, it's the process.

This is great for:

• Fine motor skills good for writing

• Fun activity

• Experimentation

• Creativity

• Imagination

E is for Everyone

Do you have a saying you find yourself saying a lot?

When I was teaching, the kids that I worked with all came to me to work on what was challenging for them. Whether that was reading, writing or math mostly.

My instructional aide and I had a saying that we would say whenever we heard one student tell another student, that what they were working on was "easy". Our belief is that everyone has strengths and challenges, but no one should feel bad about their challenges. We just work on those things that challenge us.

What is easy for one, is not always easy for another.

F is for Fun

When learning is fun we learn more, don't realize we're learning, and want to do more therefor learning more (or practicing more).

What is something your child loves to do? How can that be turned into or replicated into a learning experience?

For example, lot of kids love games. So how could what your child be needing to learn be turned into a simple game?

G is for Games

Games are fun for learning and practicing skills. Kids sometimes don't realize they're learning because they're having so much fun playing.

Games can be handmade with paper and crayons/pens/pencils:

• Matching/memory type game

• Search and find

• Roll and Write

Games can be bought:

• Uno - number/color matching

• Card Deck (War, Kings Corners) - number sequence

• Spot It - spotting similarities and differences

H is for Happy

We need to both enjoy the act of reading and continue to practice reading to actually read for enjoyment.

Since we, as humans will continue to do what we enjoy and try to avoid what we don't enjoy.

And in order to be good at something, say reading we have to practice the skill.

So learning needs to make us Happy!

Learning to reading needs to feel happy so we want to continue to practice the skill by reading for enjoyment well into adulthood.

So the thoughts we think create the feelings we feel about anything, really.

What thoughts do you think about reading? What thoughts do your children think about reading?

I is for I

What we tell ourselves each day make our worlds. Talking to ourselves in the positive or negative is very powerful.

Creating positive statements for kids to lean into such as I'm learning to read or I'm practicing being a good reader. I like to read with my parent. I'm a good writer.

What positive I statements can you and your children make for yourselves to power you forward?

J is for Jumping

Practice skills while jumping (or with movement):

Counting

ABCs

math facts (adding, subtracting, multiplication)

Spelling words

vocabulary

Definitions

K is for Keep

Wipe-Clean Books are great for reusing over and over again. We use a rainbow set of wet erase markers for added fun to choose the colors to practice fine motor, sounds, writing numbers, letters, cursive, vocabulary, math facts....

Use, wipe clean, and repeat on a different day.

L is for Love of Learning

What does your child love learning about?

Do more of that.

M is for Music

Play music, learn about music. Turn what they're learning into a song to sing.

The singing will help with memorization.

N is for Numbers

Number (or letter) writing practice like this. This can be thought of as a game. All you need is a wipe clean surface, whether it's a board or a blank or lined paper in a page protector, markers and cotton swabs.

Write out the numbers (or letters/sight words/spelling words). Then have your kiddo trace the number with a cotton swab. Then if by magic the number is gone!

O is for Outside

Get outside if the weather permits.

Kids can free play. You can relax.

Play with chalk on the pavement.

Water write, which is write crazily with water using a squirt bottle.

Bounce a ball into a correct pre-made square.

The possibilities are open...

P is for Practice

Practice is the act of repetition. We get better at anything with practice.

We love rainbow writing for practicing name writing, number writing, letter writing. We try to get the colors as close as we can to the previous color.

Tip: Triangular crayons and pencils are great for increasing better finger placement when writing.

Q is for Questions

The kinds of questions kids think of...

Why is the sky blue?

What is the longest dinosaur?

Do animals talk?

What is a question your kiddo has asked?

Ask kids these questions (plus other ones) and write down the answers they give. Have fun with it.

R is for Rhyming

Building a sensitivity to rhymes creates the ability for kids to detect the relationship between hat, pat, and sat.

Kids who can rhyme easily have a distinct advantage in reading.

Rhyming builds a sensitivity to sounds and often they can figure out words they've never seen before. It takes skill to know when words rhyme and when they don't.

Simple rhyming games and reading rhyming books help to develop this skill.

Fun games to play to teach kiddos to rhyme is first give an example like hat rhymes with sat and mention how the two ending letters sounds match.

Have them try, even if it's not a real word, as long as it rhymes. It's a win! Stick with one vowel like 'a' until they are consistently rhyming. Then move onto a different vowel.

Have fun with it!

S is for Simple

Keep the activity simple to keep it fun.

T is for Time

Taking time to Do.

U is for Upside down

Sometimes we need to think upside down or outside the box for great learning ideas.

What is your idea you want to try?

V is for Vision

What is the big picture?

What is the hope?

What is the dream?

W is for Work

Sometimes learning feels like work while it is practiced, but as we practice we get better at it.

The more we get better at it

The more ease-ful it becomes.

X is for X-ray Vision

When there's a challenge often times we want to zero in on the issue, but if we get too close it becomes blurry.

So step back for a wider view and see what pops up that wasn't clear before.

Y is for Yay!

Celebrate all the steps completed, no matter how small. Every step is a celebration!

What are you celebrating today?

Z is for Zoom

Sometimes we want to zoom through something to just get it done. But taking our time with it, having fun, and taking breaks keeps us coming back to it for another day with a fresh outlook.