Easy Letter Rubbings Board

I love re-using household items for learning activities and I had the glue gun out for something else when inspiration struck. My daughter loved the magic letters activity we did months ago and I wanted to create another easy alphabet activity that had an element of surprise. This easy to make board was perfect. You and I may not be surprised by the letters appearing on the paper but for someone just shy of 3 years old this was a super cool activity. The letter rubbings she made are a simple craft  but memorable. This is part of our Alphabet For Starters series which is a series of activities that let your children play and discover letters.

1. Gather your materials. To make the letter rubbing board you will need a cutting board ( I used our old playdough board) , some hot glue, and a glue gun. To make the rubbings you will also need some paper and crayons. You may also want some clips to keep the paper in place while rubbing.
2. Heat up your glue gun and write letters on the board with it . I did uppercase but you can do lowercase or a mix, whatever you want.
3. If you make a mistake just wait until it’s cooled and using a butter knife you can pry it off. Let cool.
4. My daughter explored the letters once they were cool.
5. Invite your helper to come and peel some crayon wrappers off. It’s great fine motor skill practice and to tell you the truth my most hated task. Do any of you know if they have unwrapped crayons? I would pay extra for those!  { Um well yes there are unwrapped crayons and our friends at Melissa & Doug have them }
6. Time to start rubbing and revealing the letters.She loved it. I was worried it might be kinda blah but she enjoyed changing crayon colors, trying to guess what letter would be next and eventually announcing the letter.

Alphabet Books

No Alphabet For Starters activity is complete without some rad alphabet books to deepen the lesson. Here are a few fun ones for beginners.

Learn the Alphabet with NorthWest Coast Native Art by Ryan Cranmer (and others) was an amazing gas station find. Yes I said gas station. I ran in for some diet coke and came out with an alphabet book ! This book is amazing, bright beautiful and even though I bought it for my daughter since it’s bright colors and sturdy pages are perfect for a baby, my almost 4 year old son adores it. What I love is when he reads it to her . The Native art is gorgeous and if you are unfamiliar with north west coast art you are in for a treat.

Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming is a wonderful example of what an alphabet book should be. Perfect for toddlers and preschoolers learning their first letters, the text is short , the letters are front and center and the illustrations are fun and interesting. Many alphabet books are too long to read entirety at circle time or in one shot with a toddler but my 19 month old will sit through Z every time. {This review is from when my son was 19 months old in 2008. His love of this book was really a jumping off point for his love of letters in general. I wish I could say I taught him his letters but really reading this one particular book over and over at his request probably did the trick. }

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Anniversary Edition by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault is one of my absolute favorite books ever. Many alphabet books are great tools but this one not only entertains it never gets old. Its text is musical , its premise is brilliant in its simplicity and kids love it. It’s an incredibly fun book!  I have never had a class who didn’t like it and if you don’t have it, you should!