Seeking Alphabet Help

I don't know any computer games off-hand, but my daughter loves Dr. Seuss' ABC book. It's full of sill-sounding words along with the real ones, so it's good for giggles as well as phonics :-)

Good luck!

Hi!
A great website to use for letter recognition and early reading skills is www.starfall.com. As a first grade teacher and a mother it is one of my favorites. :) A.

Go to Target and get "The Letter Factory" it is a dvd by leap frog ($19.99) and my 2 year old knows all his upper case letters, sounds and almost all the lower case letters from watching this.

Just a quick question, has the school tested her for speech therapy? If not request they do so. Most schools have a speech therapist on staff. It could be she isn't placing her tongue correctly in her mouth. They tested my grandson in 1st grade and he had therapy at school for 3 years.
Some of the homework we did was to stand in front of mirror and exercise placing the tongue in different positions and making noises. He still slushes his S sometimes when he gets tired but his C, D, G, L, N, T, W, X and Z are good now.
We had several alphabet videos and the one he likes best is the animal video where they sing crazy songs while learning the letters and repeating the sounds.
I remember a week of walking around hisses like a snake to get the tongue in the correct place!

As I was reading the great responses to your problem,I finally came upon one that suggested that your daughter might have a hearing problem. My 6-year-old granddaughter live with us for seven months, while her father was in Iraq. During that time, she started first grade with difficulties similar to your daughter. As a former first grade teacher, I began to question her ability to hear sounds accurately. When she repeated sounds, there was evidence of a speech impediment. Subsequent visits to her pediatrician revealed that she had a severe case of tonsillitis (which also affected her hearing). Long story short--her tonsils were removed in November '08. Her hearing and accurate duplication of sounds have improved tremendously.

Although this is not free, you might look into some of the Rock N Learn dvd's. We have several of them and I can't say enough good things. My girls who are 4 and 2 have learned their colors, shapes, nursery rhymes, letter sounds and even some basic spelling. I know they have a website where you can order the dvds. Again, I just can't say enough about how happy we are with them ... they actually make learning fun!

Oo oo...
www.starfall.com
This is the best and most fun for kids website I've come across. It was recommended to all students by my daughter's kindergarten teacher.

Is she in kindergarten yet?

H.,
Try starfall.com it is great help and fun. Even has cute little songs.
Hope it helps.
L.

Hi! I have a 6 yr old boy, and he is in 1st grade. I work with K, 1st and 3rd graders twice a week on letters and reading skills at the school. I have a pratically new Hooked On Phonics that is all about learning the alphabet and letter sounds, etc. It is excellent. I would just send it to you for free.
Otherwise, I am wondering if you are homeschooling? (and assuming that you are since you make no mention of kindergarten or 1st grade)my son struggled in kindergarten a little (but he was 5) thats why I got the H.O.P. we worked on that and he improved within a 6 week period incredibly! Reading to her at least once a day for 20-30 min will also help alot. If she is enrolled in school they are sure to already be working with her, and obviously you would want to meet with her teacher to discuss your concerns as well. Keep up what you are already doing, repitition is always good. Don't stress yourself out about this. She is sure to begin to get it soon. Email me if you are interested in the materials. BY the way, the Hooked on Phonics is a dvd computer game, so she should love it.
thanks

starfall.com is AWESOME!!!

Hi H.,
I like what others have suggested, but I didn't see anyone addressing the possiblity of a hearing problem. Also, my youngest child and my sister were very tongue-tied and that affected their speech development tremondously. Please have your pediatrician check her tongue and hearing immediately. This may give you some answers. (I wouldn't have thought of this except for I lived through both of them) Good Luck!
C.

One thing that I have found that works is making cookie letters. Make some cookie dough. Help her make cookies in the shapes of the letters. Then when they are done, you say each one as you take them off of the cookie sheet. When you go to eat them, you say each letter you are eating, and a word that starts with that letter. Another fun thing to do is to make all the letters in her name with the cookie dough. All of this seems to help with remembering letters.
Creating the letters in other ways is also fun in learning the letters. Try many different projects with the letters. Make sure it is fun, easy and everyday. Good luck!!

Hi H.!

You got nice suggestions for what to try, but I am a little confused, is she 6 or 7? If she is six, and maybe she missed the cut off and did not go to kindergarten yet, then I understand. But if she is in kindergarten, do what you plan to do at home to help by all means, but also, be vigilant with the school, and watch her very closely. Ask the teachers where she should be, and ask, in writing, for intervention in the classroom (other than the regular curriculum) to get her there. The sooner you are documenting that they are trying to help her with any problem she has, the easier it will be to get her into more intervention if she should need it. It is an insurance policy if the extra help does not work, they will want to try in class intervention first.

If she is about to turn 7, or she is 7 already, you should request an educational evaluation (in writing) and get your own educational evaluation from a psychologist. You should never know less than the school does and you should always have evaluation data that you control. Don't count on the school to do all the evaluation that your child needs; they have to serve her if something is wrong, and they might not look for things they don't want to find.

I would also get her eyes checked by a developmental optometrist now (call the occupational therapy offices of the nearest children's hospital for a recommendation) They do vision exams but also check for visual perceptual skills which are important for reading and understanding written letters visually. Letters and numbers are the only visual form that changes with orientation (a watch is still a watch when you turn it upside down, but a P is a d if you flip it) When these skills are weak, learning the letters is difficult even if the child is very bright.

Good luck
M.

I have recently purchased the Leap Frog DVD's including the Letter Factory. It has made a difference for my daughter. I had several friends recommend these to me. My girls have also enjoyed the computer game "Alphabet Express". I do not remember where or when we purchased this game. I can give you more specifics probably if you want.

God bless you!

Leap frog Alphebete Video. My son remembered the songs and almost all the leters after watching it twice! I was amazed. Best $15 I ever spent!

Hi H.,
My son's preschool teacher recommended a video called "The Letter Factory" by Leap Frog. My son is 3 and he loves it (requests it instead of some of his favorite cartoons) and learns a lot from it. The teach all the letters of the alphabet and their sounds. I found it at Target for about $10.
We've recently moved up to the next level of the series "Word Factory". Great way to get started with reading!
Also, we bought a set of foam letters for the bathtub and practice our letters every night at bath time. Introducing 2 or 3 at a time and sticking with them for a week or so until he has them mastered, then bring in a few more.
Hope this helps!

Hi H.!!

I totally reccomend the Leap Frog Leapster, and the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD. or make or buy some ABC flash cards and let her tell you what the letter is and you give her the sounds of that letter. The leapster is GREAT. it has a lot of lessons for kids and it is like a video game, they don't even know they are learning. Kids Learn at their own pace and my daughter is still struggling with reading. she is 7. Don't worry - she will get it!!

Also try www.spellingcity.com you type in spelling words it helps her pronounce them and spell them with games.

Also, I homeschool and this is my favorite site - http://search.homeschoolbuzz.com/ - it is a homeschool Google Search! it is google - but only homeschool. type Alphabet help and it will show you several sites to get you started and help you!

If you need anything else, send me a message! let me know how she does!

Take Care,
L. Kay

Hi H.,

There are only 2 websites I can think of, one is Study Island, the other is Schwab learning; and I am not sure if they would have what you want but you could check.

A few other "low tech" ideas:
refrigerator magnets in the shape of letters;

Cookies in the shape of letters, say the sound as you eat it

label items around the house so she can say the word for the item and see it at the same time (although English has such wacky spellings this may or may not be helpful--lol)

introduce her to Scrabble, even if she does not play the game she can move the tiles around and make words, and you can reinforce the sounds of each letter; there might be an online version

my son liked trying to make the shapes of letters with his body (kinesthetic learner!!); she could do that while saying the sound

make collages of items/pictures of items that begin with each letter (if she's in school they may already do this); if you are comfortable with her searching for clip-art online she can do that to get the pictures

I substitute teach and saw this idea in a kindergarten classroom during "M" week--the teacher had made papers with a capital and lower-case M in outline form, about a half-inch to one-inch wide (each "stroke" of the letter--sounds more complex than it is, really). Kids put glue in the letter and glued on macaroni pieces. They did other items for other letters (sand for S, C for candy, I think, but it has been awhile). I'm sure you could think of something for each letter, if you get stuck , email me and I'll try to help. Or maybe small pictures of things to fill the letter, e.g. small pictures of vases for V; but I think having the actual object is helpful.

Hope this helps!

K. Z.

Try www.starfall.com. I am not sure if it has ABC identifcation, exactly, but it is a great phonics/reading site I recommend to my kindergarten parents. You can also check your library for computer games to check out and play. Good luck!

Hi H.,

One web game that my daughter (4) has loved and has really helped her to learn her alphabet and sounds is on pbskids.org
Go to the SuperWhy link and click on the Princess Presto game. She gives the word sound and the player has to choose the letter in order to build their own super reader superhero. They get to choose different accessories for each word they make correctly.

Hope that helps! Another thing I've found helpful is to just constantly use road signs when we're in the car. I'll have her look for specific letters and we make their sounds together. Another fun thing my mother-in-law (kindergarten teacher) taught us is to sing the "Who Let the Dogs Out" sound with letters. For example: Who let the "T" out? - ta,ta,ta,ta... My daughter loves that and it has really helped to reinforce what she's learning. Good luck!

This isn't online, but my girls have done great with the Leap Frog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory videos. They are about $10 each at Target. I bought them for my four year old, but even my two year old is starting to get the letters and their sounds. Good luck!

H., I didn't read the feedback you've already recieved but I can guess that almost everyone has suggested the LeapFrog Letter Factory video. I'm not usually one to turn to TV for educational help but the whole series, with the Talking words factory and Math Circus are amazing. I bought the whole set for Christmas when my son was 3 and a half, and by New Years he knew every letter and sound. My 2 year old is benefitting from them now, she's picking it up just as quickly. LeapFrog also makes a Letter Factory board game which is wonderful. The important thing (I think) is that it is fun right from the beginning. If she feels stressed and like she's failing from the beginning then it just creates a psycological block and sets her up to struggle for the rest of her life. Read to her every chance you get, and use your finger as you read to show her where you are on the page, that will help her to understand the functions of letters in forming words even if she doesn't grasp the details yet.
Good luck and don't worry, with your help she'll get there!

Leap frog has two videos...Letter Factory and Word Factory. My kids love them and the there's a jingle that helps with letters and letter sounds.

Good luck.

K.

I know you wanted computer games but I would HIGHLY recommend the Learning Leap Frog system that has letters, both small & caps, sounds, phonics and a place to practice writing. We REALLY got alot out of that! Besides, it's great to travel with, too.

try the library - there are TONS of books that can help you with this. Also, try the "teachers' store"[Holcomb's is a good one] - look in the language area - use the preschool/kindergarten books for ideas for other "hands on" games/ideas.

Go to this website: starfall.com You'll be amazed at what it has. It's been a great help for my two boys, 5 and 2.

C.

My kids love starfall.com! My 1st grader uses it to read stories and my 4 yr old loves to do his alphabet. It is quite interactive. What I did for my son and daughter is used those cute alphabet flashcards and made a border out of them on the wall of our dining area. I just used a little sticky tac on the back so it wouldn't harm the wall. This is where we hang out the majority of our day and it is always up to see. I would make a game out of it too, such as asking them to point to the 'M' or ask what letter makes the sound 'kkkkk'? They also enjoyed removing and then setting the ABC cards back up with the sticky tac. It's all about the sticky tac for some reason! We alo have a large alphabet floor puzzle that gets a lot of great use!

My kindergarten son also enjoys playing internet games. I figure if he is going to play games they might as well be educational. I really like www.internet4classrooms.com go to the links for K-12 teachers, then go to language arts. From there they give many links to games and interactive websites that are grade appropriate. Hope this helps:)

Check out this site, it directs you to several online games for learning the alphabet. famillyinternet.about.com/b/2008/10/19/online-alphabet-games.htm. If your daughter likes to worksheets try kidzone.com, it's a great resource for preshchool through sixth grade. I highly recomend the Leap Frog video, Letter factory, its a great way to learn your alphabet and their sounds. This is how my grandson learned his letter sounds. It also has letter games you can play at the end of the video. If I remember right it only cost around $10. It is a great investment and they also have another video that is called Letters Make words.
Hope this helps,
L.

Hello H.,
My son just turned 7 yesterday! He has some delays and has always struggled with Letters and Numbers. His teacher this year is wonderful, she really tries to find what works for each individual child. His class watches the Leapfrog Alphabet video every Friday. They also have a sound and motion for each individual letter. It has helped him learn his whole alphabet in just the first grading period of this year. I hope this helps a little!

I agree with the previous post.
The Leapfrog dvds are entertaining & informative. They also have progressions--phonice to word building and then another for beginning reading & storytelling. Look on eBay for used ones or sets to save $$
-Letter Factory
-Word Factory
-Storybook Factory

I am a former Montessori teacher who worked with the 3 to 6 year old age group, and what is important to understand is that development is uneven at this age. If you have no reason to suspect a learning disability, then I would just ease up on your expectations. She will feel your apprehension whether you think you are expressing it or not, and therefore will feel pressured. Montessori sandpaper letters can be found on EBAY and online. My 4 year old really likes the froggy fridge phonics with the letter magnets that you insert to hear a little song with the name and sound of each letter. I have heard that there is so much pressure on the kids at school to master skills at an unreasonable rate and at too young an age, so I have decided to homeschool for this reason and many others. Just be patient and she will get it. Keep in mind that in Switzerland, where the literacy rate is highest in the world, formal reading instruction doesn't begin until age 8!!

Hi H.,
This is a great site to help with the ABC for letter recognition and sounds. Most of the school districts use this site as part of their computer time my daughter is 5 and we play a game every night she loves. I have other sites as well. If you want others let me know. and I will let you know all the links. It helps that my mom is a first grade teacher and I am a 8th grade teacher. Hope this helps.
Letter shape flag is where you can get the letters out of order and the student can practice and put them in order.

http://www.literactive.com/Home/roadtoreading.asp

We love www.starfall.com.

It's FREE!!! My 4 and 6 year old love it!

T.