Songs to Learn the Alphabet
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010When teaching the alphabet to children, using songs, rhymes and musicality will help them to learn the sounds of the different letters. Songs make for great teaching tools because they inspire learning while also making it very enjoyable. . The following are a few examples of alphabet tunes you can use to teach your children the letters, the sounds that the letters make, and the words that start with those letters.
Song #1: A song dedicated to a specific letter. Choose any letter and then vary the song based on the letter.
C Song: Sing to Skip to my Lou
Carrots, castles, candy canes
Cucumbers and clouds with rain
Cats and cookies, crayons, too.
I think Cc is cool don’t you?!
Song #2: A song that sings the letters and then something that starts with the letter. This song pairs the letters with a word or phrase that starts with the same letter. Singing it helps kids make an association between the sounds a letter makes and the words they can form.
A: you’re an alphabet
B: you’re a belly button
C: you’re a cantaloupe with arms
D: you’re delirious
E: you’re an elephant
F: you’re the fairy of my arms
G: you’re a goony goon
H: you’re a hairy loon
I: you’re an icky dicky doo
J: you’ve got joppy knees
K: you’re a king
L: you’ve got leprosy too!
M, N: you’re a maniac
O: you’re an octopus-pus-pus-pus
P:, Q: particularly queer
R, S, T,: responsible for stupid things
U: pick your nose in bed
V: you’re a head
W, X, Y, Z
Song #3: Of course an oldie but a goodie includes the ditty that simply mentions all of the letters in a charming little tune. The one where ‘LMNOP’ sounds like a word to most kids, instead of 5 separate letters!
The best alphabet songs will not only teach the letters, but offer an opportunity to make associations between letters and words. Because the songs are often funny, or rhyme, kids enjoy singing the little ditties, and will be able to retain them. When teaching your children the letters, make it fun and the learning will come as a natural result. If you are too worried about them learning a bunch, or too insistent that they make all of the connections between word and letter, they may resist it.