sletters



INTRODUCTION
From Stormie:
As with numbers, introduce the children to the alphabet as a whole rather than just immediately going to the letter A. One way to demonstrate what "words" are is to have the children, without speaking, show you "happy." Then discuss how we can "show" happy, we can "say" happy, and we can "print" happy (show them a printed version). Let them help you match the letters in "happy" to letters of the alphabet. Make a game of this by using other words in the same way. Think of any word that can be gestured, said, and printed: yes, no, cold, sad, sleepy, etc. Discuss where words are seen and show examples: newspapers, signs, magazines, etc. Show an unfamiliar book, explaining that without the words, we wouldn't know what the story is about. Another thing that's fun to do to show the importance of words: Print the following words on six separate index cards: "Pour the milk in the cup." At grouptime, line the words up to say "Pour the cup in the milk," then read it to the class. Discuss what's wrong. The children won't be able to read the words but they can observe their importance as they help you decide the proper order of the sentence cards. In advance, make up other fun short sentences to "play" with together: "put the box in the toys, water your drink, wash your soap with hands, etc." Make it fun!!
Note: I also briefly introduce lower case letters with their upper case partners. A fun way to introduce new letters is to modulate your voice: "This is the UPPER-CASE A" (speaking in a fairly loud, firm, indoor voice), and, "This is the lower-case a" (speaking in a whispering voice). I sometimes use the words BIG and little instead of upper/lower case. Each time we learn a new upper-case letter, we feel a textured version of it, sound it out, and maybe practice print it in the air with our fingers.

Important Note On the Subject of Printing Letters:
I was taught that it's inappropriate for preschoolers to be printing letters because the fine muscles in their hands are not yet developed enough, and that we should focus, instead, on letter RECOGNITION and fine motor activities that will prepare those muscles for LATER printing. As with anything, you can find those who disagree. But, since I believe in the way I was taught, I don't force children to sit down and print the alphabet on paper. I do, however, keep pencils, letter stencils, and different kinds of paper (including tracing paper) in the language center for children to do what they're ready for -- as a free choice activity.

I use the D'Nealian alphabet when printing children's names and classroom labels since that's what most elementary schools have used in communities where I've lived.

A college instructor I once had used to say, "If a child can't draw a triangle, he's not ready to print an A." But even before children draw shapes, we can provide a special pre-writing area in our classrooms, say a chalkboard, where children can practice "writing strokes" that will later be needed in kindergarten to form letters. Focus on a different stroke each week: Vertical or horizontal lines, wavy lines (ocean wave appearance), angular or zig-zag lines (mountain chain appearance), or clockwise and counterclockwise movements.

I was trained to teach "letter recognition" through games and everyday experiences, and by providing activities where learning can take place individually, rather than forcing children to sit and "listen" to me while I "teach." For example, if the "letter of the week" is Aa, we might do the following: Aa
Have An "A Is For Apple" Day:
^Place apple slices on two plates. Sprinkle lemon juice on one plate of apples then instruct the children to keep checking the apples on both plates throughout the morning. Of course, the ones without lemon juice will turn brown. Talk about how these changes were caused by the air but the lemon juice protected the one plate of apples. ^Discuss and experiment with textures, colors, and tastes of various forms of apples (candied, pie filling, dried, applesauce, etc).
^"The Little Red House With No Doors" (words below)
^"Worm Through the Apple": Children stand in a line with feet spread approximately 18" apart. One child, the worm, crawls through the apple (their legs). Let the children take turns being the worm.
Note: This game is not a good idea if little girls in the class have worn dresses for the day.
^Do a pre-fractions activity with the group: Cut an apple in half, then in fourths, then in eighths, counting pieces as you go and pointing out 1/4th or 1/8th.
^Act out the rhyme, "Way Up High In the Apple Tree" (revised version below). You be the tree holding up two apples (red, green, or yellow rolled-up socks). Let each child gently twist them from your hand (branch), making the apples come off, then pretending to eat them while repeating the rhyme. This is also fun to do outside by placing the sock-apples in branches of a very low real tree then have the children "gently twist them off."
^Take-Home Textured A: Children do apple prints on an A paper cutout: Cut a small apple in half (cut so the star inside will show), then dip it in paint and make prints on the A. It's extra special if the children can glue on a little stem piece (real one) and a few real seeds to at least one of the prints on the A!

Here's the version I use of "The Little Red House With No Doors." Have an apple and knife with you (but hidden). You will need to cut the apple at the end of the story:
Once upon a time there was a little boy named Billy who was tired of playing with his toys. He asked his mother, "Can you give me something to do?" "Or, go see if you can find a little red house that doesn't have any windows or doors but it has a star inside. Come back as soon as you can." So Billy started out and he soon found a little girl and he asked her, "Do you know where I can find a little red house that doesn't have any windows or doors but it has a star inside?" "Ask my daddy, he may know." So Billy found her daddy and asked him, "Do you know where I can find a little red house with no windows and doors but it has a star inside?" The daddy laughed and said, "I've never seen anything like that before--go ask my little girl's Grandma--she knows everything!" So Billy asked the Grandma, "Please tell me, where can I find a little red house with no windows and doors but it has a star inside?" The Grandma answered, "I'd like to find that house myself, it would be warm in the winter and the starlight would be beautiful. Go ask the wind--maybe he knows." The wind whistled by Billy and Billy said, "Oh wind, can you help me find a little red house with no windows and doors but it has a star inside?" The wind couldn't talk but it blew hard pushing Billy to where there was an apple tree. The wind shook the branches and down came a beautiful red apple. Billy picked it up and looked at it. It was a little red house. It didn't have any windows or doors but he couldn't see it inside. So he took it home to his mother so she could cut it for him. She cut it and there right in the middle was a star holding little brown seeds. Billy smiled and said, "I found it!"
Notes:
1. In order to reveal the star in an apple, you must hold it with the stem pointing to the side while cutting it in half. After telling the story above, ask questions about it to see who was wearing their listening ears!
2. When making apple prints, you can push a "broken in half" craft stick into the top part of the apple half for children to have a handle to hold on to while painting. Also, sometimes, if the paint mixture isn't the proper thickness, the "star" doesn't show up on the paper. So, rather than dipping the apple into the paint, have children brush a thin coat of paint onto the apple half, then make the print.

Please share your way of introducing the alphabet, ideas for letter "A," and your favorite alphabet books by e-mailing me at stormie@preschoolbystormie.com

One of my website visitors, who didn't leave a name, says: When teaching letters, I refer to the uppercase letter as the "Mommy" (as in Mommy A) and the lowercase letter as the "Baby" (as in Baby a).

Chrystle, from Longview, Texas, shares how she introduces basic phonics sounds: "We make different animal sounds then I share with the children that each letter has a special sound. I'm truly amazed at how quickly they can learn."

Lisa Coleman, a hardworking college student, took time from her busy schedule to share this most comprehensive unit on "Apples" with us.
(Computer Newbies: Go ahead -- click on the underlined word "APPLES" above -- don't worry about getting lost as that page will return you to this one.)

Bonnie T., in Colorado Springs, Colorado, suggests these two "apple" recipes as food projects/snacks for the letter Aa/apple theme.

Apple Crisp
5 Cups Apples*    1/4 Tsp Nutmeg    1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Quick Oats (dry)    1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/3 Cup Melted Margarine    1/3 Cup Flour
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place apples in 8" sq baking dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon. Combine remaining ingredients, mixing till crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of apples. Bake about 30 mins. Serve warm with ice cream. *You can play with the amount of apples, or even use apple pie filling instead, omitting flour from the ingredients. You can also use other fruit fillings.

Apple Smiles
Red apples (one makes about 4 smiles)
Mini-marshmallows Peanut butter
Slice the apple into 8 slices. On one slice, spread some peanut butter, then place another slice on top of that. Next, place marshmallows upright between the slices to look like teeth. It looks like a smile.
(The "Apple Smiles" fit right in with the theme of "Feelings" too)

From Miss Kim:
Tiny Apples: In advance, punch out tiny red apples from construction paper using an apple hole puncher. Provide children with a large black apple cut-out and lots of the tiny red apples to glue onto it. Picking the tiny ones up individually and gluing them onto the large one takes lots of concentration and is a great pre-writing exercise for little fingers.

Other "A" Activities & Themes:

From Stormie:
>How about introducing an Abacus to the children?
>Let children find all the A's in a deck of cards
>Introduce an "apron" for dramatic play
>Eat "Ants on a Log" for snack (the old familiar peanut butter stuffed celery with raisins on top)
>Fly like "airplanes" or move like various "animals"
>Look at and discuss pictures in photo albums
>Airplane Picture: Give each child an "airplane" cutout to glue onto their papers. Provide crayons and collage materials. Instruct them to finish their "airplane" pictures any way they choose. Observe and encourage as the children draw and collage. You might ask, "Where do airplanes fly?" "What else is in the sky?" "Do all airplanes look the same?" Have them tell you about their completed picture then print their exact words at the bottom of their papers. (By the way, I like giving the children tracing paper on which to glue their airplanes as it gives the feel of "being in a misty sky.")
>Bulletin Board Idea: Background: If you plan to display the children's alphabet related projects on a particular bulletin board throughout the year, you could have children sponge-paint a piece of butcher paper as a background using store-bought ABC shaped sponges (found at educational supply stores). Dipping the sponges in a very light yellow paint is good as you want the background to be subtle, not loud.

I absolutely love this wonderful little letter "recognition and sound" song sent to me from Anne, in Canada. You simply sing the words of the first line to the tune of "This Old Man" on the second line:

Here's a great idea from one of my unidentified website visitors:
Table Labels: I cut out big letters and numbers out of construction paper, then I use contact paper to attach them to the tables where we do our project. When Circle Time is over and it's time to go do project I say, "Joey, please go sit at table "A" (or whatever I have on the various tables).

From Stormie:
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