Learning Phonics

My 3 years old daughter is going through the phonics learning stage. I have been trying various strategies, ranging from wooden toys to using iPad apps, to find the most effective method of teaching her phonics.

There are a few things, which I have found to be quite good, and there are others whom I have out-rightly rejected.

See and Spell

The best so far is the See and Spell, from Melissa and Doug. This set of wooden boards and letters can keep a 3 year old toddler busy for 20-30 minutes easily. 

There are around 10 boards, each with a picture and how the word is spelled. The letters are engraved in the wooden boards, and a separate set of letters fit very nicely in the engraved place, making your child learn the spellings while playing with the pieces.

This, however, is really about spellings and not phonics. Still, I highly recommend this to parents of toddlers.

Best iPhone, iPad and Android Games for Phonics

My hunt for the best tools continued onto the field of interactive smart phone apps. My main tool has been iPad but I am aware that several of these games are available for iPhone and Android as well. The best ones turned out to be abc Pocket Phonics Lite and Abby Monkey - Animal Phonics Island Adventure. 

abc Pocket Phonics Lite

This one is good in the sense that it teaches your child to write alphabets using his/ her finger in addition to learning the phonics. The phonics part starts with simple words like "it" and "an" and goes on to build more complex words. The same letters are practised in different forms so that the child actually grasps the underlying similarities instead of learning to cheat the game itself. :)

Abby Monkey - Animal Phonics Island Adventure

This one has stunning graphics and is much more engaging for kids. If you want to try just one iPad phonics game, I would recommend Abby Monkey more over abc Pocket Phonics.

The monkey here drives a train and then asks the child to "drag" all animals into the train whose name begins with a specific sound. Once the train carts are full, the train moves on.

Each level is made further interesting by letter the child choose some "stickers" for himself, which are pasted on a plain sheet within the game to keep track of her accomplishments.

Fisher Price: The ABC's Zoo Learning Game

Learning to type is an important step in learning to code---no matter how distinct these two activities seem to be in an abstract sense. The layout of the ubiquitous QWERTY keyboards poses further problems to the little learners.

Enter the online Fisher Price game: The ABC's Zoo Learning Game! It's a fun way to learn the alphabets in the first place, and to locate keys on the keyboard in the second. The toddler version of this online flash based "game" works by waiting for key presses. As soon as a key is pressed, a picture of an animal, and plays sounds to engage the little learner.

I'd rate it as a must try. You can bookmark the webpage for easier access in future.

If you are really into this, you might like to buy a colour-coded kids keyboard from Amazon!

Kids Can Code

I believe that skill to program systems is becoming essential with the passage of time. The pace at which the world is moving makes me think that coding will be as essential as the skill to drive a car in the coming years---no matter what your profession is, you need to be able to drive for a lot of things in life.

When our children will grow old, they will be expected to know how to program. The earlier they start, the better for them. However, you can't just throw a child into learning---it is important not to overdo anything; otherwise, you'll mar the personality and the individuality of the kid.

This blog is an attempt (and a list of discoveries I make) at teaching my 2.5 year old daughter to program. It all started in year 2012---in case, this year becomes important at any future date.