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Six Fun Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

Six Fun Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

When it comes to learning the alphabet, preschoolers benefit from repeated exposure and varied practice with letters. If you’re looking for fun ways to incorporate the alphabet into your child’s day, these simple indoor games are easy to replicate at home and provide a variety of ways to engage with the alphabet.

You’ll find both calm, quiet activities to keep them occupied, and more active games that will help them burn off energy. Ready? Let’s have fun with letters!

  1. Alphabet Connect-the-Dots
    This simple activity promotes letter recognition and gets little bodies moving.

    What you’ll need:
    A long roll of art or butcher paper, or sheets of paper taped together, and crayons or markers

    What to do:
    To start, choose five or six letters to focus on (aim for a mix of letters they know well and letters that are more of a challenge). Using a long roll of paper and some crayons or markers, write the first letter you’ve chosen in random spots on the paper. Then move on to the next letter and do the same thing, until all the letters are written.

    Each letter should repeat about eight to ten times on the paper. Hand your preschooler a crayon and ask them to draw a line connecting the letters which are the same. For example, they may choose to start with the letter “G” and connect all of the “Gs” they see with their crayon. 

    Source: Hands On As We Grow website

  2. Secret Letters
    Who doesn’t love receiving a secret message? This exciting activity combines the delight of revealing a hidden message with letter recognition practice.

    What you’ll need:
    White paper, white crayon, watercolour paint (or homemade paints made of jello powder or fruit juice), and a paintbrush

    What to do:
    Use a white crayon to  write hidden letters or words on the paper. Hand the note  to your child to paint over with watercolours. As they paint, the white wax of the crayon is revealed. See if they can read your message or tell you what letters they see appearing. 

    Note: the message can be adapted to your child’s age and reading level. For toddlers, pictures and squiggles are fun to discover, while older children may be ready for words, phrases, or sentences.

    Source: Busy Toddler website

  3. At-Home Alphabet Hunt
    Letters are everywhere: the cover of a book, a bottle of dish soap, the side of a box. This simple activity reminds little learners that there are letters all around them and promotes everyday reading.

    What you’ll need:
    Marker, pad of paper, pencil

    What to do:
    On a pad of paper, write out the entire alphabet with a marker in the style of a grocery list, with one letter on each line. Pass your little one the pad and pencil and go on a hunt around your house (or even your neighbourhood) together and have them check off the letters they find on their search. Can they find them all?

    Source: No Time for Flashcards website

  4. Fishing for Letters
    This engaging activity fosters the imagination and helps preschoolers learn to recognize letters outside of their alphabetized order.

    What you’ll need: alphabet fridge magnets, extra magnet, string or yarn, cloth or fabric to act as “water," popsicle stick or wooden spoon, baking sheet (optional)

    What to do:
    Create a pretend fishing rod by tying an extra magnet to a piece of yarn at the end of a popsicle stick or wooden spoon, so that the magnet dangles like the hook on a fishing rod. Spread alphabet magnets over some cloth (using blue fabric is a fun touch to represent water) and go fishing for magnets!

    Tell your child to “stay on the shore” and pick up magnets without walking on the cloth. Each time they “catch” a letter, say the letter out loud together and put it on the fridge or a baking sheet. Once all the letters are caught, see if they can arrange them in order.

  5. Writing Tray
    Writing trays are a wonderful way to help children learn to write letters and practice fine motor skills.

    What you’ll need:
    Cookie sheet or a large, shallow container, flour or sprinkles, writing tool such as a spoon or cotton swab (optional)

    What to do:
    Spread a layer of flour or sprinkles over the tray and have your child write letters in the tray using either their fingers or a writing tool. Gently shake the tray to erase the letters and start again. This activity also works well for drawing shapes and numbers — or simply let them be creative and draw all kinds of pictures!

  6. Musical Letters
    This activity is perfect for burning off energy while promoting gross motor co-ordination and quick letter recognition. Plus, who doesn’t love dancing to great music?

    What you’ll need:
    Painter’s tape, paper or card stock, marker, music your kids will dance to

    What to do:
    Using your painter’s tape, create letters on the floor in a random pattern. You don’t need to include every letter but can pick and choose which ones to focus on. Next write out the same letters individually on pieces of paper or card stock. To start, play the music (choose a song that will get your child dancing).

    As the music plays, let them move around the room and dance like crazy! Stop the music and hold up a letter. They must run to find the letter on the floor that matches the letter you’re holding up. Play the music again and repeat. 

    Source: No Time for Flashcards website

Have fun with these wonderful alphabet-learning games! Want even more great early literacy activities you can do at home? Be sure to check out our Library at Home section for more resources like these.

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