Ah, the dreaded b/d reversal. Owen's averaging about 60% right now on getting them right, unless he recognizes the word at first glance. I know it's early for him to know them solidly, but he's so eager to read at the moment that we're going with it. Owen started off writing his name completely backwards, so it's been a fight from the beginning to get him facing the right direction, so to speak. I am seeing improvements as we work gently through reading and writing!*
In all of my internet searches for preschool ideas, two things about b/d reversal stuck in my mind. I can't remember where either of them came from, unfortunately. (I did a quick search and found this article from All About Reading, which has the same principle though it's not where I first encountered it.) The first would be great for a poster, if I were that artistic (I'm not), so we just talk about it: in a b, the b-b-bat comes before the b-b-ball. In a d, the d-d-doorknob comes before the d-d-door. In our nonathletic family, I'm not sure the baseball analogy helps much, but I think Owen does comprehend on some level that we touch the doorknob (draw the d's belly) before we touch the door.
For an activity, I put stickers all over a die, half with a b and half with a d. (I couldn't find any garage-sale type circles, so I used ducks. It's what I had.) He rolled the die, then traced whichever letter it was (just a hand-written sheet inside a page protector). Simple, but good fun practice!
In all of my internet searches for preschool ideas, two things about b/d reversal stuck in my mind. I can't remember where either of them came from, unfortunately. (I did a quick search and found this article from All About Reading, which has the same principle though it's not where I first encountered it.) The first would be great for a poster, if I were that artistic (I'm not), so we just talk about it: in a b, the b-b-bat comes before the b-b-ball. In a d, the d-d-doorknob comes before the d-d-door. In our nonathletic family, I'm not sure the baseball analogy helps much, but I think Owen does comprehend on some level that we touch the doorknob (draw the d's belly) before we touch the door.
For an activity, I put stickers all over a die, half with a b and half with a d. (I couldn't find any garage-sale type circles, so I used ducks. It's what I had.) He rolled the die, then traced whichever letter it was (just a hand-written sheet inside a page protector). Simple, but good fun practice!
*Owen uses the pre-Explode the Code series and the Bob books to work on writing and reading, respectively. I've been thinking about writing a post on the Bob books, so there might be more information on that coming. Please know that Owen's school time is very self-guided. When he says he's done, we quit. I don't think it's necessary to push a three-year-old to learn, but I do see great advantage in following their interests. Owen's excited about being able to sound out words, and loves to "do school" at the table with Levi, so we're doing it. When his interest wanes, we'll back off for a while.
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