Welcome back to Azy Reading Journey website, where our goal is to make learning fun. We are now helping Azy to learn numbers and lower-case letter, so we have slowed down a bit. Maybe, you are wondering, is teaching number recognition to preschoolers easy – yes when you use games and other fun activities.
In the last post, we were making plans to help Azy learn numbers and lower-case letters. You can read more about that here.
At this time, he prefers to do the activities with the numbers more than with the letters.
When we are trying to help him learn the lower-case letters, he still wants to use the upper-case letters.
I guess that because we have been using them for quite a while, he is very comfortable with them, and do not want to let go.
So, we are teaching him to spell his name, so that he can use both the upper-case and lower-case letters.
What Are Our Plans For Azy?
We are planning to use the following Toys and materials to help teach Azy the numbers and lower-case letters:
♦2-1 Magnetic Matching Puzzle
♦Touch and Learn Activity Desk
♦Buildings Blocks
♦Magnetic Letters and Numbers
♦ Double-Sided Learning Board or Tray
♦Flash Cards
♦LeapFrog DVDs
♦Play Money
♦Mickey Mouse ABC. 123 nesting & stacking blocks
Activities To Teach Number Recognition
The first time we helped Azy with the numbers, he wanted to use the 2-1 Magnetic Matching Puzzle. However, the puzzle board has the number in word rather than digit.
Therefore, we could not do a lot with that, and were only able to help him identify each number then put the magnetic number on the word (for example, putting the number “1” on the word “one”). There was not much fun in that, so we will try something else.
The next time, we used the Touch and Learn Activity Desk. He had more fun using it, but since this is a touch and learn activity, when the touched a number, the desk identified the number and counted the objects for that number.
So, he identified each number by placing a magnetic number on the corresponding number on the desk.
Azy had more fun with this activity than with the first one. However, I think that we will use the 2-1 Magnetic Matching Puzzle and the Touch and Learn Activity Desk later on to test Azy’s knowledge. I believe that they will do well in helping to show if he is learning.
We will use the 2-1 Magnetic Matching Puzzle check to see if he can properly identify each number on the puzzle board, by counting the objects and then placing the corresponding magnetic number (1, 2, 3….) on the number word (one, two, three….).
We will use the Touch and Learn Activity Desk to see if he can properly identify each number on the desk by counting the objects and then placing the magnetic number on the corresponding number on the desk.
If Azy will allow it, we will not turn on the Touch and Learn Activity Desk when we are testing his knowledge.
I wrote a review on the Touch and Learn Activity Desk.
==> You can read more about it here <==
More Activities To Teach Number Recognition
When Azy is at home, he plays with his building blocks and he always wants someone to play with him. So, we thought it would be a very good idea to use the blocks to help him learn the numbers and learn to count.
We tried, and it is working out very well. He is enjoying this activity so much that we are using it, and adding more activities as we go along.
We put the magnetic numbers on the double-sided learning board, then we helped Azy to count the blocks. After that, we helped him to identify the number that matches the number of blocks that he had counted and placed the magnetic number before the blocks.
Azy is having fun learning the numbers and counting. You will get a better understanding of what I am saying when you watch the video below.
==> Go to our Facebook page to see more videos with Azy having fun with numbers <==
As we continue to teach Azy, we are still using games and other fun activities to help him learn the numbers and lower-case letters, and he is enjoying the learning experience.
When we first started with the numbers, we were helping Azy to identify the numbers, then I found the flash cards that we had bought some time ago.
So, we are also using numbers flash cards to help him with number recognition and identification. Azy counts the objects on each card, then turns the card over to identify the number.
He then places the card before the blocks that he had counted and put the number on the card. Azy loves the addition of the flash cards, so we will be using them when he is doing the numbers lesson.
Different Activities Same Materials
Most of the toys and materials listed above are the same materials that we have been using to teach Azy. However, instead of using magnetic letters, we are now using magnetic numbers. You can read more about that here.
I will continue discussing the materials that we are using in the next post. Until then, thank you for taking the time to read about Azy’s reading journey. I would love to hear from you.
What do you think? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts.
If you have any questions, go ahead and leave them. I will do my best to answer them. If you like what you read, please like it and share it. Thanks
Hello, my name is Jackie. My family members and I are teaching my grandson Azy to read and I am writing about the challenges and the joy that comes from doing so. My goal is to write articles that will encourage and help parents and others who want to do the same for their kids or other children. Thanks for travelling along with us. Blessings, Jackie
Wow…this looked very thought out. Is this a technique you developed yourself? Azy also seems to have fun while learning which I think is very important.
Hi Karen
Yes, this is something we developed because we are always trying different activities to see which ones will work best in teaching Azy. He is having fun while learning, and that also makes it easier to teach him.
Like you, I think that it is very important for kids to have fun while learning, and we have seen how much this approach has helped Azy to get more involved in the learning process.
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog.
Hi Jackie! I love how you made an effort to try different things that would interest Azy because as you know, at that age, their attention spans are pretty small so the hardest thing is to capture their attention long enough that they will start to retain something.
I also love your effort because most teachers would stick to one thing rather than diversifying their approach to suit their individual student’s needs. I tutor music (among several other topics) and I find that not one of my kids has the exact same interests so when I tutor each privately, I have to adjust my lessons to suit their interests. It’ll be the same concept, but with a slight variation (or complete one depending upon their level of knowledge in the subject.
Thanks, Tyranique
Yes, the attention span of young children can be very short. So, we had to try a lot of activities to see which would worked best for Azy. When we found those that he loves, we use them, and he is having fun learning.
As a tutor, it is very good that you are aware that students learn differently. Yes, some teacher will stick to routine or the curriculum even when all the students are not responding in a positive way.
I believe that children want to learn, so we should do our best to help them by trying to find out what method of teaching works for them.
I’ve worked a lot with children who are struggling with reading and with math. Different children learn in different ways. It’s great to start off preschoolers with hands on learning activities; it’s never too early to start teaching them.
I have found though experience that sometimes older children seem to learn better with hands on activities as well, such as teaching fractions with foam pie pieces.
My children loved the number and letter magnets; there is so much that you can do with them, and they can be used for years to come.
Hi Willow
Sorry to hear about the children struggling with reading and math. It would have been so much easier for them if they had someone to help them. I agree that children learn differently, so teachers should always be mindful of that.
I agree that it is never too early to start teaching children. Based on my experience, I believe that it is best to start when they are two years old, because it gives them a lot more time to learn different activities before they get ready for preschool.
I believe that like adults, some children learn my doing. So, teaching fraction with the foam pie pieces will help them to understand fraction better.
Yes, you can do a lot with magnetic letters and numbers. Especially if you have a lot of them. Azy is also learning to use them to spell his name, and we have so much planned to do with them.