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July 21, 2016 | 3 Comments

Alphabet Activities For 3 year olds

alphabet activities for 3 year olds I love teaching 3 year olds. I love sharing activities for 3 year olds that I know work. Activities that use play to introduce and make the alphabet playful. There is NO need to sit your 3-year-old down and force-feed them letter recognition. Include letters into their everyday play and if they show interest jump on it, but never force it. Read, point out letters on signs, and most of all encourage them to recognize their name and their first initial. Often that is the first letter children recognize because it’s meaningful. Here are 12 of my favorite playful alphabet activities for 3 year olds.

abc activities for 3 year olds

 

Painting with letter cookie cutters is probably one of my favorite simple letter activities for 3 year olds. It’s age-appropriate and fun!

alphabet activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Mail – this is one of the biggest hits in my preschool class. Children love this simple alphabet activity.

alphabet crafts and activities for 3 year olds

Button Letters – hopefully by now your 3 year old has stopped putting buttons in their mouth but if not try this with Cherrios or Fruit Loops. This craft is not only a fun way to work on a letter it works on your child’s fine motor skills as well.

alphabet activities playdough activites

Play dough is perfect for 3 year olds. It not only offers kids a wonderful opportunity to build hand strength,  by adding in a few cookie cutters you have turned it into a literacy activity. This Alphabet Play Dough is a staple in my preschool classroom.

letter activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Flower Garden – Letters pop up and as your child adds the petals to these flowers they can ask about the letter, recognize it and say something or do nothing at all, heck they can even flip it over so no letter shows.

alphabet activities for 3 year olds

Alphabet Discovery Bottle – my 3 year old students loved this bottle. They searched for their first letters, and then helped friends look for theirs. You can create a matching game for children ready for that or just keep it as a letter finding game for those who are not. Remember all children develop interest in letters at their own pace, our job is to be a buffet full of enticing options.

slime and cookie cutters with gak

Letter cookie cutters and slime. This post focuses on letter sounds for older kids, ignore that and just focus on playing with the cookie cutters and squishy slime!

alphabet hunt outside for little kids

Outdoor Alphabet Hunt – do you have a sharpie and some Duplo? Oh, wait you’ll need a dry erase marker too if you want to get that sharpie off. My point is, you don’t need much to create a fun, active activity that your three year old will love.

activities for 3 year olds

Make swirls, circles, or letters with this Salt Tray. It is a wonderfully forgiving way to learn to make shapes and letters. Some three year olds are eager to write ( in my experience once with older siblings especially), and this is a great developmentally appropriate way to encourage that.

alphabet for starters tie dye letters activity

Find the letter and then make it disappear with this fun alphabet activity. These Disappearing Letters can have a bunch of different letters on the filter or just one or two. Meet your child ( or students) where they are and only present challenges that won’t overwhelm.

learning activities for 3 year olds

FREE Printables to use with Letter Cookies – while two of these printables are definitely for more advanced kiddos ( read older, though I am sure some 3 year old out there is ready for them, though not the average one) the lowercase – uppercase match game would work for many older 3 year olds. Heck just getting snacks and treats with letters on them is rad. They help make kids familiar and ready to play with letters, and they are cookies so who doesn’t want them?

gross motor upper and lowercase letter game

Move & Groove Alphabet – get moving and grooving with letters on a rainy day with this great activity!

activities for 3 year olds

Peel & Pick Alphabet Tree – Forget apples, this fall we are picking letters. You can write out the whole alphabet or just use your child’s initials. Whatever works for them!

alphabet activities for 3 year olds from no time for flash cards

Filed Under: Age Preschool, Alphabet activities, Alphabet For Starters, Letters & Numbers | 3 Comments

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3 Comments

  1. folasade says

    May 11, 2017 at 2:59 am

    I like the ‘let’s pick letter activity a lot. It really works for my kids .

    to folasade" aria-label='reply to this comment to folasade'>reply to this comment
  2. melissa brock says

    April 10, 2018 at 6:00 am

    i used to make beaded stuff foe myself and other people till i had my twins which made babies 5 and 6 so i don’t really have much time anymore right now but i also have a 4 and 3 year old and i took an old bottle and did the pick your letter and let them help me make it it was fun they put a few charms and a few other little things they had around i used to noise so for them to shake it don’t bother me and it will be perfect for them to learn how to share a little more and on the go thanks again

    to melissa brock" aria-label='reply to this comment to melissa brock'>reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. 5 Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers Using Just a Set of Letters says:
    March 26, 2018 at 11:50 am

    […] For younger learners, choose a smaller set of random letters to choose from, rather than the entire alphabet. For a greater challenge, have your child find the next two or three letters that come before and after the set. […]

    to 5 Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers Using Just a Set of Letters" aria-label='reply to this comment to 5 Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers Using Just a Set of Letters'>reply to this comment

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