How to Foster a Love for Letters in Preschoolers

It’s never too early for kids to start learning letters. Don’t let teachers or educators tell you otherwise. If your preschooler is interested in letters, print, and words, provide them with materials to learn with.

In this article, I would like to share our family’s experience. Our children were literate before they started school. But first, let’s look at the general stages of development a child goes through in recognizing letters and print.

The development of literacy

When children are born, they are far from being able to express themselves through language. They are nearly helpless in their first weeks and months. However, they can make themselves heard through sounds and cries, as well as some gestures and facial expressions. After some time, the first words are added, then 2 or 3-word sentences.

Around the age of 3, children begin to develop an interest in stories. They love it when adults read books to them. At this age, some children are able to recognize some letters as shapes.

Around age 4, most children can learn the letters of the alphabet. They can recognize and name them. They also make their first attempts at writing.

By age 5, many children are able to associate sounds with all the letters. They can also read and write their first simple words, such as their name.

So by the time children start school at age 6, they may be literate for a long time.

How children learn letters best

Learning is a complex process that works best when the material is absorbed with all the senses. That is why we trained our children with appropriate materials which they can feel, smell, taste, see or even hear.

As a result, our oldest started school at the age of 7 and was able to read and write fluently. Our daughter was able to read her first words at the age of 4. She is now 5 years old and reads fluently. And she’s not even in school yet. 

Some of the toys we have used are the following:

• Cookie cutters: We baked letters with the kids over and over again. This allowed them to feel the shapes of the cookies and taste the letters. Cookie cutters alphabet (affiliate link)
• Letter Puzzles: Letter puzzles also allow children to learn the shapes of letters. Different colors are especially appealing. Alphabet puzzles (affiliate link)
• Letter Posters: The kids really liked the posters. Especially when the letters were associated with animals. There are 24 animals — one for each letter — on the poster, and the kids can practice the sounds using the animal names. Alphabet Poster with Animals (affiliate link)

By the way: We live in Germany and sending our children to school is not an option. We are forced by law to do that. If homeschooling was legal in Germany, we would keep our kids at home. When we see what our Waldorf School is capable of teaching our oldest, we assume that we would be more effective with our methods. 

Conclusion

With these simple tools, our children learned to read and write quickly. Of course, their interest was a prerequisite. But if your preschooler is keen to learn more about the world of letters, don’t hold them back. Encourage them and satisfy their natural curiosity. That way, you can help them reach their full potential.

I encourage you to invest in your children. Don't waste time and help them to get independent as soon as possible. The ability to read and write is essential to being an independent person in this world. So go for it!

This article was first published on Medium.com.