From the link recommended by mathanxiety:
A: Learning the alphabet is one milestone that we tend to mark as an indication of a child's successful entry into the world of reading. A child who can name all 26 letters by the end of kindergarten will be equipped with an important foundational stepping stone toward recognizing sounds and printed words.
No they will not. Learning the alphabet is not at all useful for learning to read and for some children it is downright dangerous as they persist in confusing letter names with the letter sounds. It would be particularly inappropriate now that the OP's child has started learning letter/sound correspondences.
I can't believe this. Mathanxiety has spent a who thread declaiming against the early teaching of phonics but now is suggesting that very young children are taught the useless, and possibly extremely muddling, alphabet letter names.
It is important, however, to understand that at this age learning the letters is just one of many prereading skills that are important for your child to acquire. Try not to place so much emphasis on the alphabet that it takes the away from doing other things, such as simply talking to him so that he hears many different words and reading to him so that he hears and sees the beauty of written language.
In fact, forget about the alphabet all together.
When you do focus on the alphabet, make sure that your son is learning letters in meaningful ways and not just engaged in isolated memory tasks. Begin with uppercase letters, as they are easier for children to recognize.
Hmmm. Just to get them nice and confused for when they start learning phonics with lowercase letters.
<span class="italic">* Look for letters every day. Observe your child as he engages in the world around him. Does he notice particular signs and logos, such as "exit" signs, restaurant logos, and so on? Take these opportunities to point out and name letters with him. Start with the first letter of the word.</span>
Don't name the letters; just say the sounds...
<span class="italic">* I know my name. Help your child learn to identify his own name and the letters that spell it. Begin by showing him his whole name in functional ways. You might put name labels on his backpack or lunchbox or inside the covers of favorite books. Show your son his name on any mail you receive, such as doctor appointment reminders, school calendars, even junk mail.</span>
<span class="italic">To help your child learn the letters in his name, write it slowly, saying each letter aloud as you go.</span>
No, no, no, no, no!! Don't teach letter names at all.
<span class="italic">Magnetic learning. Once your child has a small bank of letters he can easily recognize (based on those in his name and those he can pick out from his environment), expand letter knowledge by playing with magnetic letters on the refrigerator, by writing the names of other family members and by spelling simple words, especially when your child wants to communicate something in writing. In these ways, you will be helping your child learn big ideas about reading, while learning the alphabet at the same time.</span>
Please. All this stuff is archaic and belongs in the dustbin of history.