Now that the children have all settled into our classroom and the daily routines, we can finally let the learning unfold. This week we have began introducing letters to the children. We have read many alphabet books, sang many songs relating to the alphabet and had a few discussions about the purpose of using letters. We began by starting with the first letter of the child’s name. This will help the children feel a sense of belonging and promote their sense of self; they will also notice similarities and differences between self and others. “J is for James, and J is for Justin!” shouts James proudly.

Recreating the first letter of our name using loose parts

This learning experience encouraged children to practice their fine motor skills to enrich their pincer grasp by using these small loose parts and placing them ever so carefully on the letter of their name.