An annoyed or crying child will learn absolutely nothing. There is no way they follow your teachings if the whole setting is boring, too technical or they feel forced. Small kids struggle with long-lasting concentration so we need to be smart and find aged-tailored activities and materials.

Some little ones love books (like ours!) because they catch up more if there is a picture, structure, texture and story involved.

Other children (like ours!) prefer more manual, material working so you can use wooden toys, printing stamps or just colors to do some experiments on the paper.

There are kids (like ours!) that learn super fast if there is a gadget at hand so they can drag, double-click and flick having fun using good educational and kids friendly apps available on the AppStore.

I will present you a few unusual ideas as well. We are always searching for something atypical that makes us happy and curious about it. There are books, toys, and some iPhone/iPad apps that we tested and I can truly recommend them.

BOOKS

You have surely noticed in earliest posts that we are going crazy about pop-up books, lift the flaps and any other 3D structure/texture publications. We have a few in our home library that I can absolutely suggest giving a try is a good idea. Some of them are like mini dictionaries for a few languages explaining the alphabet in an easy and funny way.

1. ABC 5 Sprachen   – an amazing children ABC pop-up book that introduces the alphabet in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian language. 

 

2. ABC3D  – it’s like a little piece of jewelry. Well designed and a very good quality. It’s innovative and beautifully crafted.

 

3. TouchThinkLearn: ABC  – a board book for babies and toddlers marvelously performing all the pieces of the alphabet. The graphics are stunning and the quality is excellent.

 

4. Alphabetics: An Aesthetically Awesome Alliterated Alphabet Anthology – the narrative and the illustrations are very captivating. For kids of all ages. It looks pretty and it sounds amazing.

TOYS

I think I won’t be very innovative about the ABC toys because I think sometimes old is gold and there is nothing we can change about it. My kids love wooden toys and we have a lot of them in every corner of our place.

1. Goki Alphabet Puzzle with Numbers – the one they come back often is a classic but maybe a bit more elaborated with time a classic wooden puzzle. High quality and beautifully hand-crafted.

2. Alphabet Stamps Set, Vintage Wooden Rubber Letter Number and Symbol Diary Stamp Kit for Children   creative idea to just dive into crafting and DIY projects as well. Don’t worry about your hands getting dirty! It’s a lot of fun!

APPS

Even if I think that using electronic devices is very helpful in those cases when visual stimuli play a greater role. We should remember that screen time should be very short and when it’s possible, use incorporated timers via parental control. Few minutes, use it for good fun but use it wisely. Here you go some tested by our kids ABC apps you can get on AppStore.

1. Endless Learning Academy by Originator. Basics for preschool and early school years. Aged 2+
2. 123s & ABCs. by Zurapps. Associate different numbers and letters with corresponding pictures. Good for preschoolers. Aged 4+
3. DRAWNIMAL – this is our absolute number one! Animated animals, 5 languages, an alphabet with narration. Aged 4+ but you can use it much earlier.

4. ABC Alphabet Phonics – learning by sight, sound, and touch. Multi-sensory. Aged 4+

5. Alphabet Tracer – early learning using fingers. Easy and clean. Aged 4+

Have fun!