Do you have a preschooler you want to keep busy or expand on their learning and make it fun? A visiting grandchild? Activity Jars are a fun and pretty way to keep them entertained and learning at the same time. This one was created especially for little ones who are just beginning to learn their letters or need to reinforce them. Indoors or out, there are dozens of fun ideas to help build your child’s alphabet knowledge.
Alphabet Activity Jar and 5 Fun Alphabet Activities
Supplies Needed:
- Quart, wide mouthed mason jar
- Magnetic alphabet set
- Magnetic wand
- Alphabet themed books
ABC Scavenger Hunt – Have your child stick the magnet wand into the jar and draw out several letters, and go on an expedition outdoors to find items that begin with those letters. This can also easily be done indoors as well.
ABC Seek and Find – Hide the letters around the yard (or in the house on a rainy day) and let your child hunt them, calling out each letter as they find it. To extend the game, once they have found all the letters have them put them in order.
ABC’s in Sand – Hide the letters in a large tub of sand, or outside in the sandbox. Have your child pull out each letter, name it, and tell you the sound it makes. If they are not doing this yet, you identify the letter and its sound, and have them repeat after you. Incorporating a fun sensory aspect can help learning stick even better.
CVC Words – Write simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words, such as “cat”, on 3×5 cards, making the letters about the same size as your magnets. Have your child make the word using the magnets, placing them over top of your words.
Book Search – Spread out letters in front of you, read some of the alphabet books you have gathered, and have your child point to or pick up letters as you come across them in your reading. Allow them free time as well to flip through the book and play with the letters as they choose as well.
Make up your own activities and keep it fun! Most of these can also be done while sitting in a restaraunt, or waiting for the doctor if you need to keep them busy.
Here are our 5 favorite ABC themed books
- Underwater Alphabet
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
- Goodnight Moon ABC
- Eric Carle’s ABC
- AlphaOops: The Day Z Went First
Looking for other ideas for alphabet related activities for kids? Check out some of these posts
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