There's ABC and then there's abc

If you're starting to teach your toddler lowercase letters, you might want to consider using Kumon's ABC's Write and Wipe Lowercase Letters. This pack of flash cards represents each of the letters of the alphabet in lowercase format. Each card has the letter on one side and a sample word and picture on the other side. What differentiates it from other flash cards is that the letter side follows a tracing format using broken / dashes lines, which toddlers can attempt to follow using a pen (included in the pack). Once done, you can use the eraser (attached to the pen) to erase and have your toddler try again! The letters are quite big, perfect for first time writing attempts and the reusability factor is a must when dealing with kids this young. My only gripe is that the pictures are not colored, so it's difficult to identify some of them. Also while most cards feature a word that starts with the given letter, X is the exception - it shows the word "OX", which confused my child at first given the consistent pattern of the other cards. They could have used xylophone, at least.

Still, I'm satisfied with using the cards to practice lowercase letter recognition, writing, and spelling/reading. This pack of cards and other Kumon products are available locally, at Fully Booked.

Kumon Workbooks

While in National Bookstore, looking for a book of tracing or basic mazes to help my toddler refine her writing skills, I stumbled upon two shelves full of Kumon workbooks! I've been looking for Kumon workbooks for quite some time now and the actual product did not disappoint. Each workbook specifies the appropriate age range, starting from age 2. The most basic of the set is My First Book of Tracing, which branches out to the basic coloring, counting, cutting, mazes, uppercase and lowercase letters books.

The books are a bit pricey at ~P300 a pop, but each one contains full-colored pages with images and activities that are appealing to children. I'll try the tracing book first and see how it goes. More to blog once my toddler gets her hands dirty with this one!