• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer
  • About
  • Shop
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

teach mama logo

teach mama

helps families connect & build bridges between home & school, by amy mascott

  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • early literacy
    • alphabet
    • beginning sounds
    • phonics
    • phonological awareness
    • read-aloud learning
    • rhyming
    • sight words
  • reading
    • books
    • comprehension
      • activating schema
      • connecting
      • inferring
      • predicting
      • questioning
      • retelling / summarizing
      • visualizing
    • concepts of print
    • environmental print
    • fluency
    • non-fiction
    • spelling
    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
    • family life
      • family fun
      • giving back
      • lunchbox love notes
      • school
    • indoor activities
    • outdoor activities
  • digital literacy
    • computer time
    • iPad for learning
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

quick trick: magnetic letters (how to use them with your kids!)

home / early literacy / sight words / quick trick: magnetic letters (how to use them with your kids!)
19.1K shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print

post contains affiliate links

 

 

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

Holiday time is here, and things are sure to be nutty around our house–and everyone else’s–for the next few weeks.

Although I know it’s going to be hard to sneak in a little bit of learning each day while we’re busy decorating, making gifts, wrapping, and eating sweets (which we do a lot of over here!), I do have a little something up my sleeve.ย  I threw our magnetic letters on the fridge this week just to squeeze in a little word-learning when we’re able.

This Quick Trick has been used by millions of homes all around the world, but I’m sharing just a few of the next steps for moms and dads out there.

It’s one thing to put some letters up on your fridge.

It’s another to actually use the letters to teach your kids a teeny trick or two after breakfast one day.

Here’s the skinny on how you can really use magnetic letters with your kids for early literacy learning.

  • Magnetic Letters: Our magnetic letters are on and off of the fridge every few weeks.ย  Usually at first I put all of the letters in one big clump, hoping that someone will stop by on their way to the breakfast table to create a word or two.

Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Sometimes somebody will put the letters in alphabetical order (woo-hoo!) and sometimes a mystery kid will sneak into our kitchen and spell ‘butt’ or ‘poo’ or ‘bootie’ (certainly not one of my kids and it’s usually blamed on Brady. . . ).

Sometimes someone will stop to spell his or her name, create a little message, and make this mama smile big.

But if no one notices the letters for a few days, I’ll build a few words myself, some varying-in-difficulty CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant) with a CVCC here and there, and when my kiddos are in the mood, maybe they’ll play around with them.

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.comjust a few words on our fridge, ‘real’ words and nonsense words

Here are a few other little, teeny ways that little ones can learn a bit o’ something while you’re working on dinner and the kids are hangin’ around the kitchen, playing with the magnetic letters:

  • ABC Challenge: Put the letters in alphabetical order but then pull every five or so letters out of the mix.ย  Place the ‘lost’ letters under the alphabet and ask your little one to help the lost letters make their way back to their alphabet family.
  • Find Me A . . . : For the early letter-learners, simply asking, Can you use your strong eyes and smart brain to findย  me a letter ‘O’ or ‘M’? is all you need to do to get them focused.ย  Always give a choice between two letters because we wantย  to set our kiddos up for success; if we ask, Can you find the ‘L’? and they can’t, they’ll be less likely to want to play our little learning games down the road.
  • Sense and Nonsense: Create several ‘real’ words that are easy to read, and add in a few non-sense words that follow the same word family pattern– cat, bat, rat, zat, wat.ย ย  Once your little one can ‘read’ the ones he can recognize, he’ll giggle like crazy when he reads a silly nonsense word.
  • Make Many: The simple act of adding an ‘s’ to a word is incredibly empowering for emerging readers.ย  With just one letter, they can read–and create–a whole new word!ย  So throw a few easy-to-read nouns up on the fridge (dog, cat, pet, hat, etc.) and show your kiddo how to make one into many!

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

  • Family Names: I’ve said it many times before, but it’s true–names are some of the first words that little guys can read.ย  So starting with Mom and Dad, make your way through the whole family, challenging your kiddos to build their names first, then Mom and Dad, then their siblings’ and pets’ names.ย  If they’re not ready for the whole name, you build the name and then take away the first letter.ย  Mix it up with three other letters and ask if they can find the letter that begins that person’s name. It’s a start–but it helps!
  • We are (Word) Families: Word families are a great starting point for emerging readers because in just a few minutes, a little guy can ‘own’ a whole word family! Start by putting ‘at- at the top of the fridge, and then put some consonants close by (c, b, h, m, r, s).

Demonstrate how just by adding one little letter to the beginning ofย  ‘at’, your kiddo can now read six new words! Challenge him to ‘surprise’ you with a new word by switching that important first letter, and every few days add a new word family to the fridge.

  • Spell it, Baby: For an older kiddo who’s already conquering the Spelling List, ask her to spell a word from that week’s list on the fridge, just like the good ole days when she was teeny and could only find A, B, and C.ย  You’ll be surprised how interested she might be in demonstrating her expertise!
  • Prefix/ Suffix FUN: Really, prefixes can be fun.ย  Put ‘re’ on the fridge and then add ‘write’ to make ‘rewrite’.ย  Then leave ‘re’ on and add ‘view’ or ‘do’.ย  Talk about each word and its meaning and then explain that two little letters placed in front of these words means ‘to do again’ and then talk about what ‘rewrite’, ‘redo’, and ‘review’ mean.ย  Play around with different prefixes (pre-, un-, mis-) and suffixes (-y, -less, -ful).

 

magnetic letters: how to really use them with your kids for early literacy learning | teachmama.com

click here to download:ย making and breaking words

This does not need to be anything major, crazy-confusing, or stressful.ย  These are just a few fun–fast!–ways of throwing in a little bit of deliberate word learning with those magnetic letter friends of ours when we have a minute or two.

Want a handy little sheet about the basics of word-building? Here’s the making and breaking wordsย which I still find super helpful.ย ย  Or head over to a previous Letter-Lid Word-Building post.

If we’re excited about words, our kids will become excited about words and will (hopefully!) become eager learners. All of the reading research on the topic of word learning says basically the same thing:

Effective teachers display an attitude of excitement and interest in words and language.ย  Teachers who are curious and passionate about words inadvertently share their enthusiasm with students, and it becomes contagious (Bromley, “Nine Things Every Teacher Should Know About Words and Vocabulary Instruction,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. April 2007).

We are our children’s first teachers, so let’s get excited about word learning and put some love into our simple fridge magnets!

 

fyi: affiliate links are used in this post, which means that if you purchase something from one of the links, we over here at teachmama.com get a teeny, tiny percentage

 

You May Also Like...

  • how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
    how to prepare your child for kindergarten -- summertime prep
  • everything free and awesome online to do while kids are home: classes, crafts, virtual tours and more
    everything free and awesome online to do while kids are home: classes, crafts,…
  • photo books for kids and family: 15 best, coolest, most clever and creative
    photo books for kids and family: 15 best, coolest, most clever and creative

About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

Previous Post:just 1 book: author guest postโ€“tara mcclintick (and book giveaway)
Next Post:teach mamaโ€™s holiday gift guide for kids and familyholiday gift guide teachmama.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Liz

    December 1, 2010 at 1:00 pm

    Wonderful ideas! Thank you so much for sharing. We have a fridge face full of magnetic letters right now that could use a bit of a jump start. ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
  2. Brandy

    December 1, 2010 at 11:38 pm

    Sometimes we will pull out 8 or 10 random letters and see how many words we can make out of those letters. Or my 6 year old daughter’s current favorite (mostly because she won the last round), see who can build the longest word out of those 8 or so letters. Sometimes one game might last several days until someone can make a word using all of the letters or we are all convinced a longer word just can’t be made. The last time we played, we had the letters p, l, a, m, e, t, d, and r on the fridge. My word was pleat (I know…so sad that I couldn’t come up with something longer) and my husband was in the lead with tamper. Anyway, my daughter was reading a book and just suddenly ran to the fridge and created trampled. All 8 letters! She was ecstatic. And frankly we were too! My sons 4 and 2, also love playing games with the letters. The 4 year old told me the other day that he had spelled “Adam” from the bank and to come look. I was perplexed because we don’t know an Adam and certainly not one from a bank. I went in there and he had spelled ATM. And my two year old recognizes the word “go” from a stop and go pillow we have. So he stands there and repeatedly spells go. Another thing he does is put up one letter like H and says that it says Henry…his name. Or S and that it says stop, etc. Can you tell we love words/reading around here?

    Reply
    • amy

      December 2, 2010 at 6:20 am

      Brandy!
      OH MY GOODNESS!! Talk about a word-conscious family! I love it and will totally try the ‘scrabble approach’ that your family is doing w/ the 8 or so letters. And friend, I’d be proud of ‘pleat’. Don’t even know if I’ve ever written the word in my life! Thanks for reading–and many thanks for writing!

      Reply
  3. Brandy

    December 1, 2010 at 11:46 pm

    And by the way, where did you get those magnetic letters? So cute!

    Reply
    • amy

      December 2, 2010 at 6:23 am

      the letters are Magnetic Alphabet Blocks by Schylling–but the are not made anymore, I fear; I cannot find the url, even on the Schylling site.
      :*(

      Reply
      • Meagan

        December 7, 2010 at 3:30 pm

        Found the letters…..

        http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=MABC/329.0.1.1

        Reply
        • amy

          December 7, 2010 at 4:21 pm

          aaaaaaaaaamazing!!! thanks for sharing, my friend!

  4. Robin (noteverstill)

    December 2, 2010 at 3:04 pm

    Our oldest will be 5 in January and she’s almost, almost reading. Her preschool teacher suggested I print out a dozen or so sight words and put two or three up at a time on flash cards on the fridge. I have NO IDEA why it didn’t occur to me to use the magnets that are already there. And now I’ll actually implement the suggestion right away since there’s no homework arts-and-crafts component in it for me ; )
    Thanks – I needed this POV!

    Reply
    • amy

      December 2, 2010 at 3:45 pm

      Yeah! You go, girlfriend–get your sweets using those magnets to learn some words–she’ll be so happy!

      Reply
  5. Glenna Mendez

    December 23, 2010 at 4:47 pm

    the letters are Magnetic Alphabet Blocks by Schylling–but the are not made anymore, I fear; I cannot find the url, even on the Schylling site. :*(

    Reply
  6. Shelli Eldredge

    February 9, 2018 at 5:03 pm

    Omgosh I just found you & have been reading all your stuff! What an amazing mother you are! Thanks so much for sharing all your smartness Can’t wait to try all your amazing tips!
    โค๏ธ- Shelli

    Reply
    • amy mascott

      February 10, 2018 at 8:57 am

      SHELLI!! YOU. MADE. MY. DAY.

      But spoiler alert: I’m not amazing. Just doing the best I can and trying to be decent.

      xo

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sidebar

amy mascott profile blog

join the coolest club around:

  • About
  • Contact
  • disclaimer
  • terms of use
  • privacy policy
  • Site-Map

Instagram


our books

setting the stage for rock-star readers
raise a reader

Find Us On Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Helpful Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us On Instagram

View
Open
UMD Womenโ€™s Basketball ROCKS!! โค๏ธ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ–ค๐Ÿ€

We absolutely love watching you play, @terpswbb !

We love watching you perform, @marylandcheer !

And @mightysoundofmd we love your music and your hilarious signs! ๐Ÿ˜ฌ๐Ÿ˜ณ

See you in Greenville! 

#terpsbasketball #terpswbb #umd #familyfun #marylandcheer #umdfamily
View
Open
Tomorrow is St. Patrickโ€™s Day!

Are you ready? 

https://shop.teachmama.com/

#saintpatricksfun #stpaddysforkids #familyfun #classroomactivities #teachmamashop
View
Open
This is how we use the St. Patrickโ€™s Day Brain Teaser Scavenger Hunt! ๐Ÿ€

Super easyโ€”and makes kids work a little for their golden chocolates! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Grab them here: https://shop.teachmama.com/product/st-patricks-day-scavenger-hunt-4-pack/

<< Tag a pal who needs to know about this and would LOVE to use it with kids or students! >>

#stpatricksdayfun #saintpaddysday #stpaddysforkids #stpatsfun #linkinbio
View
Open
and then there were six
๐Ÿฑ๐Ÿฆ๐ŸฆŠ๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿฏ๐Ÿฐ

thank you @thewoobles for giving my mind, heart, and hands something fun to do during a really challenging few months. 

#crochet #thewoobles #brainbreak #teachersanitysaver #shescrafty
View
Open
With great sadness, I'm writing to share that my brother-in-law, Jeff Mascott passed away from pancreatic cancer earlier this week--at home, surrounded by family and friends. 

The family is very grateful for the community's immeasurable help, encouragement, and prayers over the past several months since Jeff's diagnosis. 

Jeff's obituary will run this weekend in the Post: 
https://www.collinsfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jeff-Mascott?obId=27420280&fbclid=IwAR2YTRooCyaLTikfjLeqF4gM-GaB1amZI2OmVl1VtKLUOjWj3Wo4URD8lC8#/obituaryInfo
View
Open
Flowers and a basket of @traderjoes faves are salve for a tired and weepy soul. ๐ŸŒท

Thankful for great, longtime friends ๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

#itshardtobeahuman #thankfulheart #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs
View
Open
Almost 30 years of friendship!! I love these smart, beautiful, strong and creative women who walked with me through my early days of teaching. 

๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

Thank you, Wilde Lake High School, for bringing us together way back when. 

๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š๐Ÿ’›

Missed you, jigofjoy ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’š

#weareteachers #andoneprincipal #wildelake #wlhs4evah #teacherbffs #wildelakehs #teachersofinstagram #celebratewewill
View
Open
Today marks the 4th time in 3 weeks that I have had to hang new Kindness Reminders Tear-off Sheets! 

Makes my heart ๐Ÿฅฐ!! 

Some kids come by every day and give one to a new person. Others take a bunch for the week. One 2nd grade girl comes by evey morning to tell me who she gave hers to the day before. 

Every little bit helps, friend. And every interaction matters!

#kindnessrocks #adoormadeforme #teachersofinstagram #makeadifference
View
Open
Best crew for one of the best @terpswbb games weโ€™ve seen all season! 

And of course super job by @marylandcheer and @mightysoundofmd too! 

#terpswbb #terpsbasketball #familyfun #marylandcheer

Copyright © 2023 ยท teach mama media, llc ยท All Rights Reserved

  • 74
19.1K shares