What Letter Should You Teach Your Child First?

The first experience with letters a child has is from the books you read her and environmental print (cereal boxes, store signs, etc). The second experience is more intentional. It's where we start to point out letters and the sounds they make. Should the first letter you teach be A? Not necessarily.

The first letter you teach your child should be the most meaningful. Most likely that will be the letter of their first name. Here are some ways to teach that letter:

1. Label. My daughter's name begins with a G. I labeled her toothbrush with a G. My mother-in-law sewed a tiny letter G onto her pillow. Her coat has a G on the tag. Intentionally point it out. "Look. There's a G for Gabby." "Is that your pillow? It must be. There' s a G for Gabby on it." "How do you know that is your toothbrush? (child answers) Oh it has a G on it!"

2. Sign their name. When you are signing a birthday card or a piece of their artwork, talk through it. "Look. I'm writing a G for Gabby!"

3.  Sing together. Make up any tune. G says /g/ for Gabby!

4. Use play letters. If you have magnetic letters or bath time letters, only get that letter you are working on out. To begin, I only had that G out. She would play with it in the bath tub or on the fridge. I didn't force her to play with it. I simply introduced it. We played with it together. I'd refer to it sometimes. She'd then play with it on her own when she felt like it.

When you are ready to introduce more letters, introduce the next most meaningful. It might be the first letter of a sibling's name, M for Mommy, or D for Daddy. Do one at a time. Go slow. You can use the above advice for those letters too. When you play with letters you will have only the letters out that you have talked about. When you run out of people's names, think about places and stores you visit together. Learning letters will be fun for everyone with these great personal connections.

Were you successful teaching your children about the alphabet? Comment below with some of your ideas.