Alphabet Adventures for Your Preschool Student

Working on the alphabet with your preschooler or kindergartener can be a glorious adventure.  The alphabet is literally all around us.  Opening their eyes to this magical world will eventually lead to the door of a successful reader.  

Getting to this final destination can take a lot of hard work or a little imagination.  Introduction of the alphabet needs to go beyond the traditional song, tracing exercises and flash cards.  

Using the world around us can make this more than just a part of the time-honored routine we have become accustomed to over the years.

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Look around your home or classroom; do you see a favored toy of your student(s)?  Does it contain the focused letter of the week?  

If not, choose an object that will meet this need.  Create a display or activity center using this item as the focal point.  Create individual letter cards to spell out the item / word and add numbers onto a corner of each card to indicate the ordinal pattern of the letters.  This activity will reinforce any numeric work you are focused on as well.  Add to this center a small picture or toy that represents the beginning sound of each of the letters of the larger, display object.  

If the exposure to additional letters / sounds becomes too overwhelming for the student(s) then concentrate on the ‘letter of the week’ only. If focusing on the ‘letter of the week’ is the primary goal then add a variety of picture cards with the letter located in various positions – 

Example: For the letter B, a toy bus may be the focus object; use picture cards of a boy, tub, ball, cab, bubble, baby, etc…… be sure to add the spelling onto each picture card.  Many other items can be added to the center / display as well. 

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Creating the display can incorporate some of these additional suggestions or they can stand alone as alphabet / sound activities.

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1)   Textured Letters:  Trace a letter (different fonts are fun too) with glue (add sand or salt if wanted) and let dry.  These are wonderful tactile experiences for the young student.

2)   Name Scramblers:  Using a student’s name – create individualized letter cards – mix them and challenge the student or fellow students to reorganize the letters to recreate the name.  This can be done with more advanced students too – challenge the class to come up with as many words as possible from rearranging the ‘scrambled’ word.

3)   Letter Memory Game:  Using the focus letter of the week – create cards with different font styles (use upper and / or lower case) of the letter; make 2 copies (laminate for durability); cut out; mix the cards; and lay out individually face down; Play as any traditional lotto style game.

4)   Play Dough Mats:  Create large letters (laminate) and have the students roll out dough snakes and place over the letter lines to create the focus letter.  A variation of this activity would be to use cookie dough – repeat the activity; then bake the shape for eating during snack time.

5)   Class Room Labels:  Place labels around the room depicting the objects; Have the students roam the room and count how many of the focused letter they can spy.  Change the labels from day to day to create a new, yet fun, educational routine.

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  These are only a few of the activities that can be incorporated easily into the day.  As parents, day care providers and educators we need to provide the key to the door that leads to reading success.  Only your imagination will further their success and make the journey on this adventure wonderful.