Guys this is a two part question - I have been teaching my 14 month old whole words using YBCR videos and flashcards and pp presentations and some books…He is doing great and knows a lot of words…I am sooo tempted to teach him alphabets also! I know Doman suggests not to but is this really going to be a big problem if I do? The reason why I want to teach alphabets is because a lot of ppl started asking him questions about the Alphabet…They point to letters and ask him what they are and my son doesnt know because he only knows whole words! I hate when that happens! So I came across some dvds called Preschool Prep Series DVD…They have a DVD called “Meet the Letters”. If its okay to teach alphabets and if learning the alphabets will not hinder him from learning words then I was thinking about getting this DVD. Has anyone used this DVD before? Any feedback would be appreciated.
Q1. Okay to teach alphabets?
Q2. Anyone used Preschool Prep Series DVD?
IM TEACHING ALPHABET TO MY DAUGHTER AND SHE ENJOYES EACH END EVERY LESSON. WE DO READ FOR HER AND SHOW FLASHCARDS AND WORDS. I DONT THINK IT WOULD BE A PROBLEM IF WE SHOWS THE ALPHABER TO THEM
Yo tambien le enseño el abecedario a mi hija. Le gusta mucho, ademas es divertido para ella y aprende palabras y quien no dice a leerlas. Yo uso un programa que esta en linea starfall.com, es muy bueno y tiene ademas el metodo fonetico para enseñarle a leer al niño, el cual no uso todavia.
saludos!!.
KL - what do you think? Doman says not to teach the alphabet because the child might instead read the letters instead of the whole words…He says teaching the alphabets might cause confusion for the child. I dont want to undo what I already taught my son…He is doing really well so far…I dont want him to all of a sudden read the word Cat as ‘c’ ‘a’ ‘t’…
Yes, although I never started teaching her the alphabet either until much later, I see no problem with doing so. The thing with teaching the alphabet is not so much that it would cause a problem, it’s more that it’s ‘dry’ and far less interesting than words, and I would even say not necessary until your child reaches the age that you would be teaching him phonics. On this point, you should read up on the “whole words vs phonics” debate: http://www.brillbaby.com/teach-baby/reading-whole-language-phonics.php
But I see absolutely no problem teaching alphabets early if you wish, especially if your child is interested. And I certainly won’t worry about your child pronouncing ‘cat’ as c-a-t. If you’re also showing the word “cat” and associating that with the sound of “cat”, then your child will not suddenly start pronouncing that as c-a-t just because you’re also teaching him the alphabet.
I never knew before that babies can also be taught to read words. That is why I taught my son the alphabet first.
When I was teaching him to read words, I was a bit worried thinking that he might get confused.
But I was surprised because after a month of teaching him, my mom accidentally heard him reading the words I wrote on the flashcards.
We never thought that he could read as so many words for just a span of time.
And during those times, I never followed any specific schedule or rules. Sometimes I just write a word
on a paper and show it to him, sometimes I use flashcards. And its amazing that he learns even
on that simple way of teaching.
I started teaching my son to read whole words beginning at 2 1/2 months old. When he was around two I taught him the alphabet. Just consider it another bit of intelligence. If your child can be learning many different languages at this time and not confuse them, don’t you think he can learn his own language? Of course he can. He can learn the letters and the words and even some phonics, if you choose to teach that to him. Remember, now is the time to fill his little brain. I haven’t used Preschool Prep, but I viewed a sample on line. It looked too slow and boring for my children. My daughter likes Starfall and we used Sesame Street ABC’s to learn the letters. That was fun and entertaining for my children. Keep in mind too that your son may be able to read fluently and never know the name of even one letter,. Knowing the sounds of the language is what is necessary to learn to read. By continually exposing your child to words, you are teaching them phonics in a natural way, using an immersion method. Krista G.
