One of the first songs we sing with our children is the Alphabet Song. It's pretty a catchy tune and, wow, they're learning letters! Songs, rhymes, and chants are the first way that children learn and can help with remembering important information. Singing is a great way to teach skills like the alphabet, color names, days of the week, etc. But did you know that most students do not distinguish the all of the letters (think "elemeno-p") until well into kindergarten?! Knowing the song and knowing the letters of the alphabet are two important, but different skills. The alphabetic principle is a skill that encompasses more than the song, such as knowing which letter comes first, last, or the order of the letters. We always sing our A-B-Cs in kindergarten, but we like to mix it up to really break down the "elemeno-p"!
Here are some suggested chants and activities to engage your child with letters:
Alphabet Stomp: Kids love making noise! Why not stomp the letters of the alphabet? Start by slowing stomping one foot at a time and then add in the letters for each stomp..."A!...B!...C!...", etc. Your child will want to "sing". Remind them to STOMP the alphabet. Another fun addition to this is to write the letters in chalk on the sidewalk or driveway and have him/her stomp through the alphabet. This reinforces the names along with the visual of the actual letter.
High-low ABCs: Begin with a whisper, and hands touching the ground say "A, B, C, D". Then raise your hands high above your head as you shout "E, F, G!". Go back down low and whisper "H, I, J, K". Alternate between whisper (down low) and shouting (up high) through the alphabet. "L, M, N, O" (loud); "P, Q, R, S" (whisper); "T, U, V" (loud), "W, X" (whisper), "Y, Z" (loud).