More ABC Games and Activities
This page is a shopping list of the most popular ABC toys I make available to patrons at my library. At ABC Day, I have a listing of games and activities that can be used in libraries and schools to celebrate the upcoming September 8, ABC Day, International Literacy Day.
Family Literacy Games
Family Literacy Games
Here are a few things to look for in good alphabet toys:
- Is the Q a Queen or a Quail? When you show most two-year-olds the picture of a quail, they just think it's a bird. An Amazon reviewer complained that the egg on one puzzle was blue and her children thought it was a balloon. Life is tough enough for kids without throwing blue eggs at them. The creature or object the letter represents should be easy enough for a two-year-old to recognize.
- Is the letter part of the actual play? The ABCs in the magnetic fishing game are part of the toy, but blocks that just have the letters painted on the side aren't interactional enough to engage small children.
- Children need more than one ABC skill. They need to be able to recognize the letters; they need to know letter sounds; and they need to know, or start understanding, that letters are formed with certain motions, the correct motions, so when they begin to write, they won't have to break bad habits and relearn a letter formation.
Bake A Reward
Catherine learned ALL her letters this week…PLUS she can read 16 words! Heather is so proud of her she baked her some ABC cookies and they’re having an ABC party.
Use as a reward but also to teach letter formation. As Catherine iced these, Heather guided her hand to teach her letter formation — with a tube of icing. How sweet!
Photo: Heather Lockhart
Use as a reward but also to teach letter formation. As Catherine iced these, Heather guided her hand to teach her letter formation — with a tube of icing. How sweet!
Photo: Heather Lockhart
Do Babies Need to Learn Their ABCs?
Sure. Just like they need to be cuddled, talked to and loved.
Sitting little Quin down and teaching him his ABCs is probably not going to make him more successful in grad school. But sitting down with him, talking with him about cute rubber alphaducks, doing some color letter stamping, showing him his name, pointing out letters in signs as you drive down the road and working a wooden puzzle with him…those are.
I’ve chosen my favorite products to list on this web page. But you and how you use them will always be the important half of the equation.
Photo by TF Sherman
I’ve chosen my favorite products to list on this web page. But you and how you use them will always be the important half of the equation.
Photo by TF Sherman
Upper & Lowercase alphabet puzzle
- Five Ways to Use Alphabet Puzzles
- Use location words. E goes in the top row, or describe what letter E is next to, esp. if the child is familiar with that one.
- Use "I Spy." I spy an elephant. Letter E goes with the /e/ /e/ /e/ elephant. Can you find the elephant that goes with letter e?Use
- Use Lower Case. Can you match the big E with the little e?
- Use the Puzzle Board to trace the shapes of the letters. While tracing, have your child say the letter name and its sound. C says /k/ /k/ /k/ as in cat.
- Use the Puzzle Pieces to trace the letter shapes. This also develops those fine motor skills needed for writing.
Buy Now
Cool Game: Stomp the Alphabet on Bubble Wrap - & Babies Love Stomping!
Teaching Letter Formation
These stamp TRACEABLE LETTERS. Children can pick whatever letter they want, write whatever word they want, and color over the lines however they want. And yes, you can choose print out sheets for them to use like the ones from www.Kids Learning Station.com, but even at my age I can remember how unfun it was to sit and stare at a sheet of letters I had to trace over.
In order to learn to write letters, children, even today, have to...write letters. There's no way of skipping over the need to practice letter formation, but it can be made more fun. Stamping empowers a child in a strange way, and by being able to trace on top with marker, crayon or colored pencil, the child can feel like he's doing art and not a drill.
In order to learn to write letters, children, even today, have to...write letters. There's no way of skipping over the need to practice letter formation, but it can be made more fun. Stamping empowers a child in a strange way, and by being able to trace on top with marker, crayon or colored pencil, the child can feel like he's doing art and not a drill.
ABC Websites
Playing ABC games online. Hoo boy! Colors and movement and fun pictures. (But not for babies, remember!)
- PBS Kids
- TONS of cute games from those wonderful folks at PBS.
- Surf the Net
- Barbara Feldman at Surf the Net brings you the best websites on a bunch of educational forums. Great stuff.
- Kids Learning Station
- The site has lots of downloads for traceable letters, flash cards, coloring pages, etc. I recommend most of these materials for kindergarteners.
- 2 Posh Li'l Divas
- Mom to the posh li'l divas on her blog has created a list of all the collageable elements for making up letters of the alphabet -- n for nuts, o for oatmeal, p for popcorn, you get it. This kind of thing is good for vocab as well as letter recognition. It's fun and messy too.
- 25 - Alphabet Activities for Kids
- The folks at No Time for Flash Cards have put together a great list of alphabet activities for kids. Why don't I prefer them to the storebought version? Time. Time and durability.
- Common Sense Forum links to online games
- Links to everything from Elmo to Montessori!
- Free downloadable worksheets
- A source rich in worksheets and workbooks, if they're your cup of tea.
- ABC Day - September 8, International Literacy Day on Pinterest
- Rich resource of beautiful ABC art.
- Letter Identification
- Useful blog on learning your letters.
- Candy Land with Letters
- Just write the letters on the board steps. Then as you land on a space, you have to a) say letter, or b) say letter sound or c) say word beginning with that letter.
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