letter activities
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September Preschool Lesson Plans
We have been squeezing the last bits of summer out like it’s our job over here – but it’s quickly coming to an end. As we look forward to September, I know that life isn’t about to get any less busy! I wanted to really dig into one of those resources that makes planning and prep so much easier. Let’s take a look at every single item included in the September Month of Preschool set. I’ll list it all below, and any products that are also available as individual resources will be linked so that you can go see specific images of those. For a video of how to use…
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Valentine’s Day Language Activities
Valentine’s Day has a special place in my heart (see what I did there). January can be a long, dreary month and having something fun to look forward to can really change the mood. If you’re like me – looking forward to a holiday that’s all about warmth and love – and you’re planning what this will look like in your classroom, then I have some materials that might be just what you need! Here’s my Valentine writing center: I want children to get excited about using these materials, and I do that by making them inviting – adding decorations, related textiles, and touches that create a homey and comforting…
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Easy Alphabet Match Activity
I posted September’s Month of Preschool pack last week and wanted to share a sample activity with you! This has been one of my favorite easy activities for years because it is so low prep and can be used so many different ways. Print and laminate these and offer a variety of different letter manipulatives that children can match (alphabet pasta, cereal, pretzels, small letter magnets, erasers, or paper cut-outs). Laminated mats can also be written on with dry erase marker, or you can print one for each child that they can write on in pencil or marker. Go download your copy here, and make sure to check out the…
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A freebie for you!
I’ve added a new freebie for you! This backpack name activity is from the Month of Preschool set for August. It’s such a cute, easy way to celebrate being back in the classroom, while also practicing an essential preschool skill – name recognition and writing. Doing this project can also be an excellent opportunity for assessment. You’ll get to observe how children hold crayons or markers, their writing skills, what letters they recognize, how well they already know their name, and if they can use scissors. It might take some time and patience, especially if you’re working with a group that is brand new to preschool. The information that you’re…
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It’s Wednesday, and here at Preschool Ponderings, that means time to focus on the standards. Every Wednesday I choose an Early Learning Standard and share a number of activities that can be aligned with that particular standard. Remember, the Standards that I use every day, and am most comfortable with are Ohio’s Early Learning Development Standards – you can review them here, however I’ve found that even if your State’s standards differ, many of these activities can still be aligned similarly. I’ve rounded up some great ideas today!Domain: Language and LiteracyStrand: ReadingTopic: Letter and Word recognition This standard is the one most people think of when they consider language and literacy…
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Friday Freebie – Environmental Print
Happy Friday! I’m so glad that February is almost over, bring on spring! Unfortunately, just because the calendar says March, that doesn’t mean it’ll be warm here. It’s supposed to be 36 degrees this weekend, and that sounds warm to me right now! This week I’ve spent a lot of time sharing ideas for letter recognition and alphabet activities, so today’s freebie, fits right in. I’ve used this Environmental Print Alphabet set in my classroom for a couple of years, and the students love it. They recognize the brand names, and are easily able to figure out the letter that each brand name starts with. Go download this freebie from…
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Using letter manipulatives in the classroom
Yesterday I showed you the cute alphabet letters that I made with Perler beads, and today I want to share some of the ways that I plan on using these in the classroom. These ideas can also be done with any letter manipulatives or magnet letters that you already have, so you don’t need to make the Perler bead letters (but they are really easy to do!). Obviously you can simply use letter manipulatives to spell words, but what about taking it to the next level?! Show your students how to place a piece of paper over their word and use a crayon to create a rubbing. This way they…
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A new alphabet activity
I’m not sure if you have ever used these, but I am in love with alphabet pasta! It is cheap, and super versatile. With our toddlers we would use it to explore textures, introducing it raw the first day so that they could feel the rough, bumpy, tiny little letters, and then cooking it for the second day to see how they reacted to the slimy, and sometimes sticky texture – it was mesmerizing. Now that we have older children we have spent a lot of time focusing on letter recognition, and this was an obvious choice for a number of different activities. We did a letter hunt (can you…