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5 Great Ways to Explore the Alphabet

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May 17, 2017 by Katie T. Christiansen Leave a Comment

If you’re ready to explore the alphabet with your preschooler, here’s a great place to start!

Letter knowledge—learning and understanding the alphabet—is one of the Big Five Skills that lay a strong foundation for learning to read. Letter knowledge begins with letter recognition.

What Is Letter Recognition?

Letter recognition—also known as alphabet recognition—is the ability to:

  • distinguish between the 26 letters of the alphabet
  • say the letter name

For a fun, colorful way to display the alphabet and work on distinguishing the letters, check out our Alphabet Posters!

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One of the most effective ways to give kids a jump-start on this important pre-reading skill is through play. The five letter recognition activities below provide plenty of hands-on fun and are designed to let kids play with the alphabet in an engaging, low-pressure environment.

5 Free Downloadable Letter Recognition Alphabet Activities

Click the links below to view more photos and to download templates, instructions, and a variety of ideas for using each activity to explore the alphabet!

  1. “Feed the Puppy” Alphabet Game – The “Feed the Puppy” Alphabet Game lets children practice the names of the letters in a super-fun way. After all, who doesn’t love learning with a cute puppy?

5 Great Ways to Teach the alphabet

  1. Tactile Letter Cards – Children learn about the world around them through their senses. Our tactile letter cards let children use their sense of touch to learn about uppercase and lowercase letters.

5 Great Ways to Explore the Alphabet

  1. ABC Playdough Mats – Crafting letters out of playdough allows children to feel the alphabet as they roll and bend the dough to form uppercase and lowercase letters. Your child may not even realize he’s learning!

5 Great Ways to Explore the Alphabet

  1. ABC Bracelets – “Letter of the day” activities are a great way to introduce a little bit of alphabet exploration into your everyday life. ABC bracelets are the perfect addition to your “letter of the day” line-up!

5 Great Ways to Explore the Alphabet

  1. ABC Caterpillar – As your child inches his way through the alphabet with this colorful caterpillar, he’ll get plenty of hands-on alphabet play. With this activity, you can move your child from learning the letters all the way to putting the letters in alphabetical order.

5 Great Ways to Learn the Alphabet

Keep Track of Which Letters Your Child Knows

Remember…don’t forget to take your child through the whole alphabet. This may seem obvious, but sometimes young children fail to master the last several letters. Be sure that your child knows U, V, and W as well as he knows A, B, and C!

To help you keep track of which letters have been learned, you can download this great little alphabet progress chart. Post it on your fridge or playroom wall.

Keep track of which letters your child knows!

If you’re ready to tackle the rest of the Big Five Skills, be sure to check out the All About Reading Pre-reading program. Your student will enjoy special games, crafts, and story time read-alouds, and you will love the way your student effortlessly learns essential pre-reading skills.

5 Great Ways to Learn the Alphabet

Marie Rippel is the author of the award-winning All About Spelling and All About Reading programs. She homeschooled her own children through high school and now lives her passion for teaching children how to read and spell. Connect with Marie Rippel on Facebook and sign up for her newsletter to receive more great resources like this one! 

Need some great ideas to teach letters? Here are five ways to explore the alphabet! #preschool #toddler #alphabet #printables #prereading

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Katie T. Christiansen
Katie T. Christiansen
Creator at Preschool Inspirations
Katie has spent 17 combined years in the Early Childhood field as a teacher, preschool owner, and educational writer. She has worked in profit and non-profit programs, high-risk schools, and started an in-home preschool and outdoor collaborative preschool program. She adores being a mom to three children, and her youngest is currently in preschool.
Katie T. Christiansen
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I'm Katie, and I'm a veteran preschool teacher, child development research junkie, and mom of three who lives on little sleep and turns my kitchen into an art and science laboratory.

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