Differentiating Between b & d

Talia is learning to read a little bit. She is also learning to write letters and is starting to put them together on her own to make words. It's so fun to watch her figuring it all out!

I've noticed that she has been having a hard time differentiating between lowercase b and d. I googled to see if I could find ideas on teaching it & the idea I chose was the Bed Poster approach.

I found this link with ideas and printable pages to use.



We had a b & d day, and I started by showing her the bed picture, asking her what it was, and then getting her to make the b & d with her hands. I found that it was difficult for her to make the letters with her fingers, so we tried something I found on another website- you make two fists & stick your thumbs up. That was easier for her.

Next, she practised making the lowercase b and then the d.
From there, she was so into it that she wanted to make the capital letters & then started doing the whole alphabet on her own- it was cool to see how much she has learned!



She had a few letters that she wasn't sure to do, but after today, she knows Q, V, & W.
(You can see the additions made in colour from Katrina ;)

It was a great day of learning!

Family Tree Poster & Other "Maps"

I've been thinking about doing a family tree type of activity with Talia for a while...
So today, I rolled out the art paper, and we got to work making our family tree (well, we just did Ken's side of the family this time, we'll do mine next time, now that she knows what a family tree is).
Here's Aunt Rushy & Uncle Aaron who fell in love & now they're having a baby girl! (Note Talia's illustration of their baby ;)
And Gummy & Poppy, where it all began ;)
Talia was quick to understand what we were doing, and I think this is a good way to help her visualize how the family works.

I drew another type of "map" earlier today. This one was of a day. Talia cannot seem to grasp the idea that when she wakes up from her nap it's not a new day. So, I drew a detailed "day" for her today, showing her the things we do each day & discussing them as I drew them, along with a sun showing when it is light & a moon and stars for when it's dark. Then I pointed to each thing and I explained that the nap is in the middle of the day and it's not a new day when she wakes up. "See??"

Talia: "That doesn't make sense."

*sigh* Okay, so the map didn't work for that one ;) Does anyone have any other ideas or success stories for helping your child understand that a nap is in the middle of the day? Or do most kids just get that? :)

Starfall Computer Games

A friend of mine posted on her family blog about a website called Starfall that has educational computer games on it for young kids. I checked it out this morning & shared it with Talia.

She thought it was great, & so did I! She tried out a bunch of the ABCs activities this morning and had a great time! (Maybe a little too much time... by the end of it, she told me her feet were falling asleep, "because they feel all twinkly" ;) lol


So, we'll definitely be revisiting Starfall, but next time, with the timer set, so we don't get too engrossed in all of the alphabet and early reading fun! :)

Typing

Talia loves typing at the computer! We often pull up Notepad, set the font large, and let her go for it. Sometimes she types whatever she wants (she loves to use caps lock) and sometimes she asks me how to spell different people's names, and she types them. It's great for her letter recognition, and she often surprises me with the letters she remembers and can find on the keyboard!