ABC Resources

“word collecting”

I wanted to share some of the resources that we have used as we have gone along with our letter of the week program.  I post a majority of the things that we do in our Wrapping up the Week posts, but I don’t hit on everything.  I’m not really a big fan of workbooks/worksheets for littles as in I don’t think it should be the core of the program.  But I am a fan of using what works for you and for your child/children.  Often times it can make the younger kids feel like they are doing “real school” like their big siblings.

manipulatives:

ABC Lauri Puzzles

MagnaDoodles ~ the kids love these, good practice for starting to write letters

worksheets:

DLTK – sign language coloring pages

All Kids Network – Alphabet Pages

Alpha Handwriting Pages

Alphabet Books

ABC Crafts

ABC Coloring Pages

ABC Coloring Pages

Here are some ABC books that we have enjoyed

We have also incorporated an asl sign each week.  We love the Signing Time material for this work.  Many Signing Time clips can be found on youtube as well.  We have also used this book most weeks for reinforcement.

I highly recommend a letter of the week program for preschoolers and/or kindergarteners.  It provides structure, but leaves lots of room for flexibility.  It’s totally customizable for things that are relevant for your children and your family.  That was most obvious for us when we did K is for Korea here and here as well as R is for Russia.

A letter of the week program also allows you to adjust for different children.  Sarah (1st grade) is reading, so the the letter of the week is really more fun, enrichment work for her.  Leah (pre-K) knows her letters and her letter sounds, she needs more practice writing and continued reinforcement with recognition and sounds.  Anna and Levi needed a gentle introduction to letter recognition, letter sounds and for Anna a very easy beginning to forming letters.  The magna doodles have been very helpful for this.

The core of our letter of the week program is of course good literature.  Do your kids a huge favor and don’t waste their time with twaddle!  Five in a Row has an excellent collection of good literature.  A good working definition of good literature for me is that I enjoy the book as much as my children.  The story is a pleasure to read and the illustrations are a joy for all of us.  This isn’t to say that we have never read a book that would be considered twaddle, its just that we don’t make it the bulk of what we do read.