A couple months ago, my husband found a very good condition easel sitting on someone’s driveway on the way home, waiting to be picked up by the garbage truck in the morning. He knocked on the door and asked the person if he could take it. The person said yes. After I cleaned it, the easel looks almost new with some minor scratches. He also brought home a black plastic garbage bag which contains some art supplies. I let the bag sitting in the garage thinking I would go through that once the weather gets warmer. Last week I checked the bag and found some chalks. I brought it inside and decided to play with the easel. At first we drew some pictures, then I showed my son some letters and numbers. Being such an independent child, he insisted on writing on the easel himself. Then I held his hand and started to write letters and numbers. We started with numbers since it was easier to write. I used the method that my mom taught me as a child, which is using the shape similarities, e.g. number 1 looks like a stick, 2 looks like a duck, 3 looks like an ear, 4 looks like an upside down chair, etc. Not all numbers have shape similarities, but this method actually helps. Then we moved on with letter A, B and C. He knew a few letters from the daycare, books and flash cards, but never through the actual writing itself. Obviously his coordination is not good enough to write those letters and numbers by himself, but in the end he could write number 1. I praised him as he practiced.
my son "number one" work of art
That night I read him “Cleo’s Counting Book” for his bedtime story and he recognized number 1 to 5 instantly. He also recognized letter A, D and K. Having said that, I realized that my son learned numbers and the alphabets a lot quicker through hands on experience.
Tags: early learning, parenting tips on learning, toddler learning writing
