Puddle Wonderful Learning: Preschool Activities: Letter of the Week {Introducing the Alphabet}

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Preschool Activities: Letter of the Week {Introducing the Alphabet}

By Tiffany Rudd

I'm so excited to start a Letter of the Week series here on the blog! Hopefully the activities, crafts and tips I share will help you in learning with your own children at home. Learning to read starts with a great alphabet foundation, so let's get going!

Tip:

*Slow Down! I have to say, the classic alphabet song drives me crazy! I mean, who's idea was it to race through l-m-n-o-p like it is one letter?! So, my first advice is to slow that part way down when you sing it with your child and really pronounce each letter. Even better, print the alphabet poster below and point to each letter as you sing.

Favorite Alphabet Movie:

*Leap Frog Letter Factory! This will most likely be one of the few times I recommend using a dvd to teach your child. This movie really is fantastic for introducing your preschooler to the letters and the sounds they make. I show this movie to my students at the beginning of the year and months later they are still singing the catchy songs and in doing so practicing the letters and their sounds. Click on the photo below to find this dvd on amazon.com.

Snack Ideas:

*Alphabet cereal, alphabet soup, or any other letter shaped food. Kids love to pick out letters they know and especially the letters in their names.

*Pretzel Letters: Click on the photo below to find and recipe and instructions for making your own letter shaped pretzel snacks!

Favorite Book:

*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin is by far my favorite alphabet book. It's a simple and fun story that includes all the letters of the alphabet. I highly recommend picking this book up at your local library. or click on the photo below to find it on amazon.com. There are so many fun activities and crafts you can do to go along with this book!

Art:

*ABC Coconut Tree: This simple coconut tree is a fun art project to go along with the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. Just have your child paint a brown trunk and then help her make two green handprints. Add a few coconuts with brown marker and your coconut tree is ready for the letters to climb! You can add letters with stamps, stickers, or just colored markers.

Activities:

*Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Play! This cute book is also a fun one to act out. You don't really need a coconut tree like this one, just use your imagination and act out each of the letters heading up the tree and then falling out.