Writing the Letter

Practice writing the letter with your child.  As you do so, say the sound that the letter makes.  At first, the child could trace your letters, and then gradually write his own.

Look for Letters in a Book

Before doing this activity with a child, find a book that has the letter you will be looking for already in it a lot of times.  You want the kid to feel successful and the more it is in the more, the more the child can find it!  I would also recommend using a book that has big print.  That way it is easier for you and your child to point to the specific letter.

Once you have picked out the book, tell your child: " we are going to read this book together.  After we have read it, we are going to go back through the pages and look for the letter [say the letter you will be looking for]."  After the activity the child could want you to read the book again and that would be great because hearing something three times helps a child remember it and helps with comprehension.

Make sure to make it fun, like a game, so he will want to do it again another time.

Teach the name of the letter and the sound the letter makes

The best way I know to do this is repetition.  Just keep at it and the child will learn.  Make a song or a game out of it.

I also would highly recommend watching "The Letter Factory" by Leap Frog.  After watching it a few times, my son would walk around singing the song and could answer the question, "What does [say a letter] say?"  (Plus, this 30 minute-ish show can give you a much needed break.  Kill two birds with one stone!)

Which Letter to Start With?

You would think that the answer would be the letter A, but I don't agree.  While working in a kindergarten class, I learned that there is a better way than starting at the beginning of the alphabet and working straight through.  This kindergarten class learned the most common letters first and worked their way to the least common letters.  The teacher also informed me that the first letter children will often recognize is the first letter in their name.

With this knowledge, I decided to teach my son Kyler the letter K very first.