15 Fun Alphabet Activities For Preschoolers To Do

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The learning pursuits of your toddler usually begin with letters. Alphabet activities for preschool help kindle the interest in their learning pursuits. Here are some of the best alphabet activities you can try with your little one. This journey is bound to have success and failures, but you can help them overcome that. Read on.

Top 15 Alphabet Activities For Toddlers

The below activities help the toddler remember the English alphabet better.

1. Match the letters

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You will need:

Two sets of alphabet cards
A bag

How to:

1. Buy a few alphabet set cards. Spread them on a table in rows and leave some space between each letter card.
2. Transfer the other set of cards into the bag and shuffle them well.
3. Ask your toddler to pick a card from the bag and place it with its match on the table. For example, if the baby picks up “N” from the bag, he has to place it with the “N” on the table.
4. Pronounce the letter every time a card is removed from the bag so the toddler remembers its sound.

2. Learning with stencils

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You will need:

• Alphabet stencil
• Colour pencils
• Paper

How to:

1. Buy an alphabet stencil that has all the letters engraved in uppercase and lowercase.
2. Sit with the toddler and trace out the letters on a piece of paper using color pencils.
3. Trace the letters in the correct order from A-Z. Remember to also trace the lowercase form of the letters as they are equally important for a toddler to recognize.

3. Building block letters

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You will need:

• Building block sets with 52 blocks
• Sketch pen

How to:

1. Use a sketch pen to label each building block with a letter. Alternatively, you can also buy blocks which have printed letters.
2. Shuffle all the blocks together and ask the toddler to stack the blocks in an alphabetic order.
3. The level can be advanced by using the blocks to form simple words. For example, blocks with letters “M”, “A”, and “T” can be stacked atop each other to form the word “Mat”.

4. Fruit baskets

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You will need:

• Five to six plastic baskets
• An assortment of fruits such as apples, pears, oranges, etc.
• Pieces of paper
• Pen
• Cello tape

How to:

1. Write the first letter of a fruit’s name on a single piece of paper. For instance, if you have apples, pears, and oranges, then write “A”, “P”, and “O” each on a sheet of paper.
2. Stick the individual sheets of paper on a basket each.
3. Mix the fruits in another basket and give it to the toddler. The toddler should put the fruits in the corresponding basket.
4. Say the name of the fruit if the little one does not remember it. You can alternatively pick a letter basket and say, “A for…?”. The toddler would place the correct fruit in its corresponding basket.
5. This is an excellent ABC preschool activity to train the toddler to remember letters. You can even play the game with vegetables or daily objects. The more the items, the more letters the toddler learns.

5. Painting with a cookie-cutter

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You will need:

• Letter-shaped cookie cutters
• Colour palette
• Water colours
• Chart paper

How to:

1. Pour some colors on a palette. Dip the cookie cutter on the palette to grease it with color. Make an impression of the letter on the chart paper. Ensure that you are going in an alphabetical order. Repeat on another chart paper to help the preschooler revise the letters.

6. Writing on the flour

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You will need:

• Dinner plate
• Wheat flour

How to:

1. Put some wheat flour on the plate.
2. Draw a letter with your index finger while saying it out loud.
3. Spread the flour with your palm so that the previous letter goes away and you can trace a letter again. Now your toddler will draw the letter.
4. Guide the toddler if he gets it wrong. Repeat the activity with lowercase letters as well.

7. Newspaper alphabet

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You will need:

• Old newspapers or magazines
• Round-tip scissors
• Chart paper
• Glue

How to:

1. Take an old newspaper sheet and tell your toddler the letter he has to look for in the paper. You could also help him in identifying the letter.using a safe round-tip scissor.
2. Paste the letters in alphabetical order on the chart paper.

8. Play dough letters

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You will need:

Play dough in assorted colors
Chart paper

How to:

1. Roll play dough of different colors and make letters out of it.
2. Use different colors to make the same letter. For instance, you could use three different colors to make different lines in “N”.
3. Put these letters on a chart paper to complete the activity. This is a simple alphabet learning activity for preschoolers.

9. Group alphabet play:

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You will need:

• Group of toddlers

How to:

1. Toddlers stand in a queue or a circle.
2. The first toddler shouts the first letter of the alphabet and the next toddler continues with the alphabet chain.
3. This goes on until they are done with the letters. You could play this splendid activity at a playschool.

10. Letters on the string

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You will need:

• Alphabet flashcards
• Cloth clips
• Nylon string

How to:

1. Alphabet flashcards have a letter on each card. Clip these cards in alphabetical order between two points on a wall or a stand.
2. Take off a few cards from the string and ask your toddler to pick the missing letters and string them on. You can also jumble the order of letters. The toddler will have to unclip and reorganize the letters in the alphabetical order, and clip them.

11. Matching the flashcards

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You will need:

• A group of toddlers
• Two set of alphabet cards

How to:

1. Choose the flashcards that have both uppercase and lowercase characters and give each toddler a card.
2. Divide the toddlers into two groups – one group with uppercase letters and the other with the lowercase letters. Each toddler looks for their respective counterparts in the other group.
3. The fastest toddler group who matches the flashcards wins the game. You could play this game with a bunch of toddlers at birthday parties or at preschool.

12. Button letters

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You will need:

• Plastic buttons of assorted colors
• Chart paper
• Sketch pen
• Glue

How to:

1. Let the toddler write the alphabet on a chart paper in a large font. You can even write in block letters.
2. Stick the buttons on the letters in such a way that they look like the letter beneath.
3. Repeat the activity for practice, but this time you can do so without writing the letter underneath.

13. Letter hopscotch

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You will need:

• Colored chalk set

How to:

1. Draw the hopscotch pattern on the ground and label each box with letters. You could also write letters randomly on the ground separated by small distances.
2. The toddler steps on a letter and looks for the consecutive one. For example, if he is standing on “D” he will look for “E” and then jump on.
3. Guide the toddler whenever he is confused and is unable to find the next letter.

14. Nut and bolt

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You will need:

• Plastic nut and bolt set
• Sketch pen

How to:

1. Use the sketch pen to label each nut with an uppercase letter and bolt with lowercase letters.
2. Shuffle the nuts and bolts in different piles.
3. The toddler picks a nut, looks at its letter, and searches for the bolt with the corresponding lowercase letters. Once he does, he winds the bolt and nut together.

The toddler will have a lot of fun looking for the nuts and bolts, and also learn along the way.

15. Jelly letters

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You will need:

• Alphabet ice tray
• Jelly

How to:

1. Mix the jelly powder with water, heat as per manufacturer’s instructions, and then pour the liquid in the alphabet ice tray/mold.
2. Refrigerate till the jelly sets.
3. Arrange the letters on a tray and let the toddler align these enticing and edible letters in an order before slurping them down!

Activities such as these help in boosting the preschooler’s letter memory. And to make it easier for the toddler, we present a few tips.

4 Tips To Help Learn The Alphabet Better

Parents can use these tips to make the alphabet learning easier.

1. Pronounce letters and use them in words: Parents must pronounce every letter when teaching it to the toddler and then use it in a word. This way the toddler will learn the correct pronunciation and example words.

2. Teach through alphabetical order: Letters are best learnt when they are taught in the alphabetical order. It helps in memorizing the letters easily.

3. Acquaint the preschooler with uppercase and lowercase: Teach both uppercase and lowercase letters with the correct writing style for each. Some letters become distinct in their lowercase versions, which may confuse a preschooler who is learning them for the first time. Practicing both the cases together helps better recall later.

4. Form words when the toddler has advanced knowledge: You can teach advanced words to your toddler every day. This works better with older toddlers who can eventually form sentences.

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Author

Harshita MakvanaB.Com, PG Dip

Harshita is a graduate in commerce and holds a PG Diploma in Patent and Copyrights Law from NALSAR University. She has also pursued CA and has more than three years of internship experience in auditing. Her love for travelling has taken her to various parts of the world, and writing the travelogues was what brought out her love for content writing.

Read full bio of Harshita Makvana