Now that you’ve read How To Teach Your Child the Alphabet in 6 Easy Steps, here are some more activities to help your child learn and practice letters:
- Sort magnetic letters on the fridge – sort by colour, by tall vs short, or by shape (i.e. lines vs circles) Or, make your names with magnetic letters.
- Go on alphabet hunts for particular letters
- Play I Spy for letters on book covers or menus
- Make letters out of stuff! – Shape food into a letter on a plate, decorate cookies with letters, make letters out of stones outside, the possibilities are endless!
- Make a personalised ABC book for your child with a drawing or photo for each letter – and read it every day. (This is much more meaningful for the child than reading a store bought ABC book.)
- Use glue and glitter to make a sign of your child’s name for his room
- Play games with an ABC chart (e.g. Can you find the B? What picture starts with a /t/ sound? Where is Papa’s letter?)
- Read ABC books. Here is a link to a list of 50 great ABC books: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/2012/03/50-alphabet-books.html
- Write letters for your child, especially his! – big letters, small letters, chalk letters, crayon letters, on paper, in the sand, on the driveway, on the window, etc.
- Have your child write letters (if he has the ability). Try something a bit different – Drawing letters on a baking tray layered with sand, sugar, or rice makes it a tactile experience for your child. Then you just shake and erase, and you’re ready for the next one! It’s a good idea to model how to write a letter by verbalising as you go. For example, “W-It starts here, goes down, back up, down, back up”.
This is far from an exhaustive list. Feel free to add your ideas in the comment section. If you have any questions about these activities, let me know. Have fun!