5 FUN Ways to Learn the Alphabet

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Learning the alphabet is a big deal! Letters and sounds unlock the world of reading to us, and learning them can be a fun and exciting time! Learning the alphabet can be done in so many ways. I have teamed up with Simply KinderSweet Sounds of Kindergarten, and The Kindergarten Smorgasboard to bring you tons of resources for teaching the alphabet! Here are 5 ways to learn the alphabet that are engaging and FUN!

*Pair with our Alphabet Centers and Activities for Pre-K & Kindergarten!

Learning the alphabet is a big deal! Here are 5 fun and engaging ways to learn the alphabet in Pre-K and Kindergarten!

5 FUN Ways to Learn the Alphabet

1. Sensory Bins/Play Dough

Any time you can incorporate different senses into learning that is a great thing! Sensory bins and play dough add in more sight and touch elements and can really make the learning stick!

We use the rice bin a lot in my classroom. You can even choose to dye the rice if you like. I add sensory items such as the pom pom balls and alphabet magnets. I like to add in letters where the kids can actually feel the shape of the letter as well as see it.

You can have your child or students pull out and name one letter at a time, hunt for certain letters, sort them – the possibilities are endless!

Teacher Tip: If you don’t have a sensory table, try using a long clear plastic tub and take the lid off, setting it on a table!

Adding pom poms and letter magnets to a sensory bin adds a hands-on element to learning the alphabet.

Play dough is a fantastic learning tool because there is so much you can do with it! When students mold play dough into the shapes of the letters they get more practice seeing how the letters are formed, which in turn helps them recognize them and write them!

When students mold play dough into the shapes of the letters they get practice seeing how the letters are formed.

2. Fine Motor Activities

Developing those finger muscles in young learners is so important as they begin to write! You can combine fine motor and alphabet practice in some fun ways!

For example, use a clothespin and pom poms to “trace” letters.

Use a clothespin and pom poms to combine fine motor and alphabet practice.

Use beads to trace the letters.

Use beads to trace letters for engaging practice with learning the alphabet.

You can even use counting chips to trace letters – you can truly use anything that requires your child or students to build up the strength in their writing muscles!

Notice that the prep for this is very minimal. I used a highlighter to quickly write the letters and that’s it!

You can even use counting chips as a hands-on way to trace letters.

3. Songs, Rhymes, Books

Songs have a powerful way of sticking with us, sometimes even when we don’t want them to! They can be a great learning tool if they are fun and catchy. There are some great alphabet songs that go beyond the traditional ABC’s.

This alphabet song takes you through each letter and sound, also providing a picture with that beginning sound. The visuals are really fun to keep young children engaged.

To work on vowel sounds, Vowel Bat is always a huge hit! It is so catchy I guarantee you will be singing it too (at home, in the car, everywhere).

Have Fun Teaching has a whole section of their site where you can listen to alphabet songs and print the lyrics!

Have Fun Teaching has a whole section of their site where you can listen to alphabet songs.

Poems can be just as useful as songs as some of them provide a rhythm/song-like quality that sticks with learners and helps them remember.

Alphabet Poems can provide exposure to each letter individually in a fun, engaging way, especially when students hunt for and circle the letter, color the pictures, and practice “reading” the poem by tracking the print with their finger as they chant.

Alphabet Poems can provide exposure to each letter individually in a fun, engaging way.

Books are a fantastic tool for practicing the alphabet. After all, books are made up of words, and words are made up of letters! There are many alphabet books available to enjoy. My favorite book for practicing the alphabet is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

It is a widely popular classic, but it truly never gets old! It is fun to read the story and have your child or students find and point to the letter as you read, or have them call out a letter, and you find it on the page.

A great book for practicing the alphabet is Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr.

In addition to engaging with read alouds, it is fun for kids to work with books that they can read themselves and interact with!

Interactive alphabet books provide students with repetitive text (for beginning tracking) and interactive options such as tracing, coloring, and hunting for letters!

Interactive alphabet books provide students with repetitive text for beginning tracking.

4. Games

Kids love games! While most of the games we play are hands-on, there is a time and place to incorporate some technology as well. These two sites are our favorites!

First, Starfall is a fave for learning those ABC’s. The best part? You can access a lot of this site for FREE without even signing up. That’s a win in my book!

Starfall is a website with tons of resources for practicing the alphabet.

Next is ABC Mouse, which has free teacher accounts. You add your class list and they each get to create a little avatar! If you are a teacher, be sure you click on schools/teachers in the top left to create a free account! If you are a parent, they offer a free trial before subscribing. This site has great games and more (we love the songs!) for learning the alphabet, but it also has math, science, art, and music!

ABC Mouse has great games and more for learning the alphabet.

Technology is just a very small portion of games you can play to learn the alphabet. We love spinner games (a pencil and paperclip make a fast spinner!), rainbow writing letters, and playing Alphabet Swat!

5. Take it Outside! 

You don’t need to be in a home or classroom setting to learn the alphabet! Take it outside and practice at the grocery store, in nature, at the mall, etc. Play “I spy” and look for things that start with a certain letter, or go on a scavenger hunt!

Don’t forget to stop by Simply Kinder, Sweet Sounds of Kindergarten, and The Kindergarten Smorgasboard for tons more alphabet fun!

Want unlimited access to even MORE of our activities and resources? Join us in the Print and Play Club!

Your planning will be so much easier with instant access to:

  • hundreds of printables
  • every TKC resource
  • video lessons
  • a digital games vault
  • Pre-K and TK Scope & Sequence
  • a PLAYlist of fun songs AND activities
  • professional development
  • additional teacher resources…
Want unlimited access to tons of activities and resources for Pre-K, TK, and Kindergarten? Join us in the Print and Play Club!

Be sure to request an invitation so that you don’t miss your chance to be part of the best early childhood club around!

Alex
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