Activities

Cut a sugar cookie dough log into individual slices. Give each child two cookies and let them imprint their initials (first and last name) using magnet letters that have been cleaned in the dishwasher. Bake and enjoy for snack.

Make letter dominoes for a twist on a traditional game. Cut domino shapes from foam core, heavy posterboard or cardboard. Draw a line to divide the domino into a top and a bottom.

You will need a laminated letter for each child.  Depending on the children's knowledge, this may be the first letter of their first name.  Give each child a letter and ask them to collect items they can find that may begin with that same letter.

Use permanent markers to write letters on ping pong balls, one letter per ball.  Add the balls to the water table.  Using small aquarium nets, encourage children to fish for letters.

During outdoor time, draw three to four squares on the pavement with sidewalk chalk. Divide each square into fourths and write a letter in each square. Give the children a playground ball.

Write letters in a group on the pavement with sidewalk chalk during outdoor time. Give the children small hockey sticks and a puck or use a large plastic lid and a pool noodle. The children hit the puck and then name the letter it lands on.

Provide each child with a word card, and bottle caps or other markers. Roll an alphabet cube or draw a letter tile and show it to the group. If you have that letter in your word cover it with a cap.

Place a number of letter cards face down and in a grid in the middle of the workspace. Taking turns, encourage the children to turn over two cards and name the letters on the cards. If the letters match the child picks up and keeps the cards.

Write letters on cutouts of socks and put them in a small laundry basket. Give children clothespins to clip matching pairs together.

During outdoor time, divide the children into two teams and give each team a plastic bucket. Teams stand in two lines behind a line drawn on the pavement.

During large group challenge the children to search for letters in the classroom. Explain that they will be letter spies and search “stealthily” for the letters you display. Without speaking hold up a large letter, either upper or lower case.

Write uppercase and lowercase letters on butcher paper and hang on a wall. Have the children in a large group line up in two teams and give a fly swatter to each team.

Place individual colored shapes on a wall. Call out a shape for a child to aim for such as “the red triangle.” Have the children toss the ball to hit the target shape.

You will need Unifix® cubes for each child and a bucket of magnetic letters or you can write letters on bottle caps or plastic milk lids. Include both upper and lower case letters. To play the game, draw a letter from the bucket and name it.

During outdoor time, draw extra-large letters on the pavement with sidewalk chalk. Play some music and challenge children to “walk” all the letters like a balance beam.

Take photos of businesses or landmarks in your community such as the laundromat or the grocery store. You can also go online and find store logos. Use the signs to make an alphabet poster. Cut out the “A” from Allen's Hardware or the “M” from Macy's.

Write upper case letters on one color of paper plates and lower case on another color. Keep them handy for lots of activities. Pass out the upper case letters to the children, one to each child. Place the lower case letters on the floor.

Provide different shapes and sizes of plastic bottles in the science center. Place the bottles in one bin and their corresponding lids in another. The children must figure out which lid goes on which bottle.

Have the children lie on large butcher paper while a buddy traces their body. You or the child can cut out the figure. Have the children draw and decorate their “body.

Show the pictures from the book Shadows and Reflections by Tana Hoban. Attach aluminum or platinum craft paper to the inside of a wide box. Provide small mirrors and shiny and dull objects along with flashlights.