It started a few nights ago, in the tub, actually. Baby L pointed to the red foam letter B and said, "Baby."
I really thought it was just a coincidence, but just to check, I said, "Where's the B? B for Baby?" and she pointed to it again. Then she turned her attention to her beloved ducky and the moment had passed.
But the next night, in the tub, it happened again. This time I was singing the ABC song and writing the letters of the alphabet on the wall of tub with L's tub crayons. When I came to the end of the alphabet, I said, "L. where's B for Baby and me?" Again! She did it again! She scanned all the letters - starting at Z and moving backward very methodically, until she came to the letter B. She immediately smiled, pointed, and said, "Baby!"
Still, I thought, maybe just another coincidence. So, just casually, over the next few days, I started asking her to find the letter B. When reading a book with really big print I asked, "L do you see a B for Baby?" When playing with her ABC blocks. When walking down the street. She totally knows the letter B now! AMAZING!! (At least, I think so, anyway...)
Yesterday, I wrote all the letters of the alphabet on a big piece of paper taped on her easel, and she's been going back to it again and again with her crayons and markers, "writing" the letters. She colors and scribbles very deliberately, right on top of each letter. So cute!
She can also tell you where "D for Daddy" is, and "M for Mommy."
Next thing you know, she'll be writing her first book!
I do feel a little bit like I'm playing with fire, here. It is so tempting to go totally overboard. I could start asking her all day everywhere we go to find letters and numbers. Or pull out flashcards or something crazy like that. But obviously she's learning the letters without any particular drill or practice. So I think it's best if I just keep reading aloud lots of great books, talking about books and writing, and giving her lots of opportunity to see letters and numbers in her environment.
Do you have a story or idea to share about learning the alphabet? Please leave a comment and share!
Hooray! You get to see her learn to read beginning with the letter B and continuing on through...Shakespeare?!?!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mary Lee! Yes, all the way to Shakespeare and beyond!
ReplyDeleteFifty years ago when I was a pre-schooler, my mother tells the story of pulling up to a stop sign. Supposedly I said to her, "S-T-O-P spells Stop. P-O-T-S spells Pots."
ReplyDeleteThis was way before Sesame Street.
Mom was shocked I recognized and read the stop sign. She was more shocked I read and understood the word spelled backwards. My mother had no idea where I learned the letters or the words, but I gathered the info from my environment somehow.
Fay of www.fay-moore.blogspot.com