Think about how many fonts you have access to on your computer.  Between books, magazines, posters, and signs, how many more fonts do you see in one day?  While these types all look different, there is enough of a similarity between them to make it possible to recognize one letter across multiple fonts (at least until you get to Wingdings — does anyone really use those?). 

In order to be capable readers in the world around them, children eventually need to be able to recognize letters across a variety of fonts as well.  While I would always recommend first introducing letters in a simple font, as a child becomes familiar she can examine a variety of fonts to find what salient qualities makes a “T” a “T” and a “B” a “B”, no matter how many extra curls are attached. [Read more…]