The Children's Garden
  • Home
  • Philosophy
  • Early Childhood Programs
  • Homeschool
  • Summer Camps
  • Enrollment
  • About Us
    • Contact & Location
    • Open House
    • In The Press
  • Blog
  • Weekend Classes
  • Parent Portal

30 Fun Ways to Inspire a Love of Language

2/23/2018

6 Comments

 
At the Children's Garden we love to create dynamic, hands-on learning experiences to help develop essential skills.  Check out these 30 fun projects that encourage literacy and language development!
​

1. Projects with Purpose

Kids are much more motivated to practice reading and writing if they are creating something like a special card, a birthday wish list, or even a grocery list.
Picture
Picture
Using scissors and other tools helps to make strong motor skills for writing!
Picture
Picture
Dotted lines help early writers to find confidence in their writing skills.
Picture
Picture

2. Sewing Letters

In early childhood, children are building their capacity to use their fingers and hands through a variety of activities. Hand sewing helps young readers and writers because it develops not only fine motor skills but the eyes as well.
Picture
​We used the Montessori technique of 'analysis of movement'; when we are demonstrating a skill we break it down into clear simple steps.

"…the adult should be calm and act slowly so that all the details of his action may be clear to the child who is watching." – Maria Montessori, The Secret of Childhood
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
We started off sewing the first letter of our names.
Picture
Then we made enough letters to start making words and sentences.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

3. Fairy Letters

After the sewing exercise the kids were easily able to recognize the first letter of their names with these fairy letter coloring sheets.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
A neat way to highlight children's art work is to outline it in sharpie and cut out around the shapes.
Picture
The kids loved seeing their alphabet fairies turned into a magical fairyland!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

4. The Fairy's Secret Alphabet

Use children's interests as motivation for learning! Our Pre K class is really enjoying learning the sounds of the alphabet. The following project was inspired by Fairy Dust Teaching:

"I love making special gems and jewels to help motivate my students to learn critical skills like letters, letter sounds and sight words.

I have found that it can be highly motivating to students who are struggling. This is most powerful if you introduce the jewels through a little story:

Once, a long time ago, there lived a little fairy.  She was no ordinary fairy.  She was an Alphabet Fairy.  Yup.  She wore a beautiful Pink Cape and had a little blue bag.  She carried in her very secret bag - secret jewels.

Shhhh - -  I will tell you Alphabet Fairy’s secret.   (I pull out a blue bag).

Alphabet Fairy loved all the sounds of the letters.  One day she was telling her best friend the Tooth Fairy how much she loved letters and their sounds.  “I wish I could let children know how special the letters and their sounds are. . . .”

Just then, the Tooth Fairy had an idea.  “I know!  You could leave one of your special sparkling letter jewels every time a child learns a new letter and it’s sound!”

Alphabet Fairy danced and danced.  “Yes!  Just think!  They could have a bag full of 26 sparkling jewels and love the letters as much as I do!”
From that day on - she shared the jewels with as many children as she could.

(I open the bag and pour a pile of letter jewels in my hand.)

(I tell the children) The Alphabet Fairy has given me the jewels to share with you as you learn your letters and sounds."

​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

5. Letter Collages

Learning to identify and spell your name is a beloved preschool favorite!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

6. Matching Letters

Picture
Picture

7. Tracing Letters

Picture

8. Magnetic Alphabet Tracing Board

This fun board encompasses sight, sound, and touch skills as children learn how to write letters by tracing the directional arrows and develop writing motor skills.
Picture
The kids love the sound of the magnet pulling the metal balls into the shapes of the letters!
Picture
Picture

9. Alphabet Maze

We also love this maze board that helps us to master letter identification and alphabet order!
Picture
Picture

10. Playdough Letters

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

11. Word Puzzles

Working together on puzzles is a great time for parents or teachers to encourage children to communicate their thoughts and ideas.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

12. Alphabet Stencils

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

13. Alphabet Stamps

Picture
Picture
Some explored with random letters, creating really long nonsense words.
Picture
While others were eager to practice their name mastery.
Picture

14. Hieroglyphic Alphabet

The kids loved exploring and matching these hieroglyph stamps while gaining a deeper understanding of the history of our alphabet!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

15. Alphabet Crayon Rubbings

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The kids were delighted when they saw the first letter of thier name appear as well as other pictures!
Picture

16. Book Nook

Providing a comfy spot and a variety of eye-level books supports the independent exploration of pre-readers.
Picture

17. Read Aloud

Studies show that reading books aloud to toddlers is important because the earlier children acquire language, the more likely they are to master it.

“You are stretching them in vocabulary and grammar at an early age. You are preparing them to be expert language users, and indirectly you are going to facilitate their learning to read.

Encouraging older children to sound out words and explaining what a word means if it isn’t clear in the context of the story will help build children’s vocabularies.

Allowing children to pick the books they are interested in and turn the pages themselves keeps them active and engaged in learning. 


Reading to children also teaches them to listen, and good listeners are going to be good readers."

 - Dominic Massaro

For more details on the research read:

“Two Different Communication Genres and Implications for Vocabulary Development and Learning to Read” by Dominic W. Massaro, Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 2015

Picture

19. Nature Letters

First we explored making letters out of sticks, forming the alphabet, and writing our own names.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Then we added letters on stones too!
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Using nature-inspired loose parts to make letters and words creates a beautiful expression of language. 
Picture

20. Yoga Letters

These ABC Yoga cards by Rainbow Kids Yoga are so much fun!   The kids loved doing the poses for the first letter of their names!
Picture

L

Picture
Picture

I

Picture
As we did our letter posture we also made all the different sounds the letters can make!
Picture

J

Picture
Picture

M

Picture
Picture

R

Picture
Picture

A

Picture
Picture

21. Read a Recipe

How we love to add nutritious ingredients to our favorite recipes :)

The kids loved these Sweet Potato Avocado Brownies! And it was fun learning to read the recipe together on the outdoor chalkboard.
Picture
Mix together the above ingredients and add 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt and 2 TBS melted coconut oil.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The kids gave these a thumbs up!
Picture

22. The Language of Poetry

We were inspired by this Valentine book by Gail Gibbons to explore some poetry!
Picture
The kids especially enjoyed these haikus so we came up with a cool haiku project below.
Picture

23. Heart Haikus!

This was such a fun original idea!  We wrote out nature inspired, one syllable, nouns, verbs, adjectives, and a couple of prepositions on heart shaped sticky notes.  Then the kids counted out the haiku rhythm of 5, 7, 5.
Picture
The readers had fun carefully selecting their words.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The pre-readers enjoyed randomly choosing their words and being surprised when the finished product is read to them.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

24. Rhyming Poetry

These poetry books by Jane Yolen were an intriguing way to introduce rhyming while also integrating nature, counting, and color.
Picture
By far, the favorite book of the month is Rhyming Dust Bunnies by Jan Thomas.  Just say "No Bob!" to the kids and expect riotous laughter :)
Picture

25. Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks

These are a fun way to learn about different vowel sounds and practice rhyming.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

26. Poetry Pebbles

These poetry pebbles provided a fun opportunity to express our imaginations and a rich experience in oral language and storytelling.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

27. Storytelling with Blocks

After reading "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" by Mo Willems the kids crafted their own story by creating a huge bus that can fit all the pigeons on the planet!
Picture
And these guys created bridges for the troll from the classic fairy tale Three Billy Goats Gruff.  There were some excellent troll impersonations!
Picture

28. Beading Hearts

While not an obvious literacy activity, we presented the beads and sorting tray in a left-to-right order. Materials in Montessori Education are presented in this order as an indirect preparation for reading and writing. ​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

29. Educational Texts

Incorporating a variety of texts into projects and play introduces children to all the different ways language can be used to communicate ideas as well as unusual or difficult words that are new to them.
Picture

30. Use Descriptive Language

When snacking in the garden it's fun to explore new and interesting words to describe our experience - the broccoli flowers are "crunchy, ticklish, fragrant".
Picture
See you next time!
Picture
6 Comments
Keep in Mind When Choosing the Engagement Ring link
12/15/2018 06:13:46 am

Thanks for the post

Reply
global science research link
2/12/2021 12:26:48 am

Efficiently written information. It will be profitable to anybody who utilizes it, counting me. Keep up the good work. For certain I will review out more posts day in and day out. <a href="https://www.vkonte.com/">global science research</a>

Reply
boudoir nude link
2/13/2021 12:03:09 am

Very efficiently written information. It will be beneficial to anybody who utilizes it, including me. Keep up the good work. For sure i will check out more posts. This site seems to get a good amount of visitors. <a href="Https://awomansessence.com">boudoir nude</a>

Reply
Motocross Gloves Online Italy link
2/13/2021 12:16:46 am

A number of dissertation websites on the internet for those who purchase needless to say publicised as part of your page. <a href="https://www.zensleather.com/">Motocross Gloves Online Italy </a>

Reply
เว็บพนันออนไลน์ link
11/7/2023 11:30:42 am

i read a lot of stuff and i found that the way of writing to clearifing that exactly want to say was very good so i am impressed and ilike to come again in future..

Reply
เว็บพนันออนไลน์ ถูกกฎหมาย link
11/9/2023 11:43:36 am

very good so i am impressed and ilike to come again in future..

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    How we learn...

    The intention of this blog is to include the community in our learning process and to inspire families to engage in fun and healthy activities together!

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Subscribe To Our Newsletter!

* indicates required