Learning the alphabet is one of your child's first steps on the road to academia.  And as a new parent, we can get caught up in our desires for our children to excel.  This can make teaching our children the alphabet seem a rather daunting task.  But just keep in mind that toddlers are like little sponges just waiting to soak up knowledge from the world around them.  As a fun activity to help you get started or in addition to your other learning activities try creating an alphabet book with your child.

Alphabet books are a fun learning tool for your children because they are full for pictures of themselves and people they know.  This means your child will be more eager to look at the book again and again.

The books are actually fairly start forward to make.  Choose a picture for each letter of the alphabet.  (I have included some ideas below.)  Then mat each picture on brightly colored acid free paper.

Choose a coordinating or matching color from which to cut out large letters for each picture.  (I would recommend at least three inches tall.)  Brighter colors will help draw your child's eye away from the picture and to the letter.  Print the word you are using in a large simple font.  (I would recommend Ariel in 18 to 24 font size.)  Mat the word in a color that coordinates with or matches the color mat for the picture.

Then paste the picture, word and letter to a scrapbook page.  Keep the pages consistent.  If the picture is slightly right of center with the letter in the upper left and the word centered on the page below the picture then maintain that layout.  (Mirroring the layout on opposite pages is acceptable.)

A

Your child with an apple

Your child playing with animals

Your child's aunt(s)

B

Your child taking a bath

Your child playing ball

Your child looking at birds

C

Your child petting the cat

Your child playing with a group of children

Your child playing with or ride in a car

D

Your child's father

Your child petting a dog

Your child in a diaper

E

Your child or the family eating

Your child playing with an Elmo toy

A close-up of your child's eye

F

A picture of the whole family

Your child playing with or on a farm

A close-up of your child's feet

G

Your child's grandparents

Your child opening or giving gifts

H

Your house

A close-up of your child's hand

I

Your child eating ice cream

Your child ice skating

J

Your child jumping

Your child eating jam or jelly

K

Your child dressed as a knight or a king

Your child flying a kite

L

Your child turning on a light

Your child visiting the library

Your child playing on the lawn

M

Your child's mother

Your child "mowing" the lawn

Your child drinking milk

N

Your child's nana

Your child at night

Your child during nap time

O

Your child eating oranges, Oreos or oatmeal

P

Your child's pants

Your child's pillow

Your child painting

Q

Your child wrapped in a quilt

Your child dressed as a queen

R

Your child wearing a raincoat

Your child running a race

Your child eating raisins

S

Your child building a snowman

Your child sleeping

Your child's shoe

T

Your child in a tree

Your child playing with a train

Your child playing with or riding in a truck

U

Your child's uncle(s)

Your child under an umbrella

V

Your child playing with or riding in a van

Your child "vacuuming"

W

Your child eating watermelon

Your child playing with wheels

X

Your child playing with a child's xylophone

Y

Your child yawning

Your child playing in the yard

Z

Your child playing with or looking at a zebra

Your child at the zoo

 Allow your child to help create the book and they will attach more importance to it.  After you've narrowed down the picture choice ask your child which pictures they would prefer.  (I wouldn't give them more than two options and probably only for a few letters.  Toddlers, after all, have very short attention spans.)

After you've chosen the pictures have your child help you match the pictures to the appropriate letter.  Then they can help find the right word to match to the pictures.

This idea can also be modified for use with older children.  When your child is ready to start reading you can create a simple personal story.  Rhyming text works best.  Or if the idea of creating rhyming verse is a little daunting try creating a simple dictionary.  If you choose a scrapbook that allows you to insert pages you can even convert your alphabet book into a dictionary as your child gets older.

Enjoy your time bringing your toddler into the world of acadamia.  They grow up so fast.