A handful of objects, being purposefully repetitive, injecting music and using simple creativity with Play-Do and art supplies will help preschoolers learn their letters.
Repetition Key in Driving Home Sounds
Children learn through repetition. Use small surprises to keep the repetition interesting to them.
For example, if the children are learning the letter D, attract their attention by pulling out a bag filled with objects that start with the letter D. Ask the children what they think is inside. Include pictures or small models of a dog, dolphin, dime, doughnut, deer, duck, dot and drum, for example. Ham it up. Get excited, and express enthusiasm.
Carefully remove the objects one at a time, set them on the floor and ask the children if they know what the object is. “Oh, a duck! What does duck start with?”
Hold a microphone prop out to each child and encourage him to say what sound “duck” starts with. Go around the circle in order and let each child have a turn making the “D” sound.
Set the duck next to a letter D, then sing a simple song, like “D is for duck, duck, duck, D is for duck, duck starts with D.” Continue with all the objects, presenting them one at a time by singing a quick verse and pointing to the letter D, then to the object. This repetition drives home the sound and the look of the letter D.
When all the objects have been presented, instruct each child to help put away an object. “Jack, could you put the deer back in the bag? Emma, could you put the doughnut back in the bag?” Repetition locks in the sound that a D makes, encourages the children to sort out objects, and helps them learn vocabulary words they previously may not have known. It also reinforces a basic preschool tenet – picking up.
Solicit Responses When a “D” Word is Heard
Choose a book that is not too elaborate – something that includes a repetitive theme. For example, while reading “If the Dinosaurs Came Back” by Bernard Most, have the children hold up their hands each time the word “dinosaurs” is read aloud.
Making Art out of Letters
Trace or color the letter D with markers, crayons, or finger paints. Rolling a letter D out of Play-Do is good reinforcement and builds muscle control and eye-hand coordination.
Cutting out the Letter of the Day
Write a letter D in the middle of a piece of paper and draw a box around it. Encourage the children to use a pair of blunt-nosed scissors and cut along the lines that comprise the box, thereby cutting out the letter of the day.
Most children love the chance to cut; often they are not allowed to at home, and this makes the activity that more exciting. Cutting is a skill they will need to know in kindergarten.
Incorporate the Alphabet into Snack and Fitness
Choose a snack that starts with the letter D – doughnuts, for example, and use dancing during fitness or playground time.
Appeal to Different Learning Styles
No two children are the same, and no two children learn in the same manner. Using one letter and building activities around that letter increases the likelihood of appealing to different learning styles.
For example, kinesthetic learners might learn the letter D through dancing and raising their hands when “dinosaurs” is read; spatial/visual learners might learn the letter D through art activities; language-oriented learners might learn the letter D by singing about the objects in the bag and hearing the story; logical learners might learn the letter D by making it out of Play-Do and cutting it out with scissors.
Make it a point to address different learning styles through varied activities.
Taken together, all of these activities create repetition that is fun for a preschooler.
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