How I Taught My Toddler The Alphabet And Numbers 1-20

Hi Friends! Welcome Back!

It‘s nap time here and I honestly couldn’t wait to have a chance to pop in with a few more helpful ways to encourage learning with your toddler. Today we’re chatting all things alphabet and numbers and I’ll be sharing how I got my almost 2.5 learning about it. During my days as a preschool teacher, I heard many parents say how they loved how well their child was talking but couldn’t get them interested in learning letters or numbers. I actually had a opposite situation where I really couldn’t get Isaiah to say much BUT he was curious about letters of the alphabet and numbers. By the time Isaiah was around 20 months he knew more than half of the alphabet letters. Now at 27 months he knows every single letter and what they look like in print. Now, he does get a few mixed up, the popular ones are “G” and “O” or “I” and “H” but in time he’ll learn to know the difference. My goal is for him to work on these more because he’ll be starting a homeschool preschool program in September!

So how did I do it?! Here are a few tips!

Isaiah learning letters came about on a whim. I bought him this play puzzle as a big brother gift. I was pregnant with Ezekiel and needed a few toys that could keep him busy during the first few weeks of having a newborn home. I was supposed to save it but I broke down and gave it to him early- He became OBSESSED! At first it was fun for him just to see where all the shapes went and one day he shocked me by pulling out all the letters and put them all back in their correct space. While playing I would simply say “That’s an A” or “Thats B!” and a few times throughout the day I would sit down and point at each letter saying it loud and clear. While out and about, I would point out big bold letters when I could to show him there were letters every where. Honestly I did not expect much but one day he started pointing them out when he saw them. I knew I was on to something then!

As often as you can point out letters that you see. Get a puzzle or book with letters to review and make it fun!

I have a lot of graphic tee shirts as part of my mom uniform and I noticed he liked pointing out the letters on our shirts when he saw them. Now I almost always wear shirts with writing for the sole purpose of him telling me what letters he sees. Learning is all encompassing and many think you have to drill your toddler to get them to gain knowledge. Those methods do work, but if you want a way for your toddler to learn, remember and make it fun- MAKE LEARNING A LIFESTYLE. Find ways to integrate it wherever you go and during whatever you’re doing. Isaiah learning his letters has come from months of repetition. Saying the letters, seeing the letters and repeating it again. The same has been true for learning his numbers! We literally count everything y‘all.

Have your child count as many things as possible. Using their pointing finger to guide them; they see it, say it and repeat it. At first I was only stopping at ten but one day I thought “I wonder if he’s ready for more?” I went past ten all the way to twenty! He was shook their was more numbers he could say. He learned what numbers looked like from books. You can make easy flash cards from paper and do some one to one correspondence activities with food. I personally like to do this during snack time! Following these tips will have your toddler interested in the alphabet and numbers in no time, especially if they think it’s a game. The puzzle I purchased is linked above so you can snag it online. Found it at Target!