Letter Recognition
The goal for our Alphabet For Starters series is to give you ways to introduce letters to your children through all sorts of play. This activity the 7th post in our series pairs gross motor play with letter recognition perfectly! Don’t forget that the number one thing you can do to teach your children about letters is to read to them so after the activity we’ve included some of our favorite books and if you are looking for alphabet books for kids we have 50 Alphabet Books too!
- Gather your materials. You will need some big blocks like these from Melissa & Doug
( cardboard boxes will work just great too ) ,scissors, painters tape if you don’t want to alter your blocks forever or a sharpie if you do.
- Using the tape make letters on the blocks. I did this obviously but she wanted to help , it was tricky…
- So she got in the bin and supervised while I made a bunch of letters that she suggested and I popped in a few others too.
- Then my son came to help too. He wanted the O to be on a blue so he suggested making the o I’d already made into a Q. I was all for it.
- We didn’t make every letter because they were super eager to play. But don’t feel like you have to do every letter. If you think 26 letters will overwhelm then focus on s few that your child knows well and a few that they have yet to recognize so you balance challenge with success.
- BUILD!
The most fascinating thing was that every time she grabbed a block she’d recognize and say the letter without prompting. As we built I would sometimes say ” Should we put the W on top?” or ” Grab the T and I’ll put it here.” 
We were playing with letters without testing or drilling and while we were building someone decided to start spelling too. - Knock it down and build another.
Last night I had to make more letters because my son was begging to spell all sorts of words. I was excited to see him sit down and sound out words first before asking me if it was right . I absolutely love that they both have enjoyed such an easy to make activity using their favorite blocks.
Our Bedtime Books
Baby Giggles (Beautiful Babies)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
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Crayon resist painting is a classic children’s art project and this is how we turned it into an alphabet activity. Our spin on the classic crayon resist is a fun way to learn letters by magically making them appear when painting the paper. We may know it’s not magic but I dare you to tell a squealing toddler that its not. To them it’s alphabet magic. This is the 6th installment of our Alphabet For Starters series, posts dedicated to introducing and playing with letters for beginners.
- Gather your materials, you will need some water colors, water, a paint brush, white paper, white crayons and scissors.
- Start by cutting plain paper in half. I found that making them a medium size was just the right size for her to paint and not lose the excitement of discovery.
- Write letters in upper or lowercase in white crayon. I went over the lines a few times to make them nice and thick. Do not try to do every letter in one sitting, it will take a fun activity and make it daunting for many kids. Instead have the materials on hand to make more in a jiffy if they are super into it. My daughter kept asking for the letter R so we made a few of those.
- Mix the paint. Now The best paint is watery so it beads off the crayon easily. I mixed the paint brush in water color and riced it in the water a few times then used the water as the paint.
- I am often asked what my kids do while I prep or if I prep the night before ( you overestimate my competency if that’s what you think) – no I set something out for her to play with like these instruments and then invite her to play when ready.
- Time to Paint. She was not sure at first.
- “What is it ?” ” A!”
- Let’s do more!
- O!
She had fun and later while playing in the playroom she sat at the table and re-did the activity with a dry brush and the dried paintings. A sure sign that it was a hit.
When you are on on the go, sometimes your children are not so cooperative. Whether you are on a road trip or just running errands around town your children probably are not too happy about it and let you know. Allie did a great post about learning on the go in which her son checked off letters as he found them. But giving my three small children each a pencil and pad isn’t something that would make a trip easier on me. At home sure, but not out by myself.
This fun activity keeps hands and minds busy. Plus it helps keeps Mommy sane, always a plus. 
The simpleness of this activity makes it easily adjustable for all ages and levels.
All you will need for this is a paper plate, marker, and scissors.
Write letters around the edge of the plate.
Then cut in between each letter.
You can make one for upper case letters, lower case letters, shapes, sight words, and colors. The possibilities are endless. You could also turn it into a fun math activity by doing numbers or equations.
Give your child a plate and when you are out on the town or at a park (pretty much wherever) they simply fold down the letter as they spot it in their surroundings.
We had a five year old boy with us learning his phonics, so when he saw something I would ask the sound of it. We would match the sound the letter makes to the letter, then he would fold it over. He was so excited.
This is definitely one of those activities that children can do on their own or you can do with them. Like I said the possibilities are endless, so have fun!
What will you put on your plate?
Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It.
Introducing children to letters doesn’t have to only use print material especially for the very young. Children learn with all their senses and it’s best to teach them using as many as we can. These simple but valuable introductory activities is what this series Alphabet For Starters is all about. My daughter who just starting to show interest in letters loved this simple sensory activity. We played and played naming letters as we pressed them into the squishy playdough. Try to avoid using this time to quiz your child on their knowledge ( I know it’s hard not to ) instead label what they are doing.
- Gather your materials. You will need some playdough ( we have great playdough recipes and even a gluten free playdough recipe) and alphabet cookie cutters.
- When starting any activity with a toddler I like to start them ready to play. I gave her a few letters to start and a hunk of playdough pressed flat.
- She started playing and naming letters immediately. She knows a handful of letters but all the ones she doesn’t are named R . I don’t tell her ” NO it’s T! This is T!” I just say something like ” You are pressing the letter T so hard into the playdough.” or ” Look at that yellow T you have.” There is no rush – just play with the letters.
- I was shocked with how long she played – it just went on and on! We grabbed more letters from the bin.
- I asked her which letters she liked and even though she said A and M she played with R way more than any other letter. It was fun to watch her explore knowing that in an instant she will be reading and writing like her brother. Savoring these simple playdough activities is such a treat.
Like this activity but you have an older sibling who wants to play too? Or a child who is already familiar with the alphabet?
Here are a few tasks for them :
- Use the cookie cutters to cut out the letters of their names.
- Give them words to cut out and spell.
- Guess how many letters they can fit in one hunk of playdough without overlapping the prints.
Make your own touch and feel letters for your littlest learner easily and without breaking the bank. These frugal and educational letters let beginners explore letters through their senses. Alphabet For Starters is our series of simple activities for children just beginning to explore and learn letters. A great rule of thumb for when to start is when your child starts pointing out letters on shirts, in books or boxes. If they haven’t yet but this they might enjoy it, try these activities and see if they are interested. If they are engaged jump in and explore some more, if they aren’t don’t push. We want letters to be fun, playful and interesting and if we push them on kids that aren’t ready we set up everyone for frustrating experience.
- Gather your materials. You will need some construction paper , double stick tape ( or glue if you have time to let it dry), scissors, a marker, some materials that have various textures. We used felt, some sticky back sparkly foam and regular sticky back foam. I also used some emery boards but they didn’t stick to the double stick tape, and I was going to use some contact paper for sticky but forgot…. The main thing to remember is to have a handful of different textures.
- Start by choosing a few letters . I limit the letters only because I want my daughter who is almost 2 to explore them without being overwhelmed. There is no way she’d go through and explore each at this stage so I only made a handful. If you want to make all 26 letters go for it just follow your child as they explore .
- To make the letters I started by cutting some construction paper in two and writing a letter on it.
- Add double stick tape or glue and stick the felt on. The foam has a self adhesive back so it’s even easier to use.
- After adding the textured material I cut the letters out .
- Added more double stick tape.
- And popped it on another sheet of construction paper so they are a little sturdier.
- Time to play! She intuitively started tracing the letters. As she did I narrated a little ” That M is sparkly!” ” Does it feel nice on your finger?”
- She loved the squishy foam.
- Use descriptive words like, soft, smooth, squishy and of course label the letters as you play.
- The sparkly foam made a really scratchy sound and she loved it!
For her 6 letters was just the perfect amount. We’ll play with these letters again soon , and slowly switch in new letters as she is ready. Follow your child’s cues if they aren’t able to verbally tell you when they are past the prime learning zone. Once they are visibly less engaged, move on to something new.
Alphabet Books For Beginners
LMNO Peas
Alphabet Under Construction
Chicka Chicka ABC
Need more alphabet books? Here are a bunch!
