has anyone tried magnetic letters?

[Nikita]

I did this with my older kids at 1 year old, so it may work earlier... I showed them flashcards of words like mummy, mum, daddy, potty, toot, cat, dog etc and then gave them the magnetic letters (fridge magnets)that spelled those words (tossed them in a pile in front of them) and asked them to spell a certain word.  and they did, no errors. I put larger alphabets in the bath (you can buy foam ones now) and they loved to put bubbles up the walls and stick the letters to the walls making words of their own choosing. They preferred to do that than play with other bath toys.

[nhockaday]

That's a great idea. I have heard that using letters like that is recommended.

[Nikita]

Well, we know for sure babies can read and do maths, but my kids and I'm sure many other babies are PROOF that babies can WRITE
They may not be able to write with a pen, or type, due to dexterity issues, but using the medium they can manage, they can spell out words, which is writing.!!!

[nhockaday]

Yep, and that's wonderful! How old were they when started spelling with letters? How long had you been teaching them words at that point?

[Nikita]

Back then I had an old Teach your baby to read book, which said to start at 1 year old with flashcards.  The newer versions say much earlier!! So I started them all at between 10 months and a year, but wasnt very dedicated then... didnt have a laminator, didnt know I could buy flashcards anywhere, couldnt afford to buy heavy cardboard paper to make flashcards...
But I did teach them basic words, and they learned them IMMEDIATELY.  Within days they could spell the words out (as soon as I thought to try it).  Their first words were the ones I listed before and dummy and nappy (aussie for pacifier and diaper), pussy, doggy, cot... I cant think of all of them. But due to circumstances (marriage breakdown and 3 little kids) I didnt really keep going with the flashcards.
REGRETS, I've had a few....
Wish I'd stuck with it.  Wish I'd homeschooled. I had all the right intentions, but my situation wasn't conducive to focussing solely on my children.  I wasnt aware until a week ago that as a single mother I could still have homeschooled my older kids...and arent I MAD about that? !!! I'll be homeschooling Azaria for sure.

[KL]

I did this with my older kids at 1 year old, so it may work earlier...

Am I reading that right - your kids were spelling at 1 year old??   

My daughter Felicity only managed to spell and write out her name recently (2.5+ years old)!

anyway, using magnetic letters is a great idea! Thanks for the tip!

[KL]

Read your reply just after I posted mine. So your kids DID start to spell at 1 year of age?!!

THAT'S INCREDIBLE!! Well done!! 

Please keep us updated with Azaria's progress!

[Nikita]

i will state that this holds true from my experience... once in, always there. It's not use it or lose it, but if not kept going and built on, unless the child was brought up like me, with nothing else to do but look at books and magazines (no TV where I grew up), they may not have an interest in learning to read by themselves. I found that with my son, and it may be true in general for boys more than girls, but with so many other things to do like playstation, Tv shows etc, unless they are only allowed educational items, they get pulled away from reading.
Yes, they were spelling words at 12 months, latest. Each child is different, and compared to the others Azaria is behind in crawling, pulling up on the furniture etc. They were early in physical development..maybe there is a corelation there? (crawled fully at 6 months, walking around furniture at 7 months, walking at 10 months (11 months for my son). Azaria is physically less able. not complaining...it's easier on me that way!! I havent even asked Azaria what the flashcards mean yet... cant ask her to touch her foot, point etc like Alika Titzer at 9 months, cos she doesnt have the physical prowess. (though I tell her to give her dad a back rub and she knows what I mean without demonstration (anymore), and she does it! 
I'll check her out this week...I'll try "cat"...she's obsessed with them.
Once kids go to school it's hard to teach them the way you'd want to. After school they are tired, and want to meet all their friends on Club Penguin. Beware the curse of Club penguin!

[chispa]

I like the idea of using magnetic letters.  I teach kindergarten so I have the letters available in both lower and upper case.  I will use them on a cookie sheet because I can trasport it anywhere. 

[nhockaday]

What a great idea, Chispa. I never thought of that.

[nlbrunner]

We have been using uppercase magnetic letters on the dishwasher and both my babies love it. My two year old can identify most letters but can't yet spell. Maybe it's due to the fact that she's learning three languages at the same time. She asks me several times a day to show her the alphabet on the BrillReader.

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