Teaching Letters - and Colors!

D and I frequent the library each week searching for new books. One of this week's picks was Winnie the Pooh's ABC. I wasn't sure that he would truly get into this book at 15 months old but he adores it and LOVES to repeat the letters after me. I decided I would break out my artistic abilities from hibernation and attempt to create jumbo alphabet flashcards that we can play with together.

This is what I came up with:



Not too shabby, if I say so myself.

Of course, I don't expect him to know or remember these right away but they are a great introduction. I am going to create 2 other sets also - one of capital letters and one of lowercase letters. This way we can use them as flashcards or put them together to create words.

While I was at it (I had extra cards), I made a few color cards too!




We don't always have items of each color on hand so these will be quite helpful. I am planning on using them as traditional flashcards (sans the 'drilling' that many parents associate with flashcards) as well as a tool for matching and sorting items in the house. Just set each card in its own space in the room and help your child sort their blocks, balls or other belongings by color. :)

For the record, I understand that I could just buy flashcards but this way is much more fun, personal and cost-effective. I purchased 5 large posterboards, a set of magic markers and several permanent markers at the local dollar store for about $4-5.

Did it take up my time? Yes. Could I have been doing other things? Of course.

However, I was more than willing to blow off Mr. Clean for a creative mommy project that proves my roles go beyond cooking, diapering and cleaning up the disaster that our home becomes each day.

Tips for creating your own cards:

* A 22"x28" piece of white posterboard doesn't measure into any size perfectly. Because of D's age and the fact that he will be handling them, I made 20 cards out of each board (roughly 5.5"x5.5").

* Use pencil first then trace over it with the permanent marker. If you mess up, you can erase it.

* Don't underestimate how much fun you'll have. I bought the supplies and put it off for 2 days but once I got going, I remembered just how much fun it was to do art projects as a kid. I'm tempted to go buy a glue stick and some glitter now. :)