Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Teach Me Tuesday: Where does the letter go?

Not to brag or anything, because honestly I wouldn't feel any different about my amazing little man if he were not as smart as he is, but my little guy is ridiculously smart. He is quite advanced for his age in terms of communication and cognition and he has a voracious appetite for learning. To encourage his love of learning I try my best to provide Aiden with as many stimulating activities as possible while keeping them fun and light-hearted. But as you can imagine, with a little guy who learns quicker than I can figure out what to teach him next, there are times where I'm at a loss of what activity to do with him, which is why I've decided to devote one day a week of The Creative Toddler to chronicling our learning activities.

For the inaugural Teach Me Tuesday lets go with an activity I call Where Does The Letter Go?

Here's what you need:
An alphabet mat or puzzle with removable letters (you can buy these at Toys r Us for $20 or you could make your own)

Here's how to do it:
Take several letters out of the puzzle and put them in a pile off of the mat. Pick up each letter in turn and ask your little person to show you where it goes. Aiden did this without my prompting and walked to the space and pointed out the missing letter. Then ask questions about the space or the letter like what colour is it? or what shapes is it? depending on where your little person is at in their learning journey. Then get your little person to put the letter back in the puzzle or help them do this if they need assistance.

This is an activity that has become somewhat of a ritual for Aiden and I. He really enjoys running around the mat showcasing his knowledge, so much so that when the pile is finished he asks for more!

And this activity is a really good one for active, hands-on little people who love letters, numbers and colours.

Happy learning,
Creatively yours,
Maya :)