Letters Around Us
Here's What To Do
Plan a visit to a familiar place with letters and words in the environment, like a street in your neighborhood or a store.
Think about what letters your child seems to recognize (or for younger children, pick one letter to try to teach your child, like the first letter in their name). Write up to 5 letters in uppercase on a piece of paper.
Ask your child to search for these letters in the store. If you see one, give your child hints to help them find the letter.
Read the full word the letter is in, and celebrate your child finding a letter!
Put PEER Into Action
Pause:
- Give your child a hug to help them focus in a busy place.
Engage:
- “Can you tell me when you see a B? Remember, this is what a B looks like (point to your paper)."
- If they see a sign with many letters, ask, “what other letters do you see?”
Encourage:
- Give your child hints, like: "I'm seeing a letter you know on the sign over there. Do you see an O or E or J?"
- Remember that this is a tricky activity, and also that most children will learn uppercase letters before they learn lowercase letters. Celebrate every letter your child finds, because this is hard work!
Reflect:
- “Was it easy or hard to find letters here?”
- “Where else can we go to find letters?”
Not quite ready?
Children this age are just starting to learn letters, and some might not know any yet. Play this game with the first letter of their name, and point out every time you see it. This will help them learn their first letter!
Ready for more?
Play this game with more letters, try writing 10 letters on your paper and search for those.
As your child masters this skill...
They will recognize letters about 5 uppercase letters (and will continue to recognize more letters as they grow!)