Teaching Letter Names Without Overwhelming Your Toddler

Written By Sellika Reese

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Back when I was teaching, I found out pretty quickly that there’s only so much new information my students could absorb at a time. For instance, if I introduced them to 10 new “heart words” in the morning, it was pretty unlikely they would remember them all by recess. I realized I needed to break things down and share new material in smaller, more manageable bites. I eventually discovered there’s a fancy scientific term for this called Cognitive Load.

Cognitive load refers to the limit of information our brains can process before it transfers that information to long-term memory. Simply put, we can only absorb a certain amount of new information at any given time. This is why it's super helpful for parents to lighten the cognitive load when sharing new ideas with their kids. 

The concept of reducing cognitive load came to mind as I was getting ready to teach my toddler letter names. I realized that presenting all 26 letters at once could be quite overwhelming for him. Just looking at the large pile of the Wooden Alphabet Train Set I intended to use overwhelmed me.

Instead of unpacking all 26 train cars, I decided to focus on just 5 cars or letters a week. I also gathered a few other fun alphabet "toys," like his ABC Wooden Alphabet Blocks and ABC Felt Letters (sorry no link, I made my own), and chose the same 5 letters with each toy.

And with that, my son and I embarked on a fun 5-week journey to learn our letter names, tackling just 5 letters at a time. He responded wonderfully and quickly absorbed the “letters of the week.” It was so much easier for him to focus on just 5 letters instead of all 26.

The simple yet effective tool of reducing cognitive load showed to be the best approach for keeping my toddler's mind from feeling overwhelmed. It allowed him to take in information gradually, one small piece at a time.

5 Tips to Reduce Cognitive Load With Letter Names

  • Limit the number of letters your child learns each week.

  • Include one "review" letter weekly in the new letters.

  • Limit the number of “tools” or “toys” for your child’s learning (I aim to use 2-3 learning toys).

  • 1-2 times a week, review all the letters your child has learned.

  • Once your child has been exposed to all 26 letters, focus on the ones they haven't mastered yet.

BONUS TIP: Feel free to move on to the next set of 5 letters even if your toddler hasn’t completely mastered the first ones! Getting familiar with letters through repetition is actually more helpful than sticking with just one letter for too long. By going through the alphabet a few times, your child will have plenty of chances to work on the letters they find a bit tricky.

Sellika Reese