Garrett has made it to the summit of Letter Mountain!  I say this with all the pride and love a mother can.  We have struggled for the last year to teach him all the letters of the alphabet.  He has excelled in learning addition and subtraction, but until recently, has been unable to recognize all the letters.  I watched with great concern as he would become easily frustrated during letter lessons.

He developed some interesting ways of dealing with this frustration.   Sometimes he would say “Oh mom, I know that letter, I’m just not going to tell you!”  Other times he would say “I know it, but you have to say it first!”  And then there were the tears…many tears.  He would become so frustrated over his inability to recognize a letter, he would cry in defeat, saying ‘I’m never going to know all my letters!’  He even told me at one point this summer “I am the only six year old who can’t read.”  I would lovingly reassure him that he would read one day, and point out his strengths – math.

To help him learn, I have done so many different things.  I have started and stopped at least 3 phonics programs, because it was obvious he just wasn’t ready for them yet.  No one learning method has helped more than the other.  It has been through repetition and allowing him to develop to the point of his brain being able to recognize letters that he has finally learned his letters. 

Here are a few websites and activities we have used to help Garrett master Letter Mountain:

Alphabet Flashcards – done every day

Alphabet matching game

Alphabet Bingo

ABC Order http://www.learningplanet.com/act/abcorder.asp?contentid=172

A-Z Phonics http://www.marks-english-school.com/games/A-Z.html

Clifford Letter Round up http://www.scholastic.com/clifford/play/roundup/index.htm

Starfall ABCs http://www.starfall.com/n/level-k/index/play.htm?f

Letter Sounds http://www.yourchildlearns.com/letters/lettersounds.htm

Rats letters http://www.learningplanet.com/act/rats/rats1.asp?rats_letters

The ABC game http://www.primarygames.com/theabcgame/start.htm

Blessings,