but mummy W starts with a D

[DingDongDraculaOnHigh]

(and I can kind of see her point iykwim)

DD dying to learn how to read/write properly, she is doing well on some bits but gets v cross that when i tell her to spell a word that starts with a W, she shouldn't write a D

err....

(cd fails dismally at first hurdle)

spose you could call it "Wubble-you?"

It's a "Wuh"

Children have an answer for everything don;t they?

Agree with Soupy that you'd be better off with phonics, like "wuh" etc. Far less confusing!

oh am trying but she knows them all by their real names too...

I meant to put something intelligent about phonics but couldn't be ar$ed

It is definitely better to use them when learning to write & read words though, they find it easier to sound words out. DSs school go so far as to not correct them if they have phonetically spelt a word correctly. DS2 learnt to read/write quicker than DS1 because I understood the phonics stuff better and could help him with it.

"This letter's name is 'double you' and the sound it makes is 'wuh'. Just like your name is Draculette and you make the sound 'AAAAGHHEEAGH!' "

And then you get the "knife doesn't begin with a k, it begins with an n" etc.
Luckily, with dd1 being called Phoebe, she understands about "phone" etc. Thank goodness for the all-inclusive "Magic k/ph/e" etc!

Bugger!

What about saying that when letters are in words together thay have special names (ie phonics) and their proper names are only for when letters are on their own IYSWIM?

We are buggered with the phonics thing when DS2 starts spelling his name, whjich is Eoin.

yes, CD - schools don't say 'Dubya' - they say 'wuh'..probably for this very reason. I thought it was a bit simplistic to begin with, now I know why they do it!

my dd is in reception and when reading last night asked me why know started with a K. I tried to explain but think I confused her even more.

When I was teaching a few years ago, I used to find myself spelling my name phonetically to people at the bank etc. They must have thought I was a right simpleton.

Kslatts, that's when I use the "it starts with a magic K" excuse and it seems to work.

DS2 was perfectly happy with the idea that letters had names and made sounds. The we simply stopped using their names and always used phonics.

blimey. I'd never noticed. you learn something new everyday (hat works her way through the alphabet to work out if it's the only one...)

The magic K is a great explanation.

Just think of the letter names and sounds as like animals and their noises.

Think of herds of Wbeast with their baby wbeasts roaming the Serengeti with plaintive cries of "wuh"...

www.starfall.com is great for learning phonic letter rules. Things like 'A silent e and the end of a word changes the sound of the vowel before' and stuff like that. dd and ds have learnt loads off that site they use a mixture of phonics and letter names.