Author: Mickie Stiers

Letter Knowledge

Supplies Needed
Construction paper
Crayons
Glue
Scissors
Books Needed
Hoben, Tana. Black on White.
Most, Bernard. ABC T-Rex.
Sobel, June. Shiver Me Letters: a Pirate ABC.
Stickland, Paul. Dinosaur Shapes.
Walsh, Ellen Stoll. Mouse Shapes.

Letter Knowledge

Babies
Babies aren’t ready to learn the alphabet but they can learn to recognize shapes. Since letters are made of shapes, this will help them with letter knowledge once they are older.
Activity 1: Cut shapes out of paper or felt and use them with this rhyme:
Here’s a Circle
Here’s a circle
And here’s a circle
And a great big circle I see
Shall we count them
Are you ready
One, two, three.
(Repeat rhyme using other shapes)

Letter Knowledge

Babies
Babies aren’t ready to learn the alphabet but they can learn to recognize shapes. Since letters are made of shapes, this will help them with letter knowledge once they are older.
Activity 2:
Another fun activity is to share a board book about shapes with your child. Try
Black on White by Tana Hoban
Dinosaur Shapes by Paul Stickland
After sharing the book, talk about the shapes that make up your child’s toys. For example, “look at your rattle, it’s in the shape of a circle.”

Letter Knowledge

Toddlers
Activity 1
Often the letters that your child will be most interested in are the letters that spell out his/her name.
Take the first letter of your child’s name and talk about what other objects start with that first letter. Draw or cut out pictures that start with that letter.
Walk around your house and point out other things that start with that letter.

Letter Knowledge

Toddlers
Activity 2
In Mouse Shapes by Ellen Stoll Walsh, mice use shapes like triangles, circles, rectangles and squares to make objects like a house and a tree.
After reading the story, cut out shapes and let your child create his/her own objects out of the shapes.

Letter Knowledge

Preschoolers
Activity 1
Read an alphabet book with your child.
Shiver Me Timbers: a Pirate ABC by June Sobel is a fun one because your child can look for the alphabet letters that are hidden in the illustrations.
ABC T-Rex by Bernard Most is about dinosaurs that eat the alphabet. While you read the story, your child can look at the illustrations to find different objects that start with the featured letter.

Letter Knowledge

Preschoolers
Activity 2
Help your child trace letters in sand or flour or sugar. You can also form letters out of clay or play dough.

Letter Knowledge

Preschoolers
Activity 3
Use paper letters to spell out your child’s name or their favorite animal or something that they enjoy like dog or doll.
Paste the letters on a piece of construction paper and your child can decorate the paper with drawings of the object.