40 FUN Alphabet Activities For Preschoolers (2023)
Looking for some fun ways to teach the alphabet to your child?
These simple and fun alphabet activities are sure to be a hit with your kids.
Let’s start with my 40 FUN Alphabet Activities For Preschoolers!
Activity #1: Alphabet Ice Painting
Ice painting is one of my favorite activities to do with the kids when it’s hot!
The alphabet ice mold we have is PERFECT for getting some learning in while playing and creating.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- alphabet ice mold
- sensory bin
- washable paint
- paintbrushes
- paint tray
B. Set-up
Put water inside the alphabet mold and place it inside the freezer overnight!
C. Activity
Pop the ice letters out and place them in a sensory bin.
Grab some washable paint and put it in an art tray!
Let the kids have fun painting the ice. They should talk about which letter they are painting to go over alphabet recognition.
See if they can find the letters of their name, create words or go over letter sounds for older children!
RELATED: Summer Crafts and Activities for Kids
Activity #2: Letter Collages
I love letter collages! They are a great way for kids to practice and learn the letters of the alphabet.
It helps them connect an object with a letter, which also helps build beginning sound skills!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- tissue paper
- cardstock paper
- glue
- googly eye
B. Set-up
Make a bubble letter d on a piece of white cardstock paper with a marker.
Have your little one start scrunching up pieces of green tissue paper!
C. Activity
Put glue ALL over the letter d. They will be filling up the entire letter with scrunched tissue paper.
Start placing the scrunched-up tissue paper balls onto the letter.
Create spikes out of orange cardstock paper and glue them on the curve of the d.
Lastly, make a head shape using green cardstock paper and add a googly eye to finish your letter craft.
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Activity #3: Do-A-Dot Letters
Who doesn’t love mess-free art?! Do-A-Dot paint markers pretty mess-free as long as your little one doesn’t wipe them all over their hand, wishful thinking, right?!
This printable is a perfect way to let you know if your little one can differentiate upper and lower case letters!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- A-Z Letter Do-A-Dot Sheets
- Do-A-Dot markers
A-Z Letter Do-A-Dot Printable
B. Set-up
Print off the pages and get the paint markers ready!
C. Activity
Your little ones with use the paint markers to place specific colored dots on the upper case letter and lower case letters! This is a wonderful way to also work on color-coding skills!
If you don’t have do-a-dot markers, you can use crayons to do this activity as well!
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Activity #4: Tape Resist Art
I love how tape resist art turns out! It’s so cool to see the outline of the object when you are done!
Your kids will be amazed to see their letters jump out at them after they are done painting. This is a wonderful way to include both upper and lower case letters into art for kids.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- colored masking tape
- watercolors
- paintbrush
- art tray
- cardstock paper
B. Set-up
Create an upper and lower case letter M on the piece of cardstock paper with the masking tape! Also, grab some water for the watercolors.
C. Activity
Paint around both of the letters. When they are done, they can pull off the tape gently! They can see the outline of the letters! They will love seeing what they created!
RELATED: Letter N Crafts and Activities
Activity #5: DIY Paper Memory
Looking for a simple and effective set-up that’s perfect to check for understanding?
This DIY memory game is SO fun for the kids. My son really was excited each time he found a match! Check out the video below to see it in action.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Cut some squares out of cardstock paper.
Write the upper and lower case letters of the alphabet on the paper.
Spread out the letters on a flat surface and flip them upside down
C. Activity
Have the kids flip over one card, they should identify what letter it is. Then, flip over another. If it’s a match, they can place it to the side.
If it’s not a match, they flip them both back over and start again. The goal is to get all the matches to the letters!
TIP! For this activity, I did half the alphabet at a time. You can do this over a few days to do the entire alphabet!
Activity #6: Alphabet Garden
Flowers are beautiful all year long! This is a wonderful way to practice alphabetical order!
Plus, it’s a recycle and play activity, which is one of my favorites to put together.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- egg carton
- green acrylic paint
- knife
- green popsicle sticks
- FREE flower printable
Click HERE to grab your FREE Flower Letters.
B. Set-up
Cut off the middle of pieces of the egg carton. Flip it over and make slices at the bottom of each egg holder. Then, paint the entire container green.
Hot glue the letter printables to a green popsicle stick!
C. Activity
The kids will place the alphabet flower sticks into the egg carton in alphabetical order! Practice letter recognition skills and fine motor skills with this activity.
Letters A-Z are available in the FREE download!
RELATED: Spring Crafts and Activities for Kids
Activity #7: Sunshine Alphabet Match
We ALL need a little sunshine! This project is such a bright and happy one! It’s also an excellent way to review upper and lower case letters.
It’s also a wonderful fine motor activity! Practicing fine motor skills is crucial for everyday life skills like button a shirt, zip their jackets, or tie their shoes.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper plate
- yellow and pink acrylic paint
- yellow clothespins
- paintbrush
- Sharpie
- art tray
B. Set-up
Paint a paper plate yellow! On yellow clothespins, write lower case letters on them with Sharpie.
Once the plate dries, draw eyes and mouth. Use pink acrylic paint and make circles for cheeks.
With Sharpie, write the upper case letters on the outside of the paper plate.
C. Activity
Have the kids clip on the correct lower case letter to the upper case. They should identify what the letters are before placing them on the plate.
Give them three options to choose from to place them on the plate. This will narrow down the options for them and make it not so overwhelming to them!
RELATED: Fun Fine Motor Activities
Activity #8: Play-Doh Letter Building
Whenever I pull out the Play-Doh, the kids play for it for at least a half-hour. You know, that’s kind of a big deal, right? Most of the time, it’s longer than that, but at least a half-hour!
Since Play-Doh is so engaging for kids, it makes for a wonderful learning activity!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My Letter Play-Doh mats
- Play-doh
- dry erase folders
Click HERE to grab your Letter Play-Doh Mats! (Upper and Lower case letter included)
B. Set-up
Print off the letters that you want to work on! Then, place them inside a dry-erase folder for your little ones to build on. This way, it won’t get the sheet dirty, and you can save and redo it repeatedly.
C. Activity
Your little ones should roll and create the letters using Play-Doh. You can have them match the colors that are on the sheet, or you can use whatever color you’d like. They should try to create the letter by following the lines!
RELATED: 15 SIMPLE Letter C Activities
Activity #9: Salt Painting Letters
Have you ever tried salt painting? It always turns out SO pretty!
Kids love watching the paint flow throughout the salt. It’s a relaxing way to paint, and the kids will love trying a new way to create art.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard
- pencil
- glue
- salt
- watercolors
- paintbrush
- art tray
B. Set-up
On your piece of cardboard, draw the letter M with a pencil. Then, outline the letter in glue. Make sure to place the cardboard on an art tray for the next part! Shake a whole bunch of salt all over the glue, then dump the access in the trash.
*You have to let the glue dry before you start painting, or else it will be REALLY messy!*
C. Activity
Have your little ones use the watercolor paints to paint the salt! It looks terrific, too, when you mix different colors throughout the letter.
RELATED: 15 Easy Letter B Activities
Activity #10: Beginning Sounds
Talking about animals or objects that start with the letter will help bring the letter to life for your little one.
These beginning letter worksheets are a perfect way to show your little one some fun things that start with the letter N!
How to do this activity:
A. Materials you need
- Beginning Sound Letter Sheets
- crayons
Click HERE to grab your Beginning Sound Letter Sheets.
2. Set-up
Print off the worksheet and grab your crayons!
3. Activity
Go through each of the objects or animals inside the letter N. Say each thing’s name and make each object’s beginning sound before saying the whole word. This will help your little one understand the starting sound of each picture they see.
They will color each thing that starts with the letter M!
I have beginning sound sheets for each letter of the alphabet! Create a booklet to go over each of the sounds that the letters make. This will make for a great resource to use repeatedly.
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Activity #11: Sponge Painting Alphabet
Sponge painting is fun for the kids to work with and the prints always turn out so pretty!
The kids will love this art the alphabet activity. It’s a simple setup and it’s a great way to review letters.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- easel paper
- sponges
- paint
- paint tray
- pencil
B. Set-up
On a piece of easel paper, create big bubble letters using a marker.
Cut some sponges up in a few strips!
C. Activity
Have the kids dip the sponges into the paint and start to fill in each letter! They should tell you which letter they are working on!
The kids will try to fill in as much of the letter as they can. You can even work on color mixing for this activity to extend learning!
RELATED: How to Teach Toddlers Colors
Activity #12: Magnet Block Letter Match
Magnet blocks are the BEST open-ended toy out there! These blocks are my kid’s favorite toy. The possibilities to play and learn with these blocks are endless.
Open-ended toys are toys that kids can create, play and pretend with in; different ways each time they play. That’s why we love them so much because they are the toys we get the most use out of.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Magnatile blocks
- chalk marker
B. Set-up
Using a chalk marker, write upper and lower case letters on the blocks (don’t worry, it comes off).
C. Activity
Separate the upper and lower case letters.
Have your child identify a letter on the block and match it up with the correct upper or lower case letter!
To extend this activity, have them line the blocks up in alphabetical order!
RELATED: The BEST Open-Ended Toys for Kids
Activity #13: Baking Sheet Letters
Have you ever used a baking sheet for a learning activity? Once you try it, you’ll want to find other ways to use it!
I love finding ways to use home supplies to do activities with the kids. It’s always so much easier to grab what you have at home instead of going out to the stores.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- baking sheet
- magnet letters
- bulletin border
- paper (optional)
- marker (optional)
- tape
B. Set-up
Cut the letter bulletin border up in individual letters. If you don’t have this border, you can use paper and a marker to create the letters.
Tape them on the baking sheet.
C. Activity
Have the kids use the magnetic letters to match up correct letters up together!
You can have this be upper to lower case letter match or it can be the same type of letter.
Make sure to check for understanding by asking what each letter is.
Activity #14: Alphabet Bubble Foam
Bubble foam is super easy to make, and it is a great sensory activity to do with the kids!
The kids loved scooping out the letters! This was a really engaging way to practice letter recognition.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- letters
- measuring cups
- sensory bin
- dish soap
- water
- blender
- food coloring
B. Set-up
In a blender, add 2 tablespoons of dish soap, 2/3 cup of water, and a few drops of food coloring!
Blend on medium and dump into a sensory bin. Repeat this step for each of the colors you want to use.
C. Activity
Have the kids use scoops or just play with their hands in the bubbles! They will grab/scoop letters and identify them!
They can search for specific letters that you ask for, or they can just find them and tell you what they are.
Play with the bubble foam after! You can even add some of their other favorite toys inside.
RELATED: The BEST Sensory Bins for Kids
Activity #15: Find and Cover Letters
A great manipulative to use for hands-on learning activities is counting cubes! There are so many ways these can be used.
One of the ways I love to use them is by doing a Find and Cover activity! This is an activity that focuses on one letter at a time. It also focuses on both the upper and lower case letter.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Find and Cover printable
- counting cubes
Click HERE for your Find had Cover Letter Printables.
B. Set-up
Print off the letter M and any other letter you want to work on with your little one.
C. Activity
Have your child identify the letter. Then, have them tell you which one is upper case and which one is lower case. Explain to them what a key means. Show them that they are to look at the key to see what color represents the upper and lower case letters.
They should place that colored counting cube on the correct letters!
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Activity #16: Alphabet Sensory Bag
This activity isn’t specific to the letter J; it’s for all the letters of the alphabet! This is a play-based learning strategy that kids love.
Sensory bags are a HUGE hit! The best thing about them is, they are MESS FREE! I always appreciate a mess-free activity.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- plastic bag
- hair gel
- Sharpies
- plastic letters
B. Set-up
Write the letters of the alphabet you want to review on the bag with Sharpie. Then, dump 1 bottle of hair gel into the plastic bag. Also, dump the letters you wrote on the front into the bag.
C. Activity
Have the kids scoot the letters to the right letter on the bag to match them up! Have them identify each of the letters when they are moving them!
This is a wonderful sensory activity, fine motor, and letter recognition activity!
RELATED: How to Teach Toddlers the Alphabet
Activity #17: Popsicle Stick Letter Building
Building letters with popsicle sticks work on SO many different learning skills.
This specific activity works on letter recognition, counting skills, STEM skills, and pre-writing skills! It’s perfect for school centers or just for home learning!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Popsicle stick letter cards
- popsicle sticks
- pencil
Click HERE for your Popsicle Stick Letter Cards
B. Set-up
Print off the letter cards and grab the popsicle sticks!
C. Activity
Your kids will use the cards to help them know how to create each letter! Count how many popsicle sticks it takes to create the letters.
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Activity #18: Color Coding Letters
Want to try a beginner color-coding activity that’s perfect for preschoolers? I love that it works on several skills with just 1 easy setup as well!
This activity works on color recognition, color matching, number recognition, and letter building! Wow, that’s pretty amazing if you ask me.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard
- plastic bottle caps
- Sharpie
- dot stickers
- pom poms
- kid-friendly tweezers
B. Set-up
Inside the bottle caps, place a dot sticker with the numbers 1-3 written on them. Older children can have more numbers and colors!
Create the letter L on the cardboard with the bottle caps in a mixed-up order. Write what each number signifies on the side; you can use a pom too for younger ones. Older kiddos can work on color sight word recognition.
C. Activity
Have your child use the key to place the correct colored pom in each bottle cap to create the letter L! This works on letter building, color recognition, and number recognition!
Want to add in some fine motor skills? Have them use tweezers to pick up and place the poms inside the caps!
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Activity #19: Secret Letters
Kids love the element of surprise! Who doesn’t? I still do!
Secret letter activities are really engaging for kids because they can’t see the letters on the paper, so when they paint over the piece of paper, they will see letters magically pop up!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
On a white piece of cardstock paper, write the letters of the alphabet using a white crayon! Write them in all different places all over the page.
C. Activity
Your kiddo will use watercolors to paint all over the paper. They will see the letters start to pop up! If you mixed upper and lower case letters, make sure to ask them which kind they found.
When you are all done, ask them how many they found! Also, you can talk about the colors that they used for color recognition.
RELATED: How to Teach your Toddler Colors
Activity #20: Geoboards Letters
Do you remember using these boards as kids? I remember loving when my teacher pulled them out so we could play and create with them!
Work on creating letters with the geoboard! This is not only a wonderful way to work on letter-building skills, but it’s a great fine motor activity for kids!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- geoboard letter printable
- rubberbands
- geoboards
Click HERE to grab your Geoboard Lower Case Letter Printable
B. Set-up
Use my geoboard letter worksheets to help your little ones build the letters! Print off the letter H and any other letter you want to work on.
C. Activity
Your little one will use the rubber bands to build the letter H. Younger ones can use the worksheets to help guide them on building the letter. Older children can be challenged by trying to do it on their own!
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Activity #21: Alphabet Block Match-Up
This activity isn’t specific to the letter H; it’s for all the letters of the alphabet! This is a play-based learning strategy that kids love.
These Mega Bloks are the perfect blocks for this activity. They are large enough to write the letters on and for the kids to stack.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Mega Bloks
- labels
- Sharpie
B. Set-up
Cut a label in half and write the upper and lower case letters on them. Then, place them on the blocks.
C. Activity
The kids will stack the correct upper and lower case blocks together! You can give them three blocks to choose from to work on differentiation skills.
RELATED: How to Teach Toddlers the Alphabet
Activity #22: Letter Sprinkle Sweep
When are sprinkles not a good idea?
When you mention that sprinkles are involved in a learning activity, I promise your kids are going to come bounding in ready to see what’s going on.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
On cardstock paper, write a big bubble letter G. Place a tray underneath the paper to help with the mess.
C. Activity
Dump a bunch of cookie sprinkles onto the tray. Ask your little one to use the paintbrush to “sweep” the sprinkles into the letter. They will use as many sprinkles as they need to to try to fill in as much of the letter as they can!
This is an excellent activity to work on fine motor skills and letter recognition, and pre-writing skills!
RELATED: FUN Handwriting Activities For Kids
Activity #23: LEGO Letters
Got a kiddo who loves to use building with blocks? This activity will be right up their alley!
LEGO’s are an open-ended toy that I absolutely love using for learning activities. The possibilities are endless when it comes to using them!
Building letters is just one way that they can be used! This is a wonderful hands-on learning activity that helps kids understand how each letter shape is formed!
How to do this activity:
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Print off the sheets and grab your LEGO’s
C. Activity
Your child will use the blocks to create the letter G. You can have them use little or DUPLO blocks for this activity. This activity asks them to identify each letter is they create and how many blocks it took for them to create the letter. If you decide to do more letters than just G, they can see the letters’ differences!
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Activity #24: Alphabet Magnetic Sensory Bin
Have you ever used magnetic wands? They are a blast for the kids! It’s so fun to pick up magnetic objects! It’s a great experiment to go around to see what is magnetic and what is not!
This specific bin doesn’t just focus on the letter M. It works on ALL the alphabet letters. But, since magnetic starts with M, this is perfect.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- rainbow rice
- magnetic wands
- magnetic letters
- FREE Alphabet match worksheet
- sensory bin
Click HERE to grab your FREE Letter Search mats
B. Set-up
For a filler for this bin, I used rainbow rice. Below are directions on how to make this!
Place magnetic letters inside the rice upside down so the kids can pick it up with the wand.
*How to create rainbow rice*
a. Dump 1 cup of rice into a ziplock bag.
b. Add in a few drops of food coloring or liquid watercolors.
c. Close the bag and shake it up until it’s covering all the rice
d. On a baking sheet, place parchment paper down and dump the rice onto the paper to dry. Make sure to spread it out to dry quicker.
e. Repeat this process for all the colors you want to do!
C. Activity
The kids will use the magnetic wands to pick up the letters. Once they get one, they will identify the letter and then match it to the letter on the worksheet!
Review each letter of the alphabet this way!
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Activity #25: Flower Alphabet Match
Flowers are a perfect theme for preschool learning activities! We did this fun alphabet puzzle activity to practice upper and lower case letter matching.
Learning both the upper and lower case letters is essential for children to know before entering kindergarten. This is a wonderful way to practice this skill!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Flower Alphabet Puzzles
- scissors
Click HERE for your Flower Alphabet Puzzles
B. Set-up
Print off the flowers! Cut them out or just create cards with them. Cut out the yellow circles with the lower case letters on them for them to place in the middle of each flower.
C. Activity
Mix up the lower case letters and see if they can match the correct upper and lower case letters together. They should identify the letters when they pick one up!
One tip I have for this activity is to place 3 options for upper and lower case out at a time. Then, keep switching them out to complete the entire alphabet!
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Activity #26: Alphabet Match-Up
The best part about spring is that you can go outside with the kids to do some fun activities! We’ve been stuck inside due to weather and COVID, so an activity like this was TOO much fun!
This water-play alphabet match activity will have your kids excited to practice the alphabet! Kids will enjoy searching through the water to find the letters!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- large sensory container
- foam/plastic letters
- sidewalk chalk
B. Set-up
Fill the sensory bin up with water and place the letters in the water! Then, with the sidewalk chalk, write the letters of the alphabet.
C. Activity
Younger kids can search through the water and match the foam/plastic letters on the correct letter written in sidewalk chalk. Challenge older kids to find specific letters and say the sound they make to work on phonics skills with them!
Extend this activity!
Turn this into a reading game by having your older kids work on creating words. Just write the letters of the word in sidewalk chalk instead!
RELATED: Summer Activities for Kids
Activity #27: Foam Alphabet Puzzles
I love doing seasonal activities with my kids! The kids love when I bring in the seasons, holidays, or special events during learning.
This idea can be used year-round with foam shapes that you can find! I have seen butterflies, trees, flowers, snowflakes, and more at the craft stores!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
Cut each foam leaf in half. You can do a straight line, zig-zags, or curvy lines when you cut. Then, write an upper case and lower case letter on each half.
C. Activity
Mix up the leaves for your kids to search through and match up! Depending on how old your kids are, you can set a few in front of them to help narrow it down or you can give them all of them to see if they can figure it out!
RELATED: Fall Activities for Kids
Activity #28: My First Busy Book
This activity book is not just for alphabet learning! It is JAM PACKED with a TON of different learning activities that focus on many different skills.
In this activity book, your little ones can work on the following skills: alphabet matching, colors, shapes, patterns, beginning sounds, counting, and numbers.
Check out what is in the entire activity book by checking out this video!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- My First Busy Book Digitial Download
- a 1″ binder
- sheet protectors
- scissors
- velcro circles
- ziplock bags
- laminator (unless you want to get it laminated)
- laminating sheets.
Click HERE to grab your My First Busy Book Download
B. Set-up
This does take some set-up but believe me, it’s well worth it! Laminate only the sheets that need it (these are the pieces). The other main sheets can go in sheet protectors inside the binder. Cut out the pieces once laminated. If it’s an activity that would need velcro circles, you can add those on there and on the binder so they will stick together.
C. Activity
Your little one can complete the activities over and over again! This is a great way to practice new skills as well as work on recognition!
I just bought this laminator for my house! I love having my own laminator because I can laminate all the activity sheets that I want to do repeatedly. It saves so much on ink and paper.
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Activity #29: Connect the Dot Letters
I love it when activities have a bunch of different learning skills involved!
We love our Do-A-Dot Markers! This is a great way to practice letter formation and counting as well as letter recognition.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Do-A-Dot markers
- easel paper
- pencil/marker
B. Set-up
Lay a piece of easel paper down. Create a letter of the alphabet using the dot markers.
Write the numbers in numerical order next to the dots.
C. Activity
Your child will use a pencil or a marker to connect the dots to create each letter!
They will follow the numbers in numerical order to make each letter. Have them count out loud to make sure they are going in the right direction to make each letter.
RELATED: Number Recognition Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #30: Alphabet Soup
Everything is always more fun when you add water! This alphabet activity works perfectly for a winter theme or a summer theme!
My favorite part about this activity is that you can use a can to play along! I love being able to recycle and play!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Alphabet Soup Printable- 36 recipes included! 20 alphabet and 16 sight words
- sensory bin
- ladle
- bowl
- letters
- water
Click HERE to grab the Alphabet Soup Download
B. Set-up
Take the label off a can and tape on my alphabet soup label! Also, print off my recipe cards!
In a sensory bin, add water and some plastic/foam letters.
C. Activity
Your little ones will look at one of the recipes and scoop the letters that are on the recipes either in the can or in a bowl!
They should say what each letter is before they scoop it out of the water!
Once they are done with one recipe, repeat for another! If you have an older child, they can also practice building sight words!
RELATED: Sight Word Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #31: Alphabet Stamp Match
This set-up literally takes 1 minute too, which I always appreciate.
Stamps are a blast for the kids to use. This is a great and simple way to practice letter matching skills with upper and lower case letters.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
B. Set-up
On a piece of paper, write the letters of the alphabet in colored markers! Draw a line next to each letter.
C. Activity
The kids will use the stamps and stamp pad to find the match for each letter! They will place a letter stamp in the ink pad and stamp it next to its match.
Activity #32: Squirt the Letter
I absolutely love getting the kids outside to do learning activities! They love changing up the normal routine and trying something new.
This chalk activity is engaging for the kids because they get to use a squirt bottle! It’s funny how something so simple can be the best thing ever for kids!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- sidewalk chalk
- spray bottle
- water
B. Set-up
Write the letters of the alphabet using sidewalk chalk on your driveway or sidewalk area!
Fill a squirt bottle up with water.
C. Activity
Say a letter for your child to find! Have them search and squirt that letter with the water. They can even follow the lines when squirting to practice forming the letter!
They can also go in order of the letters of their name! My kids also went over the sound that each letter makes when doing this activity!
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Activity #33: Alphabet Q-Tip Writing
This colorful activity helped my little guy practice handwriting skills as well as reviewing the letters of the alphabet.
Using a Q-tip is a different way to paint, which the kids will enjoy.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- paper
- washable paint
- Q-tips
- markers
- paint tray
B. Set-up
Using markers, write the letters of the alphabet on paper. I chose to do the colors of the rainbow to also work on color matching skills!
Dump some paint into a paint tray.
C. Activity
Have your kids dip the Q-tips into the paint. They will match up the color marker with the color paint and create the letter using the Q-tip!
One thing I would change that I didn’t do, was to create arrows on each letter to show your little one how to form the letter correctly.
This is a great way to practice writing skills and involve some art too!
Activity #34: Sensory Letter Match
Alphabet matching is a great way to review the letters of the alphabet with preschoolers!
It’s a way to check for understanding that kids can differentiate between the letters. This is a FUN and engaging way to get them excited to learn.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- FREE Letter Match
- Crayola Play Sand
- sand toys
- letters (mine are from Entertainmytoddler-shop her letters)
- sensory bin
Click HERE for your FREE Letter Match Printable
B. Set-up
Dump the sand into a sensory bin! Add in the letters and sand toys in.
Print off my letter matching sheet! Both upper and lower case letters are available.
C. Activity
Your little ones can play with the sand and dig for letters with the shovel.
When they find a letter, they should identify it and then match it up to the letter on the printable.
Try to have them find all the letters of the alphabet!
Activity #35: Baking Sheet Beginning Sounds
Here’s another fun baking sheet activity! The best part about this too is that I have a bunch of FREE alphabet printables for you in this section!
Not only are there beginning letter activities but there are also letter activity printables!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- baking sheet
- FREE printables
- magnetic letters
B. Set-up
Print off my worksheets and grab your supplies!
C. Activity
Have your child identify the image and have them make the beginning sound of the letter the picture would sound like.
They will place the magnetic letter on top of the picture that starts with that letter!
This is a great phonics activity to start prepping your child for reading!
RELATED: Teaching Resources
Activity #36: Popsicle Letters
What’s better than one popsicle? TWO! The double popsicle letter activity is perfect for any time during the year!
This is great for a preschool or kindergarten alphabet center at school or just for a home learning activity.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- popsicle sticks
- cardstock colored paper
- marker
- tape
B. Set-up
Fold a piece of paper and create a popsicle shape with a pencil! Cut it out and then cut the center so you have two of the same shape!
Write an upper and lower case letter on each one.
Tape a popsicle stick to the back of each one!
C. Activity
Separate the upper and lower case letters. Have your child attempt to match up the letters correctly next to each other.
You can use the same colored paper or you can change the colors for older kids to make this more challenging!
Activity #37: Letter Writing Tray
Writing trays are a frustration-free writing activity for kids! They don’t have to stay within the lines, and they can just try their best to learn how to form the letters.
I always try to add something fun like sprinkles, shaving cream, or corn into my writing trays! The kids love the sensory aspect of it.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- tray
- Bone Letters Printable
- sand
- paintbrush
Click HERE to grab your Bone Letter Printable
B. Set-up
Print off the letters you want to work on so your child knows how to create each letter! Then, in a tray, dump in the sand!
C. Activity
Your child can use their fingers, a paintbrush, or Q-tip to create the letters in the sand! They should identify the letter that you place in the tray then create it! Repeat for all the letters.
RELATED: Handwriting Activities for Preschoolers
Activity #38: Post-It Play
Post-its are so much fun for kids to play with. My kids love it when I hide the post it’s around the house and they have to do a letter hunt!
When I set these activities up for my 3-year-old, my 6-year-old still even wants to play, it tells you how awesome this activity is!
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- Post-its
- markers
- easel paper
B. Set-up
On easel paper, write upper case letters of the alphabet using markers! Cut out the paper and tape it to the wall; vertical work is a great change for the kids.
On the Post-it’s write the lower case letters.
C. Activity
You can do this one of two ways! You can hide the post it’s around your home or classroom for them to find or you can have them sticking by the wall near the easel paper so they can just match them up!
When your little one picks up a Post-it, have them say the letter they have!
If they have trouble navigating through all the letters, give them a hint by showing them what line the letter is on so they can narrow it down.
RELATED: MUST-HAVE Homeschool Supplies
#39: Dot Sticker Tricky Letters
Dot stickers are one of my all-time favorite supplies! They are so easy to use and they are versatile.
B, P, Q, and D are common tricky letters of kids because they look similar. This is a fun way to work on recognizing the differences.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- dot stickers
- markers
- easel paper
- Sharpie
- tape
B. Set-up
Write the letters B, D, P and Q on easel paper. Create a plus sign in the middle to separate the letters.
On dot stickers, right the upper and lower case letters on different colors!
C. Activity
The kids will peel off the stickers and place them in the correct square!
Check for understanding to see if they can differentiate between these letters.
Activity #40: Alphabet Clip Board
Don’t get rid of that Amazon box you just got, you can reuse it for a learning activity!
This is a simple DIY alphabet activity that you can use repeatedly.
How to do this activity
A. Materials you need
- cardboard
- scissors
- clothespins
- markers
B. Set-up
Cut a piece off a rectangular piece of cardboard! Then, write the letters of the alphabet on either side using markers!
I grabbed these clothespins from Target. They are normally there at the beginning of the school year! If you don’t have these at home, you can use a clothespin and some alphabet stickers. Stick the stickers on the clothespin and you are all set!
C. Activity
Your child will clip the clothespin on the correct letter to match them up!
On the piece of cardboard, you can either write upper case or lower case letters. They can either work on those matching skills or just matching the same letters.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
Learning the alphabet is one of the most essential skills for a preschooler to learn.
Being able to identify letters will lead to other amazing skills like learning letter sounds, beginning to sound out small words, and learning how to read.
Your child is not going to be interested in just looking at letters on a piece of paper each time you want to work on letter recognition with them. You need to have engaging activities that will excite them to WANT to learn.
I hope that you got some good ideas from this article! Comment below to let me know what your favorite activity was! I’d love to hear from you!
Happy Learning
Deena
