On the way...

Mia and I have begun making an alphabet book. She already knows all her letters, but it's now time for phonemic awareness. She knows that "A is for apple and Aiden" and that it goes "a" but cannot seperate that sound from the word. So the book is simple- I found some stickers that have a letter and picture on them for each letter of the alphabet. So first Mia stuck one sticker on each double page of a large scrapbook. Then we discussed the letter and I asked her if she new it. Then I showed her how to write it, upper and lower case. Mia then copied. I'm only asking her to copy once- there's no need for rows of copying at this stage! When my focus is fine motor skills, THEN I will do that but at the moment my focus is phonic. Then we drew some things that begin with that letter. I wonder now if I should start referring to letters as phonograms? Or if it is too soon. In the near future, I will print out a bunch of pictures for her to sort, cut and paste into her book.

Due to reading name tags and flashcards and all sorts of educational games, she has also picked up capital letter knowledge but not lower case letters. So it's time to start that. It seems that lower cases are harder to write!

Although I am a follower of the Spalding method in the classroom, I am simply going in alphabetical order for now, because she is so young and needs a "practice run" before we start the phonograms approach. In 6-12 months I anticipate I will start the phonograms approach with her - the clockface letters, etc. I'm guessing that this is something that appeals to the Homeschooling family- this luxury of being able to create a curriculum that caters for the exact needs of your child.