By age 3-4, preschoolers typically begin to start matching letters to their sounds. Want to know how to give your child a boost in this area? Read on!
Letter of the Week
Start at the beginning of the alphabet and introduce a “Letter of the Week” at home. By zeroing in on just one letter at a time, your child may be more likely to start identifying or saying the letter and matching sound through repetition. At the beginning of the week, draw the letter on a sheet of paper that your child can trace or decorate. Hang the letter on the fridge or somewhere low that your child will see often throughout their day!
Each day, try doing an activity or reading a book that contains many words beginning with your letter of the week. Repeat the letter and sound often to help your child start to form a connection between the two. For example, “F says /ffff/. F is for flower. Picking flowers will be fun!”.
Point out Print
Letters are ALL around us! Attach labels with written words onto some of the items in your child’s bedroom or playroom, such as CHAIR, TABLE, KITCHEN. As you play together, point out some of these labels and the letter/sound that appears at the beginning of them. Bring your child’s attention to signs, cereal boxes, even shampoo labels and talk out loud about some of the letters on the words and the sounds that they make!
Sing Some Sound Songs!
Singing songs about letters and sounds is a fun way for your child to learn! Once your child develops a favorite song and hears it often, he or she is likely to learn the words and sing along. Here are some of my favorites for teaching letter-sound correspondence!
Remember to have fun while teaching your preschooler about sound-letter correspondence, and they will too!
Amy Yacoub, MS, CCC-SLP | Speech Pathologist
Proud Member of The Story Box Family
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