When I first started my career as a public school teacher, I had two requirements: children had to come to me knowing how to add and how to read (thus began my career in junior high!).  I felt that once they had a foundation, I could work with them to do just about anything.  But, I didn’t want to be the responsible party for learning “the basics”.

Fast forward to Today.  I’m teaching four year olds.  And, what am I teaching them?  Numbers and letters.  And, you know what?  It isn’t as daunting as I thought it would be!  So, I thought I would share a few “tricks of the trade” with you.  If you have preschool to early elementary children, these are great activities to do with them at home.

  • Cut and Paste:  Choose a letter to “hunt” and write it at the top of a piece of paper or on the front of an envelope.  Have the child scour magazines, newspapers, empty cereal boxes (anything consumable) for that specific letter.  Once they find one, they can cut it out and either glue it to the paper or put it in the envelope.  See how many of a certain letter they can find in fifteen minutes or in one magazine.  A good idea is to start with the first letter of their first name.  If the letters are in an envelope, they can be used later to create letter matching games or to spell simple words (when other letters are completed).
  • Punch-A-Letter: Using a hole punch, create a set of “confetti”.  Let the child create a specific letter using the hole punches and glue.  For starters, have the letter written on a piece of paper as a guide.  Once a child is ready to make their own letter with the punches, by all means let them do so.
  • Rubbings: Use the Punch-A-Letter activity to make a letter rubbing.  Once the punches dry, place another paper on top of the letter.  Use the side of a crayon to rub across the paper, making a rubbing of the letter. 
  • Sticker Letters: Use smal incentive stickers (circular, uniform stickers about 2cm in diameter) to create a letter.  Finding stickers that have pictures of objects that begin with that letter (stars for letter S, bugs for letter B, etc) is an added bonus to this activity!
  • Tape It Up: Use masking tape to make a letter on a piece of paper, then have the child completely color the paper with either markers or crayons.  Once the paper is completely covered, peel off the masking tape to reveal the letter!
  • Tactile Experiences: Create Letter art with various media.  Try popsicle sticks, various types of pasta or noodles, straws and toothpicks.  Cereal also makes for great letter art, just be aware of the “sugar factor” and the bugs that may find it appealing as well if it sits out for days.

What are some of your favorite ways to reinforce letter recognition?