Hi. I'm not teaching yet and I don't really have any money. Last year I got a set of 24 Letter People Huggables. I'm missing Letter People Mr. O and Ms. W. If anyone has these 2 that is not being used anymore and are willing to give them away for free please may I have them? I really want to teach with a full set when I start. I promise to take care of them with my life.
It looks as though it's a vintage product that you are looking for. I fear, that since you've posted this several times and received no response, you are going to need to hunt to find them. Have you tried eBay?
This is because they are no longer adopted as curriculum because they do not meet contemporary standards for literacy. They are vintage because they aren't really used anymore for teaching, and are considered collectibles rather than classroom materials. Kindergarten students are expected to know letter names and basic letter sounds already and move quickly to blending words and reading. At best, they could be used to supplement whatever curriculum has been adopted by your school. In that case, you can probably do without a whole set. I know when I taught kindergarten 12 years ago, the one co-teacher who still used them was trying to get rid of them because they were no longer useful and she couldn't even give them to the pre-K teacher because they weren't even considered developmentally appropriate for 4 year olds anymore, because they teach letter names quickly. "Letter of the week" is no longer a thing.
I think they switched to puppets because they are more durable. The inflatables were notorious for leaking. The Letter People are now sold in a bundle for pre-K classrooms, but that bundle hasn't been adopted as an approved curriculum for many states because it does not meet their standards and is not considered developmentally appropriate for that age. I would consider waiting to invest much money in them to see what school you end up teaching at, and what curriculum they approve and resources they give you. Unless you collect vintage teaching tools (which, no judgement. My mom has a large collection of old primers and textbooks) I don't know how useful you'll find them in the classroom, especially since they are fairly delicate.
20 years ago I adored the Letter People, as did my students. But I was constantly bringing them home to submerge them in my bathtub to locate the leaks and then insufficiently patch them. Our teachers of English as a Second Language use them for small group instruction. I am jealous of their puppets!
Me too. Someday I'm planning on getting the DIG curriculum when I have enough money. When I have that I'll only allow the students to play with the puppets and the teachers are allowed to hold the Huggables with the exception of small group time. That way I'll let the students introduce themselves to them
