Do you display the alphabet on your wall?

[lorisuewho]

I don't have a classroom. . .we are homeschooling mostly in my dining room. I think I should hang up the alphabet, so I bought one today at the teacher store, but it is so long. I don't know how to attach it to the wall without damaging the wall (it is multiple cards). I considered just making a poster of the letters, but I thought maybe the children should be able to see it in one long line instead of in multiple rows?

Or should I just write out the letters on sentence strip and put it on the table instead of trying to hang it up?

 

Advice?

[noah&emmasmommy]

I used sticky tack when my daughter was just learning letter sounds and names and put the letters in two rows on the wall in front of her desk. You could also laminate alphabet cards and put them on a book ring, or you could very small nails and string up the cards like on a clothesline. Two very small nail holes would be simple to repair. Otherwise, I would go with testing tape or sticky tack down in the corner on your wall for about 4 weeks, and see what it does to your paint.

 

We liked having the letters on the wall so we could see them right when we were talking about them. You could also make a book out of the letters. I think Miller Pads and Paper has blank books you could buy, and then just glue or tape the cards on the pages, and then your child could leaf through them that way.

 

Just a couple of ideas for you.

[sagira]

Yes. We use Getty Dubay Italics, thus have the large print alphabet strips in rows, on our home library wall. I believe it's just with scotch tape. It looks good, too, and has been there for about three years now. Dh is picky as he's an artist, and he approves. I also bought and use a GD desk strip that I laminated for ds to trace, copy from, etc.

[Sukale]

I have 5 x 7 cards for each letter. I have then hanging by mini clothes pins from a string that I thumb tacked on a wall. I glued little bows on the tacks to cover them up. Then when we are learning a new letter I can easily take that card down when needed.

[helena]

Could you display a few letters per week (or day) using wooden card holders?

Here's where I bought ours (scroll down): http://www.achildsdream.com/arts_crafts_kits/art_cards_prints.htm

[abbeyej]

When my kids were very little, I just had a "desk strip" displayed near their work area. That way it didn't take over the house, but they could still reference easily. I think this is the one we had:

http://rainbowresource.com/product/sku/010889/

[Farrar]

I used to not. But now my kids are approaching age 7, and I wish I had. I used to use desk strips, but they never paid attention and I didn't remember to pull them out. And the kids formed bad habits writing a mix of upper and lower case letters. So I finally caved in an put up a big strip in the dining room. It's annoying, but really, I'll be able to take it down soon, and it helped them transition to lower case letters fully and helped their handwriting (especially for letters you just don't write that often... like q). So... I think it's worth trying to make a space for it when they're learning to write. If they're just on letter sounds, I don't think that's needed.

[abbeyej]

I...I used to use desk strips, but they never paid attention and I didn't remember to pull them out...

Just wanted to say, when my kids were small, I taped these either on the table in front of their work space, or on the wall behind their desk area, just at eye level. I can see how they wouldn't be used if they weren't always immediately visible.

 

(I'm also not a fan of teaching capitals first for the very reasons the PP mentioned. We read and write in mostly lower case letters -- I find that focusing on lower case letter and sounds rather than capitals and names makes early reading and writing simpler...)

[Thia]

Another option would be to get a cork board and make/get flash cards, put them on the board. Then either put a few hooks in your wall for the board or get an easel.

[Farrar]

Just wanted to say, when my kids were small, I taped these either on the table in front of their work space, or on the wall behind their desk area, just at eye level. I can see how they wouldn't be used if they weren't always immediately visible.

 

Ah, but if you school at the dining room table like us, that really wouldn't work. :D

[lorisuewho]

Thank you for all your thoughts on this. I like the idea of using flash cards on a cork board, and the hanging the alphabet off of a string would work for us also. My boys know all their letter sounds and names (of course my girls do not yet), but I'm mostly concerned that they have a reference for handwriting and also for alphabetical order. I think a desk strip would work well if we weren't working at the dining room table. Everything has to be able to move off the table. I'm not sure if having a ring or a booklet would work; would we be too lazy to get it out to look up a letter for formation? I don't know.

[MomToJediKnights]

I have them on the wall in the dining room. They are in 4 strips and I tacked them together like one poster. I've been thinking of redoing it in to one long strip above the windows.

[Guest]

I think having the letters up is great. My son has known and been writing for a few years now but if he ever says which side does the line go on, I just point to our chart. I think a sentence strip is a great idea, if you decide not to hang the letters you got. A friend of mine had a 3 ring binder with a sheet that had all the letters and she just inverted it and used it as a display when they were doing school.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Guest

[sagira]

Oh, just wanted to clarify that my laminated desk strip is not affixed anywhere. It moves when we do. We like the dining table too.

[stripe]

I bought some but never put them up.

[2_girls_mommy]

I use a poster instead of the long strip. I put up those command strips on the wall so it doesn't damage the wall to hold them up. I can take the posters down whenever I need to and switch them around. I just keep all of the learning posters within reach of our school shelves to grab the one I need. But the ABCs stay up most of the time, as my youngest still needs it to remember how to form her letters properly sometimes.

[Mommy22alyns]

I have it up in my hallway now, but I'm thinking about taking it down since the girls will be 1st and 3rd grade.

[soonermomma]

I'm going to add a couple of these to our dining room for this school year. I think it will be great for anything we used to put on our bulletin board and I plan to use them to hang the alphabet for my twins in the next year or so.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Advantus-02010-strip-display-aluminum/dp/B00007LB24/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=ICS0YT4256JUV&colid=36VYAURZ7IFCN

[DawnL]

yes! We homeschool in the kitchen and not only do I have the alphabet up along one wall, but I also have a number line going from the living room, all the way down the hall, to above the laundry room door. It's a Number Bug I got at Lakeshore Learning. The alphabet I got at the Dollar Store.

 

I just taped it on the wall, as I know it won't be forever. I've got one last one learning letters and numbers, so in a year or two, hopefully I can take it down. But I don't mind how it looks. On the wall with the alphabet, I also have a giant atlas map tacked up above the couch.

[Berta]

I have them on the wall now, but when we schooled in the kitchen in our other house I had placemats with the alphabet on it. I kept them on the table and my daughter saw them all day long.

[noah&emmasmommy]

Could you display a few letters per week (or day) using wooden card holders?

Here's where I bought ours (scroll down): http://www.achildsdream.com/arts_crafts_kits/art_cards_prints.htm

 

Those are so cute! I think I have seen them before, but I would never have thought to use them for this specific use. Great idea!:)

[janainaz]

I just used a printable worksheet and put that in front of my ds while he did his writing (any kind of writing).

[lorisuewho]

All of you are so creative! Thanks for these great ideas!!

[Jyniffrec]

I post the alphabet page from the back of the HWT books. The littles refer to it often.

[Carrie75]

I put ours up in the little hallway between the boys rooms. I have since taken it down since they both know it but it was up when they were between 3 and 5.

[Flux]

I was given these wall cards(the animal alphabet ones) from my sister when my oldest was a baby. I like how pretty they are and they have some really cute tool ones for boys, BTW. Initially, I put them around the toyroom just out of her reach, above her eye level. They have been moved around numerous times as kids grew and as we changed rooms. Personally, I liked the versatility of the cards versus a strip, even though taping and re-taping was a bit of a pain. I do have beef with a few of the animal letters though. For instance the "g" has a giraffe and I think for early learning it should be the hard g sound, also the "s" has a picture of sheep. Um... hello?!:confused:

 

They are in our family room now and they are no longer in one strip, but in two rows because this room doesn't have the wall space. When we started OPGTR I pulled the vowels lower than the rest, and used them with our early lessons. I have added sign language cards that I made but I do wish I had put up cursive letters from the beginning. My daughter is learning cursive now, and I think it would have helped if she had been staring at, comparing, and internalizing cursive during that time.

[lorisuewho]

I have added sign language cards that I made but I do wish I had put up cursive letters from the beginning. My daughter is learning cursive now, and I think it would have helped if she had been staring at, comparing, and internalizing cursive during that time.

 

This is an interesting idea. I thought about this, but I was nervous that my children would want to experiment and make the letters the "fancy" way before they were really ready for that. Or that they would make some letters printed and others in handwriting. I agree though that seeing it all the time would probably help prepare.

[Flux]

This is an interesting idea. I thought about this, but I was nervous that my children would want to experiment and make the letters the "fancy" way before they were really ready for that. Or that they would make some letters printed and others in handwriting. I agree though that seeing it all the time would probably help prepare.

 

It's funny, I knew I wanted to teach cursive first, so that's probably why I didn't have that thought. On the other hand, if I knew I wanted to teach cursive first, why didn't I put up a cursive writing strip as soon as they knew their letter sounds via manuscript?! I hate when my brain makes these kinds of mistakes.:glare:

 

After you are happy with their manuscript, maybe revisit the idea of putting cursive on the wall a little bit ahead of time? Perhaps over the summer vacation before you intend to start?

[Koerarmoca]

I havemy phonics/math board

 

 

and I have Princess ABC's. They are wall decals so they cause no damage.

 

 

[SnMomof7]

We are HSing in the living room right now - no tables involved! AND we have no wall space - only book shelf, so NOPE, no wall alphabets here!

[JudyJudyJudy]

I put the alphabet up in our family room (the same place many people would put up wallpaper border). I'm glad I did because ds used it often. I left it up for years and just took it down a few days ago. It did leave some greasy marks on the wall (I used the gummy-type stuff, but I can't think of the name of it); but other than that, there is no damage to the wall. The wall is due for a painting anyway, and I have no regrets.