ABC. Not as Easy as 123.

Our three-year-old Jack has been singing the ABCs since he was just over two. Clearer than crystal. He can also count to 30. To ten in Spanish, with no help. But, when it comes to identifying letters and sounds or numbers, he's clueless. I hold up a "B," he boldly shouts "Jay!" I ask what letter dinosaur starts with he says "A, ah ah!" 

Okay...

We've been aware at his resistance to absorbing the alphabet. But, his recent preschool assessment reinforced our knowledge. "Jack needs improvement on recognizing letters and numbers." Unlike Jack, I've absorbed this.

For the past few months, we've been working on letter and number recognition. Sounds easy. But, maintaining a preschoolers attention is quite challenging. So, I found a few games that keep things fresh. Hold his interest. And, hopefully he'll start to catch on.

ABC Cookies
Jack loves his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches cut in shapes. I found a box of 101 kid-themed cookie cutters at the supermarket. From holiday and transportation shapes to letters and numbers. Every week I match his sandwich to the featured letter of the week at preschool. But, why not actually cut letter cookies? Duh.

Alphabet Hunt Game
Jack received foam letter bath toys last Christmas. While we do practice in the tub (find the letter "C" among numerous floating letters), I uncovered many Alphabet Hunt Games on other Mom blogs. Sort of like an Easter Egg Hunt, Jack has to find the letters around the house. If he guesses the letter correctly when he finds one, he gets a special treat. Or sticker. Depending on how well he's doing.

Letters from Objects
This one's pretty simple and takes no time to prepare. Use objects, such as noodles, legos, crayons, to create different letters. We even used his trucks one time to make the letter "T."

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
We've done indoor and outdoor scavenger hunts, but I recently came across the inspiration to host an Alphabet Scavenger Hunt. Find objects and things in the house that start with each letter of the alphabet. 

ABC Mat Game
This is our favorite. I discovered numerous ways to play this game. Here's our way: we place the ABC foam mat in order A to Z. Then, I pull out Jack's wood letter blocks. He picks a wood block and matches it with the correct foam letter. To keep his interest, I offer a sticker if he gets it right. If he can repeat the letter and what sound it makes, he gets a treat.