Teaching a second language at home can sometimes be challenging especially when teaching really young children. However, all you need is some fun and exciting ways! We’re sharing 12 easy tips to teach the Arabic Alphabet at home! With a combination of fun, games, storytelling, singing and arts and crafts – who said it can’t be fun? With the help of Yomna from@happyhomelearning we’re sharing some of our simple & easy (tried and tested) tips to teach the Arabic Alphabet at home! If your child is beyond this stage then your looking for the follow up post – How to start teaching your child to read Arabic at home!
1. Arabic Alphabet flashcards
To get started, you definitely need to have the Arabic Alphabet flashcards. We purchased the ones from Good word: Arabic Alphabet Flash Cards
. They have the alphabet written on one side and a matching word with picture on the other side! We also like to keep a plain set of alphabet alphabet flashcards. These you can print on to card from here. We covered the Arabic letters with coloured sand – you can also use coloured glitter too. This is great for the children to trace over to practise letter formation. Practise learning the sounds before the name of the letter to help them recognise for reading!
2. Use a sand tray for letter formation
So as the children trace over the sand letters (mentioned above) they then attempt to write out the letters in a sand tray. This is a simple sensory way of getting the children confident in writing. All you need is some sand and a tray. I used my trusty Ferraro Roche tray box.
3. Find the letter
Using our magnetic Arabic Letter Connector
by Ilm Box we ask the children to find the letter amongst a selection of letters. This is for letter recognition – to see if they can remember how many dots, what shape the letter is etc.
4. Using everyday objects
When we introduce new objects we tend to find objects we have at home or in our play rooms and even pictures. This way children can hold or play with the objects while learning the new names in the Arabic Language. (Sign up to our newsletter below to receive a FREE vocabulary sheet for each letter of the Arabic Alphabet to help you get started with your teaching!)
5. Arabic Alphabet songs
Children love singing! So we use some of the songs we found on YouTube including this simple Alphabet song and this Arabic alphabet rhyme with vocabulary and sing them in our sessions! We use ones that include vocabulary and then invent our own songs with the vocabulary we are using for that particular letter to help our children remember the new vocabulary.
6. Teaching order
Remember you don’t have to teach the letter alphabetically. Start with easier sounds like ba, jeem, laam etc – the same we don’t always teach the letters in order in phonics. However, like phonics, it is best to begin with the letter sounds that the names for reading.
7. Arabic letter games
Learning through games is so much fun for your child. We printed and laminated these cool mazes from Home Play School – check out her website for more Free Arabic Resources including playdough mats!
8. Gambian Mommy Resources
Gambian Mommy produces some brilliant, fun and colourful resources for our kids’ Arabic learning journeys! You have to check out her wonderful creations over on at her page here. In the meantime, the ones we use and found our children loved were the Alphabet puzzle vocabulary pictures and the peg the matching vocabulary.
9. Using Playdough Cutters
Play dough is the most calming time with my girls. They love using play dough so we love incorporating it into our Arabic Lessons with these fab play dough cutters by the Desi Doll Company! You can use the cutters to make the letters you are learning that week and they also come in handy when your children are moving on to letter connecting too!
10. Arabic letter crafts
Arts and Crafts is always a fun activity, so we always try to tie in the craft to the vocabulary or letter of that week. In the case of the Jeem below, the children were to stick orange paper on the jeem which represents a carrot. (See video below for more!)
11. Make up Arabic vocabulary stories
To recap our vocabulary for the letter we learnt, we practised over them by making up stories and drawing pictures to aid us. Check out the video below for more!
12. Make an Arabic Wall at home
Learning displays are more than just making the rooms pretty! You can actively refer to them in your sessions by displaying the Arabic alphabet poster. Put up the children’s letter craft and any other learning aids you use! We have started making ours again below!
Check out our Arabic Alphabet Teaching Tips video below!
Resources including vocabulary to teach with each letter, and Arabic Letter writing sheets are available to download for FREE below! Enjoy!
Arabic Vocab linked to teaching the Arabic Alphabet
13 Comments
This is such a useful post, its a one stop shop for all my Arabic learning stuff. JazakAllahu Khair bookmarking it for future reference!
Oh I’m glad – I wanted to put it altogether in one post – makes it easier for me too thank you!
Nice article. Using Sand Tray is an interesting idea which looks so effective too.. I will Insha Allah apply that to my niece and nephew. Thanks for sharing.
Your welcome! Thanks for your lovely comments!
I have taught the Arabic alphabet before using flashcards, all the other methods you mention helps to make it much more fun and interactive, especially the use of the sand.
Ma shaa Allah! Very creative and interactive way of teaching!! JazakilAllahu Khayr for sharing ❣️
Masha’Allah! I showed your sand tray photo to my children. We haven’t used ours in ages. Insha’Allah now we plan to soon Jazakillahkhayr for your prompt regarding this, also your other reminders, and the new ideas I picked up too. May Allah put barakah in your learning fun, ameen.
I always find tour posts so inspirational, mashaAllah. In fact, my entire wall display is based on ideas I’ve taken from you. Jazakillah.
Ah thank you! That’s so nice to read! Thank you for your support!
Good ways to the first steps in learning Arabic, I love the Arabic wall idea! Wondering if the sand will get them to remembered as much as play dough? Thanks for the ideas!
These are all wonderful! My children are hands on learners, so we do a lot of these activities- the kids love them!
You always share such fantastic ideas to teach Arabic to kids. Jazak’Allah Khayr and keep up the good work!
The only thing we have not done yet is use Gambian mommies resources. They are soo Cool masha aallah I need them all.