Kids learn in so many different ways. What works best for one child may not be the best for another. In a larger classroom, it can be hard to adapt for each individual child’s needs. That’s why, as parents, we need to advocate for our children and supplement their education, ensuring that they are understanding the lessons their teachers are teaching them. We need to support our teachers, reinforcing their daily lessons.
One thing that I learned with Little Mister – who is a tactile learner – is that he learns best by moving, touching, building, and creating. I can’t just tell him, “Here, watch what I do.” Instead, if I slightly change what I’m teaching him to incorporate a tactile factor, he learns the concept better.
To help him learn the alphabet, we made letters from different materials so that he could feel how the letters are written. This can also help children who are learning to write the letters. There are lots of ways to make tactile letters – the sky is the limit. I walked through Target to find some materials to create letters. Whatever supplies you have available and will keep your child engaged are usable.
Playdough Letters
This can be one of the easiest ways to incorporate tactile learning into your child’s education. Using the playdough, your child can create the letters. By incorporating play into your child’s learning, the letters will be reinforced.
I start by giving a tub or two of playdough to the kids. I don’t want to give them too much or else they will become distracted with trying new colors. Sometimes I will print out pages with large letters or numbers on them so that my kids can use the playdough to fill in or outline the letters. Other times I’ll just have them create the letter from their memory.
Sandpaper Letters
Sandpaper letters can be created ahead of time by you and then used as flash cards with your kids. Just touching the letters will activate a different part of their brains, reinforcing the letters. I like to use a high grit so that they aren’t as rough to the touch.
Pipe Cleaner Letters
Little Mister loves pipe cleaners. One of his favorite activities that I will have him do is string pipe cleaners through a colander, working on his fine motor skills. When using pipe cleaners to reinforce the alphabet, I show Little Mister the letters and have him create them bending the pipe cleaners.
Letters from Related Materials
I got this idea last year from Little Mister’s preschool class. He would bring home letters creating things that start with that letter. The one that stood out to me was the letter “F”. When they made the letter “F,” they filled it with things that are fun.
Going off of that idea, create the letters out of construction paper and then find materials that start with that letter. For example, fill the letter “F” with feathers or the letter “G” with goldfish crackers. Not only is this a fun way to learn the letters, but it reinforces the beginning of spelling because your children will recognize the first letters.
Gel Letters
This is quite possibly my favorite way to reinforce writing letters. I took a gallon-sized bag and filled it with a bottle of clear aloe vera gel and then some glitter. I made sure that the extra air was out of the bag before zipping it closed. I also taped the top closed so that my kiddos wouldn’t accidentally open it.
With the glitter in the gel, it makes a fun way to write the letters. Kids can reinforce their letters while practicing writing.
Using these tactile letters just provide another tool for reinforcing your children’s education. And don’t forget to incorporate both upper- and lower-case letters! So often we focus on upper-case letters with young children and forget to reinforce lower-case as well.