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Learning to read & write
39
items I'm a former teacher and I compiled a list of versatile products worth investing in and free printables I sequenced these so your child can build their skills. I would start with Letter recognition then you can do letter sounds and letter writing at ...
Sections
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Physical products
Letter recognition (free) printables
Letter sounds (free) printables
Blending sounds (free) printables
Writing letters (free) printables
Physical products
Top investment. They are so thoughtful with CORRECT letter sounds and the illustrations also match the letter shape conceptually. Developed by a speech & literacy specialist. HIGHLY recommend and includes digital content to download and print too...
Lit Letters Flash Cards Official Lit to Lead
Great investment bc its versatility - stamp playdough or paper, or them bc who doesn't love a stamp on their hand..or all over ;) Great for learning a letter or word of the day!
Melissa & Doug Wooden ABCs 123s Stamp Set
QUALITY product here developed by a teacher. Give you the script behind each card. Is dry erase (and good dry erase) so you can write on it. Perfect for someone who knows nothing about what to teach after they learn the basic ABC letter sounds.
Advanced Sound Flashcards
HIGHLY recommend once they know individual letter sounds. Actually not boring stories and illustations (I found others to be boring and dull imagery). They feel so proud when they read these all by themselves.
TCR Decodable Books - Set 2
So helpful for them to practice a specific advanced letter sound. The reading passage is STUFFED with that sound so they practice it multiple times.
Fluency Passages
Ok, not exactly writing, but building finger muscles. These are DIFFERENT from normal scissors. They have a spring so they just need to learn how to push in, not pull out. SUCH a confidence booster and they are so excited when they can actually use i...
Fiskars Kids Scissor Cutting Skills Activity Book with Blue Starter Scissors for Ages 2+
Great tool to identify letters on paper when crayons get boring.
Dot Markers for Toddlers - 8 Washable Colors
Easy for them to peel and easy for you to cut in strips.
3500 Dot Stickers, 3/4in, 10 Color Labels
So easy to string! Love making necklaces with a letter or word of the day.
278 Pcs Lowercase Alphabet Lacing Beads Set
IKEA knows whatsup. Fun way to keep the practicing going in a low-pressure way. Let them lead! Takes like a graham crackers with a nice crisp.
KAFFEREP Biscuits - letter-shaped 6 oz
If you are a Ms.Rachel stand, this is phonic accurate and a way to reinforcing letter sounds without you present. “Self-correcting, you can say.”
Melissa & Doug Ms. Rachel Wooden Phonics Puzzle
Easy to peel. Fun to make cards for friends.
Juvale Foam Letter Stickers - 1300 Pcs, 6 Colors
A great way to build a letter sound starter set for each letter. A little treat bag to “gift” them in the morning. You can always add/subtract as needed. They are not all phonics correct, but I just removed those.
Alphabet Learning Toys with Flash Cards & Figurines
Love that it has a drawing side on the back. Slows them down when tracing to help promote good practice.
PICASSO-TILES Magnetic Alphabet Board 12x10” Dual-Sided Letter Tracing Pad, Reusable Erasable Writing Tablet, Preschool Learning STEM Toy for Kids
A cool thumb ball! Haven't tried myself but looks fun. Love some active learning and practice
Thumball My ABCs Thumball 4"
Cute colors
494ct Mini Alphabet Foam Stickers - Mondo Llama™: Small Letter & Number Scrapbook Stickers, 2 Sheets
They sell this at Costco, but I can't find the link. Very colorful and covers everything. The sequence is a bit jump aroundy but overall its great.
Scholastic Success with Toddler Workbook
A nice way to let the learning soak in ;)
Suction Letters & Numbers
I'll be honest I haven't tried these but I have tried the plastic ones that are transparent and you connect together, and the connecting part was too difficult. Because these are magnet these seem more promising. Would pair great with the strokes dig...
Learning Resources Magnetic Letter Construction, 262 Pieces, Ages 4+
Easy cvc words on a key ring. they're grouped by the letter sound so its an easy place to start.
Lachilly 60 PCS Phonics CVC Words Flashcards for Kids – Sight Words, Spelling, Dry Erase Educational Learning Card Set for Kindergarten Teaching Aids
1 year olds LOVE these pop things. Start em young. Great way to keep them quiet in the car.
Poke-a-Dot Alphabet Learning Cards
Love this has not just letters, but also lines and squigglies
Hulats Wooden Alphabet Tracing Boards 4+
A basic cookie. I prefer the Ikea ones, but it's something fun to put in their lunchbox. Another casual exposure to letters to give some food for thought.
(6 pack) Earth's Best Organic Letter of the Day Toddler Snack Vanilla Cookies, 5.3 oz Box
Letter recognition (free) printables
Step 1: Learning the letter shape. So versatile. Can use with pompoms, beans, glitter glue, anything! Get creative and make a whole alphabet using different mediums or put them in sheet protectors and a little binder to make them resuable.
Alphabet Dough Mats - Free Letter Building with Sound Icons
Step 2: Differentiating the shape of the letter from another. Can be used with dot markers or crayons.
Alphabet Free Search Letter Mats
Step 3: Finding the letter from a larger pool of letters. Cute but does require you to have these letters or you can use something else or make your own.
Alphabet Chicka Chicka Boom Letter Mat - Free Center
Very simple. Fun to see the letter appear
Alphabet Dot to Dot Worksheets - Free Capital and Lowercase Practice
Spotify song. Calm and slow.
The Alphabet Song
Letter sounds (free) printables
Spotify song. The least annoying phonics song I found. Like that its slow and starts with a word (not the sound) so they can try to guess the sound.
Letter Sounds (apple apple aaa)
Free printable. Sort the pieces into each column. They can practice cuttng & gluing if you want or pre-cut for them. Perfect morning activity.
Alphabet Beginning Sound Free Sort Worksheets
Great after they have a few letter sounds down since they tackle a few at a time on each page here. Start with just the letter/phonics, then see if they can do CVC ones when they're ready.
Great for puttng in your restaurant activity bag!
Great for puttng in your restaurant activity bag!
Alphabet I Spy Sheets - Free Printable Letter and Sound Search Pages
Don't need letter chips, dot stickers with letters written on them works great (and lets them practice tactile skills too).
To increase the fun (and level) have them go on a “letter hunt” where you hide a deck of letters and use this as their checklist.
You also don't have to give the entire page at one time. Break em up to the individual cards as “mini hunts”
The worksheet also included is a great confidence builder to warm up with since they are distinguishing between 2 letters as opposed to distinguishing from 5 letters.
To increase the fun (and level) have them go on a “letter hunt” where you hide a deck of letters and use this as their checklist.
You also don't have to give the entire page at one time. Break em up to the individual cards as “mini hunts”
The worksheet also included is a great confidence builder to warm up with since they are distinguishing between 2 letters as opposed to distinguishing from 5 letters.
Alphabet Chip and Swipe Cards - Free Beginning Sound Activity with Magnetic Chips
Once they feel confident with a few letter sounds, they can probably tackle the first one in this set which feels like a puzzle. I also like the 2nd which is CVC words. Once they learn to blend sounds this is a good one.
Alphabet Beginning Sound Sort – Free Assessment Activity for Matching Letters and Sounds
Fun if you want a “bigger puzzle”. More exciting and tactile for kiddos to do this on the floor.
Alphabet Beginning Sound Free Dominoes
Blending sounds (free) printables
Great for starting to blend sounds!
CVC Word Builder Cards Free Download | Successive Blending with Green Yellow Red Coding
Writing letters (free) printables
A letter writing activity in disguise. They are practicing all the letter strokes by tracing the images.
Printable has a color and black and white version to save printer ink.
Another great thing for your restaurant bag.
Printable has a color and black and white version to save printer ink.
Another great thing for your restaurant bag.
Alphabet Letter Strokes Task Cards – Free Handwriting Practice Mats
Helps break down the components of the letters so they can build confidence bc they know how to draw a circle.
Alphabet Handwriting Letter Strokes Pages - Free Pre-Writing Printables
Great starter to trace with your hand, trace the line, then write. Just enough for them. I also just started with the letters in their name.
Instructions: This is a large download bundle, I only did the “Handwriting notebook,” which I believe is the 14th folder.
Instructions: This is a large download bundle, I only did the “Handwriting notebook,” which I believe is the 14th folder.
Alphabet Handwriting Freebies - Free Charts, Tracing, Strips, and Stroke-Based Printables
For some reason bubble letters make you want to trace more. This is great to practice. Works best with a highlighter. I also just started with the letters in their name.
Alphabet Free Search and Trace Letter Printables