teach child letter b

Let's teach b (and later d) by helping your child pretend the round circle of b is the face of b. 

The face of b likes to look the way words go in the stories we reading together. (Take a minute right now to get a storybook and ask your child to show you - by running his finger under a few sentences - the direction words go in the storybook >>.)  

Next, on a sheet of paper, help your child draw the line of letter b for a giant b (wobbly is perfect) then draw a giant circle-face. Say: let's make b's eyes looking the way words go >>. Let's make a smile for b. (Let this be your child's b; his fingers will be uncontrolled with a pencil or fat crayon. Your goal is securing the idea that b's face looks the way words go, wobbly b's are perfect. Let your child make tons of giant b's - line 1st, then the circle face with eyes and a smiling mouth.  Take turns saying b words: bee, bumble bee, buzz, busy, bear, bird, baboon, boy, beetle, book, etc. Draw pictures of b items. ) Later, help your child point to letter b in the words of the stories you read together. Explain that books do not make eyes for letter b, but we are going to pretend b has eyes looking the way words go and a smile.

Later, after b is solid for your child, you will be teaching that d's face cannot see the

way words go because d's line is blocking d's face. Letter d is sad that d cannot see the way words go; d has sad eyes and a sad mouth. Help your child start with d's circle, then make a big point of blocking d's face with d's line. Ask your child to make tons of giant d's. Ask him to tell you over and over what he is doing - drawing d's round face, then blocking d's face with d's straight line. Let your child draw sad eyes and a sad mouth. Say: even though d is sad, d has special words: dragon, dinosaur, dog, diamond, dragon fly, etc.

Most children print their ABCs backward; this is rarely dyslexia, will not slow your child's reading progress, will self-correct by mid 2nd Grade. Spend your limited time mastering tricky, easy to confuse b / d and g / p / q. Help your child start 1st Grade able to correctly identify every ABC letter within words. Being slow to recognize letters within words will cause a child to fall behind. (Smart to start 1st Grade in control of the 1st ten sight words, too.)

If you would like a book, I use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up. All are brand new and include my contact info; email or call for help.

Thank you, Mary Maisner