Learning lowercase letters can be really confusing for many children, especially the letters b, d, p, and g. When you think about it, it's not surprising that kids often mix them up. After all, most objects don't change what they are just because you flip them around or turn them upside down!
Several years ago when I went to a workshop while teaching, I learned about an awesome tip that really helps with letter reversals. The best part? Your child won't need anything fancier than their own two hands (and a little bit of imagination).
Check it out . . .(thanks to the awesome hand modeling of my 6-year old!)
Isn't that cool? The shape of your hands resembles the lower-case b and d! Teach your child this little visual trick, then remind them to "Make their bed" whenever they have to read or spell a word with the letters b and d. By thinking about the letters and sounds in the word bed, then looking at their fisted hands with their thumbs extended, it's much easier to know the correct letter formation and the correct letter sound!
The coolness continues...
There you have it! A super simple trick that has helped many of my students over the years and is helping my own children now.
Sharing our pigs and beds solution at:
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That's ingenious! My 4 yr old daughter has the problem of mixing up b and d. I just love this idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot for sharing!
I am going to show this to my 2 first graders (twin boys) tomorrow!! This is awesome.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing.
ReplyDeletecan i share this link with my friends?
Jesslyn said...
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing.
can i share this link with my friends?
Absolutely! I'd be flattered
This is wonderful! My son still has issues with b, d, and p. He's in second grade and very smart, but he still brings home papers that say "Monbay" occasionally. I love this, and will be sharing this with him! :)
ReplyDeleteMy husband is dyslexic, so I get anxious about this issue. My daughter's writing of letters and numbers often looks like a reverse reflection. I find this post fascinating and helpful. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis came at just the right time. I came from Sun Scholars and if you look at my link up right below yours (#12) you will see my daughter has started reversing since she started kindergarten. She writes I am deer (with a b) She never has before. I am going to show her this "trick" this weekend and am hoping it will help =) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am SOOO using this in my class. Thanks so much Laura!!! And thanks for sharing at For the Kids Friday!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteTHANK you! My poor first grader always struggles w this....awesome!
ReplyDeleteI just stumbled upon your blog and love it!! what amazing ideas thank you thank you .... added you to my following list!:)
ReplyDeleteThis is AWESOME! I wish I'd known about this sooner! I'm pinning it! Lorie @ http://readingconfetti.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI homeschool my children and my second grader still uses this trick from time to time. Those b's and d's give him fits.
ReplyDeleteWonderful!!! I called my daughter in right away to see. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip. I will definitely use it with my daughter.
ReplyDeletewe have the B and d dilemma! Sharing this with my 5yr old tomorrow!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking to Sunday Showcase - I shared this on Facebook!
Bern
Love this! My Kindergarten teacher taught us to do the bed one and it made things so much easier. :)
ReplyDeleteThe pig one is new though. So cute. I'll have to try that when my girls start school.
Thank you so much!! My daughter gets these mixed up so I love that you have pictures and an explanation so I can show and explain it to her!! This is awesome, you rock!:)
ReplyDeleteWoo Hoo!!!! THANK YOU!!!! My 1st grade daughter always, always, always makes her p's backward. I have searched and searched for something for her to help her remember and could only find stuff for b and d. I have even been racking my brain trying to come up with something. This is perfect!!! Thanks again!!
ReplyDeleteThis works for adults too! When you are at a function - your Bread is on the left, and your Drink is on the right. B and D! Love it!
ReplyDeleteWOW! Thanks for this...my daughter is still mixing up her B's and D's...and she's in 3rd grade. Gonna show her this when she gets home today. You wouldn't have something for time tables would you :)
ReplyDeleteWould love it if you would link this up to our Rockin' link party going on now at RoCa and Company. Here is the link: http://rocaandcompany.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-fall-and-you-rock-2.html Come and show off what you got. Hope to see you there...
Remember...YOU ROCK!!
Carmen @
RoCa and Company
www.rocaandcompany.blogspot.com
My 6 year old daughter struggles with her 'd' and 'b's. Her teacher did show us a bed example but as a picture, your way with the hands is just wonderful!! thanks for sharing, I will explain your way to her next time we do writing!
ReplyDeleteJoanne x
I had heard about b and d and seen the picture with the bed, but never thought of it with the fingers nor did I know anything about how to help with p and q. You are awesome for coming up with that, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have never seen that before! I LOVE IT!!! Thank you for sharing this on The Sunday Showcase.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind... I posted this along with a free printable I have on at www.classroomfreebies.com.
ReplyDeleteLet me know and I can pull it down. (I gave you full credit! =) Email me... jenp761@gmail.com if you want me to pull it down. =) No worries. I just loved it and thought it would match great with my printable. =)
Thanks for the great idea and visual! Jennifer
Empowering Little Learners!
My daughter is in the second grade and we were just having this discussion about how hard it was sometimes to remember g and d... my daughter said, "isn't it confusing!" I can't wait to show her this trick!
ReplyDeleteThis has helped my son so much! Thanks!
ReplyDeletethis is so wonderful. I use the b/d method with my girls but I've never heard of the p/g one! That is awesome. Thanks so much! I do a link party on my blog every Tuesday and I'd love you to stop by if you have the chance! Love, Maria
ReplyDeletehttp://caribbeanmissionarywife.blogspot.com/
This is so fantastic!! My 6 year old just had her first b/d spelling test and it was impossible for her until I had her write 'bed' next to her name before the test - she ended up doing awesome, but I know she'll LOVE seeing it made out of her hands :) And I'm sure the p/g will come in handy. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLOL, that's so funny because that's exactly how I taught my kids the difference years ago!
ReplyDeleteUtterly brilliant! Will definitely be using this with my two. DD is in yr 1 and still struggles with this. Think the visual clues will make a massive difference. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this wonderful idea! I was shocked at how few on-line resources there are to help with letter reversal. Thank you for being one of the few good ones!
ReplyDeleteAww, what a great and cute idea this is. It reminds me of the "L" shape fingers make with the thumb straight out method, and how the side that makes the correct L is the left hand :) haha. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteMay I copy the picture and send it home with my first graders? It is such a great idea!
ReplyDeleteSure. I don 't mind at all if you send the pictures home with your students. If you could though, just include my site (cometogetherkids.com) with the copy. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this! My 8 yo DS has auditory processing disorder and this has really helped! <3
ReplyDeleteMy 7 year old is mixing up these two letters and i would normally tell him one goes to the left and one goes to the right but i must say that i am quite impressed with this creativity. I know he'll love this new way of remembering. Thank you very much.
ReplyDelete