super letter of the day

One thing my kids love to do is to pick a letter each day for us to talk about.  It is an easy, fun way to reinforce the alphabet.

Materials:

Recycled container ( I used an old coffee container)

Letters (You can make your own or buy pre-made...Dollar Tree often has them)

Directions:

Pick a letter each day.  I let both of my kids each pick one.  I then let them tape them to the wall.  We then sing the coordinating song from our alphabet chart and cd.  

I love our chart and cd but you could easily do this without it.  Try listing words that start with the letter or practice "writing" the letter with play-dough,  sand,  etc.

journaling

Lines, scribbles, and drawings are the first steps of the writing process. You can help young children develop these writing skills through journaling. I started it this week with my son and daughter even though they are not yet writing letters. But they feel they are "writing" stories through journaling. I let them draw and/or scribble and talk to them about what they are doing. This is great for communication skills also! My husband has come home from work the past two days and looked at their journals first thing. They are thrilled to share and he loves knowing what they were drawing at the time (since I have written out their "stories" below or beside the pictures).
This is an inexpensive but wonderful thing to do with your kids. I bet it will be a favorite learning/sharing activity in your house. It is in ours!

Materials:
3 ring binder
journaling paper, very easy to make or find templates on line. I used activity village.
crayons
pencil


I let them decorate the cover to get them excited about the journal.


Here is one of Z's first entries.

This is Lightning McQueen. He has black wheels.

Sparkly S

The letter we are focusing on this week is S. So we decided to make our S's sparkly!

Materials:
Paper
Glue (squeeze not a glue stick)
Glitter




Draw an uppercase and lowercase S on the paper with your glue. Let the children shake their favorite glitter on top of the s. Shake the glitter where it spreads evenly. Let dry overnight.....tada.....a sparkly S!!!

t is for tissue

Materials needed:
construction paper
different colored tissue paper
glue marker

On your sheet of Construction paper draw an upper-case and lower case T. Trace the t's with glue, then attach crumpled tissue paper to the Ts. A fun and easy activity!

marshmallow mountain

Materials needed:
*marshmallows ( I found pink strawberry ones we used with the white.....made it even more fun!)
* plates
* plastic knife
*can of frosting
* card that says Marshmallow Mountain

While continuing to study the letter M, we made a snack that focused on that letter, Marshmallow Mountains!

This is such an easy and fun activity for the kids. And they actually remember that Marshmallows and Mountain start with M!

Place the marshmallows on a plate with a couple of spoonfuls of frosting. They can build their "mountains" on the other plate using the frosting as the glue to hold the marshmallows together. Just let them create, snack, and have fun!!!

letters collage

This is a good way to study letters and introduce vocabulary to younger children.

Materials needed:
large piece of paper
marker
old magazines
scissors
glue

Using old magazines, find pictures that start with the letter you have chosen. Cut out the pictures and paste to your piece of paper. I let my 2 year old practice cutting with his scissors while we do this too.
Write the name of your object by its picture. Practice saying the words and letters throughout the week or as long as you study that specific letter.




Don't be afraid to paste pictures of things your child doesn't recognize. Like I said, this is a great way to build vocabulary. My husband was amazed when my son was 1 1/2 and could recognize a picture of a Beluga Whale and say "Beluga" after we did our B words with this activity!

magic nuudles

Materials Needed:
thick paper or foam sheet
magic nuudles (can be found at craft & hobby stores)
wet washcloth or paper towel
marker

This can be used to practice fine-motor skills and reinforce shapes. You could also use this activity with letters or numbers.

Take a marker and draw a shape on your paper or foam. I also like to write the word out for the kids.



You use your magic nuudles by slightly wetting them to stick to each other or the foam surface. Use the noodles to outline the shape, letter, or number.
Note: The noodles are nontoxic if your child does happen to put them in his or her mouth.





This is a super easy, educational activity......ENJOY!!

shaving cream fun

Materials needed: shaving cream
a flat surface
lots of water and towels for clean up

This is a fun activity to practice letters and numbers.

Find a flat surface ( I prefer outside so I can just waterhose the mess away) and cover with shaving cream. Practice drawing in the cream and have a blast making a mess!!
I also let the kids stamp some letters in the cream with letter molds. You could extend this activity by adding food coloring to the cream. I may do that when we start talking about the color wheel.