ABC: Learning the Alphabet
Make learning letters fun! Experiment with various books and hands-on activities to help children learn their alphabet. Knowing that letters are different from each other, knowing their names and sounds and being able to recognize letters everywhere in kindergarten is a strong predictor of reading ability in tenth grade.
Alphabet Craft Ideas
- Have children scribble and draw; it is the first step towards writing.
- Explore letters in new ways by molding them out of play-dough or cutting them out with cookie cutters.
- Create letters out of sandpaper, cotton balls or something textural that children can touch and trace with their fingers.
- Instead of memorizing the whole alphabet in a day, find the first letter of your children’s names in a variety of alphabet books.
- Create a letter collage. It will help children to identify their letters out of order.
- Place letters all around your classroom. Point to one or two letters when they relate to what you are discussing. Going through all 26 letters can be overwhelming to children and adults. Point to a few throughout the day and your children will start to recognize them, even the two year olds.
Alphabet Songs and Rhymes
Share songs that highlight letters and letter sounds. Apples and Bananas and Bingo are good alternatives to the Alphabet Song.
A,B,C, Tumble
A, B, C, tumble down D,
The cat’s in the cupboard
And can’t see me.
Apples and Bananas
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas,
I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas.
Now change the vowel sound to A.
I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays.
I like to ate, ate, ate ay-ples and ba-nay-nays.
Now change the vowel sound to E.
I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees.
I like to eat, eat, eat ee-ples and bee-nee-nees.
Now change the vowel sound to I.
I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and bi-ni-nis.
I like to ite, ite, ite i-ples and bi-ni-nis.
Now change the vowel sound to O.
like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos.
I like to ote, ote, ote oh-ples and bo-no-nos.
Bingo
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O.
B-I-N-G-O! B-I-N-G-O!
B-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-O!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O.
(Clap)-I-N-G-O! (Clap)-I-N-G-O!
(Clap)-I-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-O!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O!
(Clap, Clap)-N-G-O!
(Clap, Clap)-N-G-O!
(Clap, Clap)-N-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-O!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-G-O!
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-G-O!
(Clap, Clap, Clap)-G-O!
And Bingo was his name-O!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-O!
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-O!
(Clap, Clap, Clap, clap)-O!
And Bingo was his name-O!
There was a farmer who had a dog,
And Bingo was his name-O.
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
(Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap, Clap)
And Bingo was his name-O!
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