Sit with your child as the two of you view online alphabet videos, such as "The Alphabet Song," "Alphabet Song" and "ABC Song," all of which are available free on YouTube (see Resource 1). Sing the songs together, talk about what you see and have fun. As Hudson says, indirect instruction like singing and dancing helps prepare your child to read when he is older.
Begin with the basics by focusing on the letters. Visit Starfall.com and click "ABCs: Let's Get Ready to Read" (see Resource 6). When you or the child clicks on a letter, a new screen will pop up with a pronunciation and an animation. For example, clicking "T" opens a window that shows a moving train blowing its horn. Click the "X" to return to the alphabet, or click the right arrow to view the lowercase letter, see another picture and hear the computer say the "sound" that the letter "T" makes.
Check out LearningPlanet.com's "Alphabet Action" for another letter activity. First find the "Students" tab, then select "Preschool-Kindergarten" and then the "Alphabet Action" icon on the bottom left. Let your toddler click any letter, and the computer will show a picture and say the letter's name.
Visit Scholastic's website and play "Letter Match" or "Make a Word" for the basics of letter recognition and vowels (see Resource 2). "Letter Match" encourages children to isolate the initial letters of short words. "Make a Word" is more suitable for advanced learners because it requires them to insert vowels into short words with blanks in them, such as "d_p." By dragging a vowel (in this case, "i") into the space, you or your child can make a real word.
Play "Leo Loves to Spell!" -- also available on Scholastic's website (see Resource 3). Click a category, such as "Home" or "Aquarium," and work with your child as she clicks and drags matching letters into boxes. For example, in "Aquarium," the first box shows a picture of a fish tail. The child clicks and drags the letters "T" and "t" into the box, and the game says the letters aloud as she places the letters.
Navigate to ReadWriteThink.org "ABC Match" (see Resource 4). Although targeted toward older learners, your 3-year-old may enjoy playing the game with you. Click "Get Started," then "Choose a Play Mode" and finally "Learn Mode" so the child doesn't have to play against a timer. Click a picture, then click a "card" to find the letter that matches. The game says the name of the picture when you or your child clicks it.
Go to the Fisher-Price online site and click the "Games and Activities" tab (see Resource 5). Select "Online Games" from the dropdown menu and then click "The ABCs Zoo Learning Game" in the "Toddler Games" tab. Click "View All Toddler Games," then "Learn Your ABCs" for a second online learning game. Both games are appropriate for 3-year-olds.