"Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel." - Socrates
 
Reading words is achieved by seeing a word, recognizing the letter or letters representing a sound, and blending those sounds to form the word.
 
Spelling words is achieved by hearing a spoken word, separating the sounds in the word, and illustrating the sounds with the appropriate letter or letter combinations.
 
These skills are cooperative, meaning one aids in developing the other. Successive blending and connecting sounds are two practices that support word reading development. 
 
My Blending Pad turns manipulative letters into an effective tool for helping children understand the alphabetic principles and engage in making and reading words.