I may not be a parent just yet, but my 22Â years on this Earth have shown me that parenting is not always a walk in the park. You have to provide your kids with shelter and security. You have to feed them… everyday! You have to put clothes on their backs and tiny shoes on their feet. You have to teach them to apologize when they’re wrong, and accept forgiveness when they are wronged. The list goes on, and it’s overwhelming.
One of the biggest lessons to be learned is the value of education, the foundation of which lies in 26 unique characters. I’m talking about the alphabet.
With the step-by-step program Now I’m Reading! from Innovative Kids, parents and kids alike can enjoy the fun and proven process of learning the sights and sounds each letter makes. The My A-B-C Kit makes teaching kids the alphabet as easy as, well, A-B-C!
Designed for ages 3 and up, the educational and hands-on reading kit includes a wooden suitcase with a magnetic dry-erase board lid, an assortment of letter magnets in both upper and lowercase, 26 two-piece puzzles, 21 memory-match cards, two sticker sheets, and one dry erase marker. There’s even a parent guide complete with 46 (yes, I counted) game and activity ideas.
The parent guide is wonderful, as it recommends different activities that parents can use to engage their kids. “Finish My Thought”, for example, encourages inventive spelling and writing by having kids write down words that complete a thought said out loud by their parents. “Sky Writing” lets kids write letters in the sky with marker in hand, encouraging them to practice the motions without worrying about getting it exactly right. The versatility of this kit is something to be admired.
The two-piece puzzles, which are made of thick, durable cardboard, might be my favorite part of the whole product. Each puzzle consists of two pieces, one with a letter on it and one with a picture of something that begins with that letter. The letters are bold and easy to decipher, and the pictures are accompanied by a spelled out word for clarification. The corresponding pieces even have matching colors and patterns to help assist kids through the process of matching each pair.
Introducing kids to the alphabet can be a daunting task, and so it’s important to make it fun. Through multisensory approaches, the Now I’m Reading! Kit allows kids to manipulate and learn through a variety of different ways, all of which head down the road to success.
