Literacy & ABCs
PopularPreschoolers93 Comments
It’s almost time for back to school for preschool and kindergarten kids and these alphabet activities will come in handy!
How do you teach the alphabet to preschoolers?!
As a preschooler, I don’t really think a lot is expected for them to know. Some basics are good though, like colors, shapes, numbers and letters.
To refresh my preschooler’s memory of letter recognition in general, as well as knowing the uppercase and lowercase alphabet and getting to know some of the letters sounds, I’ve been collecting ideas for activities that Henry can do to get him back on track of school. (Check some more out my ABC Learning & More Pinterest Board.)
Not to mention it’ll be great to get me back into school mode too!
With any learning activities, it’s very important to not crush your child’s confidence. Build on what they already know and expand slowly. And only go further when they’re excited to learn.
We want our kids to love learning! Not dread it.
So if they’re not excited about an activity, put it away until another day.
The big question then is…
How do you teach alphabets to preschoolers in a fun way?
Here are 50 alphabet activities meant for preschoolers that do just that.
Hands-on activities that have the preschoolers playing and involving their entire body while learning their ABCs.
Without them even realizing that they’re learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet, both the upper and lower case… or their letter sounds.
Let’s get on with it and see how to teach the alphabet to preschoolers in a fun way!
Recognizing Letters of the Alphabet
Identifying the letters of the alphabet can be a fun activity for preschoolers to learn while playing!
Here are 25 Alphabet activities to recognize the letters of the alphabet.
- An ABC Mat is super handy to have on hand when your child is learning the alphabet! Try an active ABC mat learning game to get them really involved!
- By singing the ABCs the child can find his way through an alphabet maze! Use vehicles or a ball, or even a doll to walk their way through the maze.
- Squirt the Letter.
- Make learning magical with magic letters that the kids reveal as they paint over them.
- Do a letter search and find and match the pieces back together. (Two Hearts, One Roof)
- Make a sensory bag to find the letters.
- Get creative and have her feed the monster letters as you call them out. (Little Family Fun)
- Use sticker letters to match to letters that you write on a paper towel tube! (Activity Mom)
- Make letters from pipe cleaners. (Make and Takes)
- Have fun stacking letter tiles! The catch? Name the letter before you can add it to your tower! (Stay At Home Educator)
- Try a magic trick like Playdough to Plato does with a ABC cup hunt game! Which one is the pom pom under?
- Find the letter and trash it! A fun idea from Motherhood on a Dime.
- Playing House does a bean bag toss into a letter tub that you call out.
- An activity twist on musical chairs, play musical alphabet with your preschooler and identify the letter you stop on! Kids Activities can make this more difficult for older kids too!
- Fish for Letters from First Palette. Can you identify your ‘catch’?
- Letter “I Spy” with Grown Up Board Games from A Heart for Home.
- Make these simple ‘building blocks’ so your child can build a letter and then tell you what it is! (Simple Real Moms)
- Write the alphabet on the sidewalk and water the ‘garden’. (Toddler Approved)
- Magnetic letters matching from NutureStore make great alphabet games!
- Simply make it a race! Lay out some letters on post-its and shout out a letter, have your child run as fast as they can to find it and bring it back to you. (Frugal Fun 4 Boys)
- A classic from my childhood. When in the car and traveling, do an alphabet hunt. (Teach Mama)
- Let the children play on a typewriter, or old computer keyboard. (picklebums)
- NurtureStore reinforces alphabet identification by baking the alphabet.
- Another use for the ABC Mat is to play twister! (Mothergoose Club)
- Homemade letter sponges for the bath from Learning 4 Kids are a fun learning addition to bath time!
Additionally, these products are excellent to have on hand when learning letters.
These do include my affiliate link that helps to support Hands On As We Grow® at no additional cost to you if you purchase. We truly appreciate the support, thank you.
- Alphabet Foam Puzzle Mat
- Foam Bath Letters & Numbers
- Large Wooden ABC 26-piece Puzzle
- Melissa & Doug Classic ABC Block Cart
- Alphabet Fun Flash Cards
- LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set
These provide amazing opportunities for letter or alphabet games and activities to do at home!
Learning Uppercase & Lowercase Letters
Lowercase letters tend to be harder for preschoolers to identify as well as match up with their uppercase counterparts.
Here are 9 alphabet activities to help preschoolers distinguish between upper and lower case letters.
- Got on a letter hunt and match the found letters to a set of lowercase letters!
- Match uppercase and lowercase hearts using a free printable.
- Write lowercase letters on clothespins and have your child match and clip them onto an uppercase letter that’s printed (or written) out. (I Can Teach My Child)
- Bring out the Easter Eggs. Label each side with corresponding upper and lowercase letters! Can your child put the eggs back together? (Mom. Wife. Busy Life.)
- Learn letters on the go with two paper plates, one with lowercase, one with uppercase letters. No Time for Flash Cards has the how to.
- Make learning the ABCs a big event! Turn the floor into a mega doodle of letters and then match corresponding letters to it! (Filth Wizardry)
- Match upper and lowercase letters on the sidewalk.
- Practice writing while also learning both upper and lowercase letters by using a tray of salt. (Happy Hooligans)
- Play a game of alphabet bingo. (Teach Mama)
Letter Sound Activities
Many of the activities for preschoolers that are listed for recognizing the letters of the alphabet can also be adjusted for learning the sounds of the letters too!
Here are 16 alphabet activities for preschoolers to work on the sounds of the letters!
- Go on a hunt for toys that start with the letters and then got to punch through for a prize in our letter sound punch alphabet game.
- Make an alphabet game to sort by beginning letter sounds.
- An active way for the kids to learn their letters is simply with a ball and shouting out words that start with a letter! The Pleasantest Thing gives us many variations of this alphabet game in her guest post!
- Take learning outside with a sidewalk letter sound scavenger hunt like No Time for Flashcards.
- Another version of this would be to spray the letter that makes the sound from Train Up a Child.
- Indoors, set out some cups and letters on them and have the kids find as many toys as they can that start with each letter. (PreKinders)
- Simple. Kids love to pretend to ‘work’. Give them tees and a hammer and pound the sound idea from ABCs of Literacy.
- Add letters to muffin tins and toss a small object. Where it lands the child has to tell you what sound that letter makes. This idea’s found at ABC & Learning by Playdough to Plato.
- Do a beginning letter sound toy wash!
- Climb up the stairs when you get the right letter sound from A Mom with a Lesson Plan.
- Make a collage from magazine cutouts for letter sounds. (Carrots are Orange)
- Get active with a letter sound jumping game from The Imagination Tree.
- A Run N Spell alphabet game from Having Fun At Home gets the kids moving and learning starting letter sounds.
- “Baking” the Alphabet on a hot day from Not Just Cute. Hungry for a banana? Fill up the letter b-b-b-B!
- Alphabet bowling with letter pins from Toddler Approved
- Use letter pops (sticks with a letter on the end) to have the kids identify objects from around the room or house that start with the same letter. (Dr. Jean & Friends)
- Match toys to letters with this hands-on sound activity from No Time For Flash Cards
Fantastic books for learning ABCs:
Supplement these learning activities with books and your preschooler will be singing, reciting, spelling and sounding out the ABCs in no time I bet!
- Alphabet Book (Farmyard Tales Books Series)
- Alphabet Rescue
- Alphabet Mystery
- Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
- I Spy Letters
I’d love to know.
When was your child able to identify some letters of the alphabet?
Henry learned his alphabet really early it seemed. Identifying a few letters when he was 20 months old and knowing almost the entire alphabet when he was just over 2 years old.
George on the other hand has no interest yet at 22 months so it’s not on our radar.
If you have an eager early learner, these beginning learning letter activities are perfect for toddlers!
Onto numbers! 40 number activities for preschoolers too!
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gvibe says
Well done for making such content, it is very useful for us. I know you put a lot of effort into this, thank you!
EtonHouse says
Thankyou for sharing this idea.
Rose Prevost says
Your ideas are fabulous and I love the hands on approach to everything. Can you send me the template for the ABC Alphabet Hunt – upper/lowercase? The link in the article does not work.
Thanks again.
Tabitha Lightfoot says
Hi Rose! Thanks! Unfortunately, the link in the article goes to a post that isn’t ours so we don’t have the template. But, you can easily make your own on a piece of paper, just by writing the letters!
lasercut says
Thank You.
smith wesley says
thanks alot
SNK Creation says
Thanks for sharing this valuable content with us this work is appreciable and I have bookmarked your website.
ketty says
Really loved your ideas and links, I’m always on the hunt for things that can help my son with learning……thanks dear for nice sharing……….i appreciate your efforts……….
Amrita Madhur says
Wonderful ideas! Thanks for sharing these great ways to teach Alphabets to kids
karton bardak says
They have very sweet and stylish designs, beautiful products.
Alicia says
This has been wonderful… they are all brilliant ideas but some resources are hard to access but nevertheless.. it was very learning.. mainly because I develop ideas by studying certain things. ????????????. Very helping
The Read Today says
Nicely put together everything. I think if one follows everything mentioned in this article, it can never go wrong with the kids. Always wanted to read something about alphabets activities with the sound of the letters
Sarah says
I think this is an interesting way to teach children before entering school
Agnes Adiani says
This is a good idea, it can raise children’s enthusiasm for learning. Because children’s development is faster when something they like is there.
Alifyah says
Woww, this is the perfect list! It has everything! Thankyou!
Spartan Kids says
Good Artical
Soma Daire ilanları says
Great collection! thank you for sharing!
Sarah says
Amazing tips! Can’t wait to try them out with my youngest. I might start baking the alphabet, sounds like so much fun. Thanks for sharing!
Billie says
Great list! I’m definitely saving this for future use. This list has literally everything
Lisa says
He learned the letters by us reading the Dr. Seuss “A, B, C” book to him every night and learned the sounds by a kids’ laptop my parents bought him. My younger son is now 21 months old and I’m getting ready to start working with him, but he does not enjoy reading like my older son does so I have a feeling it is going to be a different ballgame! Thank you for some great ideas!
rehan says
it is very important for every begainer .so my brother younger to help teach the ABC’s
Diana says
These are great activities to help teach the ABC’s. My daughter is in early child hood education, she will love these ideas.
Jack Irby says
We have alphabet mats all along our kid’s play area. They also have magnets which to be honest get scattered literally EVERYWHERE. But that’s what kids do, right? They’re learning the ABCs and 123s right now in pre-k and learning so much.
Destiny McDonald says
They were good ideas ,but needs more visual representation .
bullet force says
What a fabulous collection!
192.168.0.1 says
Cool alphabet activities! great collection!
Leona Paygar says
Thanks, it was rewarding. Hope to get more of this.
hafsa says
please help us to teach are kid all subject .years 3
Lindsey O'Connell says
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these ideas!!!
Also, wanted to share a link to a great product. It’s like Elf on a Shelf for LEARNING!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1591009521/my-owl-pal-book-and-toy-let-your-learning-adventur
ed says
i like but maybe give us how much time can we do that activity
Mary says
Is there an easier version to print?
Devany says
These are fantastic! Thank you!
Olga says
Thank you for the great materials! Sometimes I teach kids and will definitely use some of those methods, especially Letter Sound Activities!
Jamie Reimer says
You’re welcome! Have fun!
Moji says
I love these ideas! Thank you for sharing!
Sinea Pies says
What a marvelous source of alphabet activities for preschoolers!
Jamie Reimer says
Thank you :)
Ehsan says
Thanks for sharing great ways to teach ABC Alphabets to kids. Let me share another great way to teach ABC Alphabets to kids.
As you know kids are really crazy about smartphones and tablets, so why not teach them with fun using smartphones.
Yes you can teach kids using smartphone/tablets apps/games.
Let me share you some cool ABC learning games which helps kids to learn ABC here
Thanks
Erin says
Thanks for linking up Simply Real Moms! We have a great article including the letter builders activity of ours you shared that includes over 13 ways to learn letters without flashcards! Learning through play is the way to go!
Shavahn says
My son knew most of his capital letters at 18 months. I owe it to Star Wars ABC! =)
Thekidsworkbook says
Hi.
Great new site for kids, Alphabet, Numbers, coloring pages and more,
We are updating the site continuously.
shaunnaevans says
This is a terrific resource! I hope you don’t mind that I linked to it in my Top 10 Ways to Remember the ABCs post today.
Jamie Reimer says
Thanks Shaunna! You can link me up anytime! :) Thanks for including it!
Kelly says
What a great roundup, thank you!
I just pinned it :-)
Deb @ Living Montessori Now says
What an awesome roundup, Jamie! Thanks so much for including my post! I’ve pinned this. :)
Melissa says
Really loved your ideas and links, I’m always on the hunt for things that can help my son with learning. He knew all of his letters by sight until he went to kindergarten and they teach the phonics of the letters first, ugh! So now we are on letter sounds!
Amy Rhodes says
So many ideas where do I start? they are great will definitely be using some of these in the coming weeks thank you for the inspiration :) Another one to add to the pins.
Yvonne says
Love, love, love this collection! My older son also learned his alphabet as well as sounds very early. He had the alphabet down by about 22 months, mastered what sound each letter made by about 24 months. He learned the letters by us reading the Dr. Seuss “A, B, C” book to him every night and learned the sounds by a kids’ laptop my parents bought him. My younger son is now 21 months old and I’m getting ready to start working with him, but he does not enjoy reading like my older son does so I have a feeling it is going to be a different ballgame! Thank you for some great ideas!
Tulip says
Great list! So many fun activities. Thanks for sharing at Mom’s Library!
Ticia says
What a great list of ways to learn. My kids loved our fridge phonics game.
Cerys @ Rainy Day Mum says
These are brilliant – J is just starting to identify letters he gets the ones in his name (nick name and full name) and also T’s name as well as some of his favourite things as well.
Carolyn @ Pleasantest Thing says
Fantastic round-up! We are going to have to try using an ABC mat to play twister!
Eddie - The Usual Mayhem says
Wow, what a fantastic collection of ideas! We’re near the end of our alphabet learning now but I’m going to make note of…well, all of these!….and use them for review so we can enjoy them all! Thanks for sharing.
Stacie says
Thanks for including me!!
cathie says
Loved reading through your ideas. Would it be alright to share with my readers on my blog? Check it out at toddlersthroughpreschool.com and let me know. Thanks and keep up the great posting!
Cathie
Jamie says
you can certainly share a link to it with your readers! Thanks for asking!
Michelle says
Hi,
Just wondering if I can ad your site as a link in my blog section of my day care site?
I think parents would love to see where I’m getting some of the fabulous ideas I share with their children.
Thanks so much for all your efforts!
Jamie Reimer says
Absolutely! I’d love to have you share hands on : as we grow with your daycare parents!
Asadur Rahman says
its very important every child
Mackenzie says
Jamie! What a fabulous collection! I can’t wait to share it with all my readers! Thanks for all your hard work! :)
Mackenzie- Cheerios and Lattes.com
Jamie says
Thanks so much!