Hey is for...Honey Nut Cheerios!

We started working on the letter Hey. We covered the entire letter with glue and then glued on the Honey Nut Cheerios one-by-one. Well, we started with more, but we lost some of them along the way… It was very tempting to eat some Honey Nut Cheerios while we did our work! We left it to dry on the side and then added another coat of thick layer of glue.

We placed our hand over the bumpy surface and were able to make the sound of letter HEY!! 

To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link

Daled is for Dollars

And here comes the letter Daled! We glued on paper dollars right on the letter Daled. We first spread the glue to make sure it covers all the surface and then folded the paper dollars. It was so much fun to see the letter Daled turn into Dollars! Once dried, we were able to "feel" letter Daled and  make the sound. 

Paper money is always good to have around. We mostly use it for math unit or for pretend-play. The kids usually ask me for the paper money during center time.  The grocery corner is the most popular center and the most looked after. Once free play is over, I just hope a get all my "money" back ;)  

To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link.

Veis is for Velcro

For letter Veis, we placed Velcro on it. It is really easy! Just peel off the back of the velcro and stick it on the letter. Then, have the child touch the letter Veis to make the sound. To work on the rest of the letters, read more about "My Aleph Bais Touch!" by following this link.

Have fun!

My Aleph Bais Touch!

Click here to download the PDF file!

This is a great way to teach the Aleph-Bais sounds. Many children learn the Aleph-Bais (the typical way) with a Hebrew picture beside it, such as Bais is for Bubbah, Gimmel is for Glidah… and so on. But, I always find that this system does not work for all children.

For instance, when I was working with Tehilla, one of my students, I would point at letter Dalet with a Deles next to it, not only did she not remember the sound, but did not know how to say door in Hebrew. So we started making “My Aleph –Bais Touch” book I was amazed how fast Tehilla started picking up the sounds. Not only that, but she looked forward in learning a new sounds.

“My Aleph-Bais Touch” consists of the Hebrew letters with a tactile material glued to it. Since Aleph is silent, we left it blank. We then moved to Bais, Tehilla glued colorful buttons all over it. Once dried, she placed her hand over the buttons while whispering “buttons.” After a few seconds, she looked at me and made the Bais sound. Slowly we continued moving on to different sounds.

Why was the “My Aleph-Bais Touch” a success with Tehilla? Well, some children learn through touch. This sensory activity was a wonderful way for her to learn and retain the sounds she has already learned. Also, Tehilla was able to associate the letter to something that was familiar to her or/and English words in her vocabulary.

Every week we’ll be working on a different letter. You can print out the cover and the Aleph Bais letters by following this link. The best way to make “My Aleph- Bais Touch” is to print out the letters on hard paper, hole punch and place them in a loose-leaf. Keep the glue around and maybe some tape to paste the materials on the letters. “My Aleph-Bais Touch” will look fantastic when completed!

Get yourself ready by printing out your letters and gathering the material needed. You are about to take an Aleph- Bais adventure… Touch!

Veis is for Velcro

Follow this link to read more about it!

Gimmel is for Glitter

Follow this link to read more about it!



Daled is for Dollars

Follow this link to read more about it!

Hey is for Honey Nut Cheerios

Follow this link to read more about it!

DIY Aleph Bet Manipulatives!!!

DIY Aleph Bet Manipulatives!!

When it's time to learn the Aleph Bet, many children need more than just a Kriah book. Here are great manipulatives that can be done with items  that are laying around the house or easy to get a hold of. Some of these manipulatives can be used for letter recognition and others can be used for blending sounds. 

Manipulatives can be done using the following:

Color Plastic Eggs

Water or Soda Caps

Clothespins 

Lego or Mega Blocks

Aleph Bet Egg Manipulatives

Using a permanent maker, write the print letter on the top and the vowel on the bottom. Usually is best to prepare the eggs according to  the child's needs. Some teachers prefer to introduce two letters and two sounds at first. The student can practice by mixing and matching the eggs.  

Here is an example... First separate all the eggs.

Then, mix and match them!

Aleph Bet Bottle Caps Manipulatives

Bottle caps are good to hold on when the drink is finished. I'm always the one screaming from the back: "Don't trow the cap away" and for some reason I get a puzzled look in return... I managed to save up enough seltzer bottle caps. I prefer these caps than any others because they are solid white - making it easier for a child to read. Ok, now lets get to the making part. Very simple! Using a thick permanent marker, write a letter in each cap. Let it dry for a few minutes. Otherwise, they can easily smudge.  

There are many activities that these letters can be used. I mainly used the caps for letter recognition and like to work on the receptive and expressive language skills. I usually ask the students to identify the letter and then ask to point to a specific letter. If the get the answer correctly, they get to hold the caps. And, if they get the wrong answer, they could always try again! The students love when I send the caps home in a ziploc bag for extra review. And, I don't usually mind if some get lost on  the way. After all, it was not such a big investment ;)

Aleph Bet Clothespin Manipulatives

The clothespins manipulatives are very easy and fast to make. I used a thin permanent marker to write the print letters. I keep them handy. Whenever, a student needs to review, I pulled them our from my drawer. They can be used in so many different ways!

Aleph Bet Mega Blocks Manipulatives

These Mega Blocks Manipulatives can be used for more advance students. Usually the ones that are able to blend two-three syllable words. The letters and vowels can be written with a dry erase marker. This way, one can work on a specif sound that the student needs help with. Once mastered a goal, the letters can be erased, rewritten and rearranged to work on new goals! 

Have fun with all these Aleph Bet Manipulatives!