Mommy, how do you spell...

My three-year-old is suddenly very interested in how things are spelled and wants to know what everything says. So, I decided to jump on this curiosity and we made labels for most of the things in our house. I started doing it by myself. When he noticed and wanted to help, I explained that I was making labels for things so that he could learn to spell the words and start to read them. He was all about it and kept telling me new things to label. Then he would go to each thing and help match the word with the appropriate thing. I had to help with that part, which I expected. If he already knew how to read and spell, we wouldn't be doing this little project.

I do have to tell you that this idea is not new. The first time I saw it was in my 4th grade Spanish class. I think I still remember 'la ventana' (the window) for that very reason. Also, at my son's amazing Montessori preschool, they have words, ideas and labels written all over the place. I made a point to keep things at his eye level. I wrote clearly and used a mix of upper and lowercase letters.

That was our big educational project today. It was a hit. Give it a try!