A Letter Per Week

Creative Projects: Learning at Home

Whether the little ones you care for attend school part- or full-time or not it’s fun to encourage learning at home. One really easy way to reinforce learning with preschoolers and young students is doing fun projects on one letter each week at home.

I like focusing on one letter per week because research shows it is important to focus on only one sound at a time. The letter A, for example, has many different sounds. The first time the letter A is taught, focus on its short vowel sound. While words such as airplane, acorn, and aerobics, start with the letter A, they do not focus on the short vowel sound. Focus on one sound a week, and reading skills will come quickly.

Have the child practice writing the letter during the week. Have them find as many objects as they can around the house and outside of the house that start with the letter of the week.

Go to the library and borrow these books that reinforce each letter of the week as well. Always do at least one arts and craft project with each letter of the week.

Don’t forget to use letter shaped cookie cutters to make pancakes and sandwiches in the shape of the letter of the week. Click here to see how to make letter shaped cinnamon rolls.

See how to make a matching lower and upper case letter game with spoons by clicking this link.

Click here to find my favorite ideas for things to do with the kids for each letter of the week.

Here are a few more letter games to play:

A, B, See It!

Write a letter of the alphabet on the top of a piece of paper in a notebook. Give the notebook to the child and have him name the letter and say the sound for the letter. Next take the child on a letter walk, inside and outside, if possible. Instruct the child to look for words that begin with the letter on the paper. Help them list the words in their motebook.

Bag It!

Write the letter of thr week on a paper bag. Find an item that starts with the letter of thr week and out it in the bag. Ask the child to find another item with the same sound and place it in the bag. Now it’s your turn to find an item and out it in the bag. Continue take turns placing items in the bag.

Shoe Sole Letters

Gather a pair of shoes, marker, and heavy paper. Trace shoes onto the paper and cut out the paper into shapes of the shoes. On pairs of pre-cut paper soles, write upper case letters on the left soles and lower case letters on the right soles. Invite the child to match thr upper case and lower case letters.

References:
Curriculum Ideas from LetterOfTheWeek.com 
Photos by Stephanie Felzenberg