Introducing your children to the alphabet through games can improve her understanding and build the literacy skills that she needs to start reading in a fun way. When children play games, they are engaged and don’t even realize that they’re learning. Every child has a different idea of what constitutes “fun,” so choose the games that your child will enjoy best.
Significance
Games play a significant role in a child’s learning development. They motivate children to learn through competition, collaboration and fun. Furthermore, they frequently engage all the senses, which can increase memory of the items used in playing the game. Kids want to play games and have fun, which means that they’ll spend more time learning.
Benefits
Understanding the alphabet creates a foundation of learning to read. Children first learn to recognize the letters, then learn the phonics of each letter and how to put the letters together to form words. When your children play ABC games from a young age, it prepares them for kindergarten. Thinking that learning is fun can help your child do better in school.
Types
You can find an ABC game to suit any child. There are board games may focus on the alphabet, such as ABC bingo or a memory-matching game, where the child has to match the capital and lower case letters. You can also find ABC games for the computer, which are interactive and allow children to hear the different sounds that the letters can make. They’ll also be able to move easily to the next level of alphabet learning once mastering each level. You can also play ABC games without any props–simply challenge your child to find as many things that start with the letter “C” as possible.
Considerations
Everyone wants her child to excel in life, so it’s easy to push your child to start learning too early. Videos and games even claim to teach babies how to read. Unfortunately, choosing a game that’s far above your child’s ability level can make him feel discouraged–the exact opposite of what you want. Instead, play simple games that he feels successful when he plays, then proceed to challenge him with something a bit more difficult. Whenever a game stops being fun, change to something else.
Misconceptions
You do not have to set aside special “school time” every day for children to benefit from playing ABC games. In fact, it can seem even more fun if you simply pick out an ABC game when she’s bored, or start an ABC game when you’re in the car or on a walk. You can play games about the alphabet at any time throughout the day.
Photo Credit
- abc’s image by jaddingt from Fotolia.com
