When I saw Ciara’s son, Future Zahir, using one of my favorite apps my heart fluttered. Endless Alphabet is a great way to introduce early literacy to young children in a fun way. I love how the creators, Origination Inc. use play through learning to keep kids engaged. My son used this app when he was two years old and graduated to the next level.
Although it is not required or mandatory for your child to be able to read before kindergarten, having a head start isn’t so bad either. I will recommend that you do not force your child to read, but surround them with opportunities to naturally enquire information about this process.
As a mom that also believes in early literacy, I would like to list a few of my favorite free apps that will help your little ones learn through play. My son is reading and he is only four years old, therefore I have experience personally and professionally.
Once your child has grasped the knowledge of the English alphabet and you want to transition to sentences, Endless Reader is available to use. The words your child learned in Endless ABC are now used as practice to create sentences. This app is a great way to match common everyday words, while the narrator reads the sentence aloud. Repetition and following along with the reader helps build literacy and fluency.
Recognizing sight words is another great way to build literacy. This app provides four levels of pre primary, kindergarten, grade one, and grade two sight words. When I first introduced this app, I sat down with my little one and allowed him to watch me interact with the app. In the beginning we only spent two-four minutes a day on this. Once again, I didn’t force this upon him. It was a gradual process.
Literacy involves all subjects including math. Measure is a fun app to use to introduce your little ones to the fascinating concept of measuring animals. My son loves this as well.
MarcoPolo Weather is a great app for science and math introduction.
Feel free to leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. Enjoy!