If you’re wondering how to start teaching the alphabet to preschoolers, you’ve come to the right place!
Over the summer, my 4-year old has been interested in learning letters! In an effort to support her, I wanted to come up with engaging ways to make it exciting and to most importantly make the learning stick.
As we move towards kindergarten, it’s important to note that research shows that children who can identify letters of the alphabet learn their letter sounds much easier. This is why starting to teach young children the letters of the alphabet is such an important literacy skill.
The tips below are meant to take minimal effort and support natural everyday literacy activities.
Have Fun!
Letter Identification Tips
Focus on 1 Letter Per Week
Focusing on a letter per week is a great way to develop meaningful activities. Start with the letters in your child’s name and then continue to teach different letters each week. Focusing on 1 letter, will help with planning activities, so that it doesn’t become too overwhelming.
Read
Read every single day for at least 30 minutes or more. These 30 minutes can even be stretched throughout the day. Make sure that you’re reading a variety of texts: rhyming books, fiction, non-fiction, songs etc. Point out letters as you read and encourage your child to find the letters they know in the text.
Start by Learning Letters in your Child’s Name
A child’s name is a super important word and so learning the letters that make up their name is important. Once children have repeated practice seeing their names in a variety of print (cubbies, backpack, tags etc) and can recognize their own name, the next step is learning each individual letter and eventually introducing letter sounds.
Observe and Make Connections
Pay attention to the surrounding community. Notice letters at the grocery store, street signs, clothing tags and packages. Making real-world connections will help to solidify understanding and make the learning come alive.
Here’s a few alphabet books that I recommend:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Eating the Alphabet
Kipper’s A to Z: An Alphabet Adventure
Search and Find Alphabets of Alphabets by AJ Wood
Animal Alphabet: Slide and Seek the ABC’s by Alex A. Lluch
Leave me a comment and let me know other fun learning activities to introduce letters! If you happen to try any of my suggestions, please tag me on Instagram and pin the image below to Pinterest!
