Here are some of the ways we've used the ABC's at home:

"Kind" was the word one of my daughters chose for "k" to help represent words
that communicate thoughts, emotions, and feelings at school.
We have been working with her to build a vocabulary that helps her accurately
communicate thoughts, feelings, and emotions with peers, her teacher, and us at home.
This also becomes a good starting point for self-awareness conversation.

"Elephant" was a word my other daughter helped choose to learn  "e" sounds.
She has been working on identifying letters and their sounds.

Each child is working on a different skill, but by following the same format of one card
per letter, they can proudly display their work side-by-side.

For both children, the one letter a week concept has led to many extension activities. Some of the activities they have done:

• Reading books with titles or topic of the given letter/word
• Art projects (making nests for "n", making owls for "o", etc.)
• Practice new words/sounds/information with other children via play and/or conversation
• Reflective thinking
• Curiosities and questions about new words, ideas, and concepts

ABC Activity Extension

The ABC's take us well beyond pre-reading skills

and simple songs. Once our children and students know the ABC's, the options are endless!

Let's explore ways in which we can

use a basic concept to branch across

multiple learning opportunities!

The ABC's works as a great place to start a new topic, or break a large unit of new information into smaller pieces. Forming an ABC list for a subject area can serve as an inspiration for the teacher, or a brainstorming session for students. Use it to explore a new culture, learn a new language, or dig a little deeper into a subject area of interest! 

(I find myself going back to the ABC's each school year as I work with my children at home to build vocabulary, write, read, and understand new concepts.)

What we have below is just barely the tip of the iceberg as to what you can do with the ABC's. However, the concept transcends itself across ages, content, and meaning. Enjoy! Be inspired and share what direction you have or will take this in!

“ABC's of Community” - (first month of school? new words to use at home with the family?)

A – attitude, acceptance

B - believe

C – communicate, communication, compassion

D – diversity, determination

E – expression, excitement, empathy

F - faith

G - gathering

H - honesty

I – individuality, independence, interdependence, include

J - joking

K - kindness

L – laughter, love

M – meaningful, mindful

N – nonviolent

O – optimism, outgoing

P – patriotism, passion, persevere

Q – quest

R – respect, reassure

S – support, strength

T – trust

U – understanding

V – value

W – worthiness

X -

Y – yin-yang

Z – zen

“ABC's of Emotions/Feelings” - (self expression? vocabulary building? used in conjunction with community building?)

A – anger, agree, anxious, angry, admirable

B - brave

C – cautious, cooperative

D – dismal, dishonest, disappointed, determined

E – embarrassed, exhausted, empathy

F – frustrated, friendly

G – gitty, generous

H – happy, honest, humor

I – invaded, included, intuition

J – joking, joy, jubilent

K – kind

L – loved, lonely

M – mad, mischievous, mindful

N – nervous

O – optimistic, outgoing

P – patient, powerful, pessimistic, proud, persistent, passionate

Q – quiet

R – relaxed, respected

S – silly, serious, sad, small, scared, strong, selfish

T – tired, teased, thankful, truthful

U – unsure, unaware

V – victorious

W – weak, worrisome

X -

Y – yearning

Z -

More possible ABC directions:

“ABC's of Literacy”

“ABC's of Japanese”

“ABC's of Spanish”

“ABC's of Algebra”

“ABC's of US History”

“ABC's of Meteorology”

“ABC's of Music”

The Alphabet and Everything!

My daughters are 2 and 4.  Sometimes finding learning activities they can both enjoy can be a challenge.  Here, we've developed ideas for working with the alphabet that apply to both age groups.

We are creating an alphabet wall.  Every week, my girls and I focus on 1 letter of the alphabet.  My 2 year old lists all the words she can think of starting with the letter of focus.  She's working on letter sounds and pre-reading skills.  My 4 year old lists a personality trait she thinks a good person would possess that starts with the letter of focus.  She's working on recognizing feelings and social/emotional skills.  We gave the title "The Alphabet and Everything List" to this project and the girls decorated a sign (they chose glitter!).

Next, I added each girl's name to the wall.  Then we began with the letter A.  My 2 year old listed several words starting with A.  I wrote 1 word using a capital A and the other words using the lower case.  My 4 year old was given a choice of 4 emotions/traits/actions beginning with the letter A and she chose 1.  Since she's also working on letter writing, she wrote the the letter A at the start of the word.  Then, she provided me with a personal experience of hers that exhibited that emotion/trait/action.  I wrote the experience under her word.  Naturally, we did the same the following week for the letter B, and so on.

      (2 year old list)                                                                                        (4 year old list)

Every week I've seen each daughter's progress.  My 2 year old wants to add more and more words to her list each week.  My 4 year old draws a greater connection to the word she chooses each week and is able to provide me with more elaborate experiences demonstrating the word.  In addition, she's been using these words more and more in her vocabulary.  Looking at the pictures below, you can see the growth when comparing them to the pictures above taken at the start of the list.









      (2 year old list)                                                                                         (4 year old list)

Of course, I try to reinforce the skills by discussing words or letter sounds and acknowledging  when they're spoken or read.  In addition, we read several great "A, B, C..." books and "personality" books.  Check out the BOOK LIST below.

Enjoy traveling down this road of discovery with your little one(s)!



BOOK LIST

Great for toddlers:

The Hullabaloo ABC, by Beverly Cleary
As we follow some young kids through their day, each letter is visited.  Rhyming verse and fun illustrations keep a young one's attention.

Girls A to Z, by Eve Bunting
Each letter of the alphabet is assigned to a girl's name.  This book not only highlights the alphabet, but reminds girls to "Be anything you want to be...Dream any dream you want to dream...The world is here for you."

Max's ABC, Rosemary Wells
Follow little bunny Max as he has a silly adventure right through the alphabet.


Great for preschoolers:

The Way I Feel, by Janan Cain
Read with your child to discuss different emotions we all experience.  Playful illustrations and rhyming verse make this book attractive to the young age group.

The Way I Act, by Steve Metzger
Young ones can learn different personality traits as they look at illustrations of kids doing a variety of things and listen to you read the rhyming verses.

Big Words for Little People, by Jamie Lee Curtis and Laura Cornell
This book helps "little people" to understand some grown-up words and helps them communicate in a big person's world.  Readers can learn words such as cooperate, respect, and patience while enjoying some hilarious illustrations.

I Think, I Am!, by Louise L. Hay and Kristina Tracy
This is a great tool for teaching kids the power of affirmations.

On My Way To A Happy Life, by Deepak Chopra with Kristina Tracy
This ideas in this book are presented in the simplest of terms to help make it easier for kids to navigate through the world with joy and love and happiness.