Letter Beanbags
Letter Bottles
Letter Beanbags
Skills: alphabet knowledge; motor skills
You can purchase beanbags with letters or you can make your own. Cut felt into 5” squares and sew three sides as shown. 
Fill with about ½ cup of beans and sew up the fourth side. Cut letters out of felt and glue to the beanbags.
Hint! Make one side of each beanbag out of red felt and the other side out of blue felt. Glue a lowercase letter cut out of red felt to the blue side, and an uppercase letter cut out of blue felt to the red side.
Toss and Catch – Pass out beanbags and let the children toss and catch them. Walk around the room and ask children to identify the letter on their beanbag.
Balance – Name letters on beanbags as you pass them out to children. Have children place the beanbags on their heads and walk around the room. If the beanbag falls off their head, they must sit down. Continue until one child is left standing.
Song Props – Use beanbags for singing different alphabet songs. Children
can toss their beanbags in the air, place them on the floor, or do other movements as their letter is sung on the song.
Making Words – Have children place their beanbags on the floor to make names or simple words.
Phonics Fingers
Skills: alphabet knowledge; phonics; 
words
Purchase three pairs of cotton gloves at a dollar store and cut off the fingers. Write the consonants in blue and the vowels in red on the fingers.
Children can wear these finger puppets as you sing. They can also use them to build words.
Letter Badges
Skills: alphabet knowledge; print knowledge; phonological
awareness
Purchase plastic name badge holders at an office supply store. (Or you can save these from conferences.) Choose one or two different letters each day and write them on paper cut to fit in the name badge. Select different children each day to wear the badges. Have children stand up as you sing the song below to the tune of “BINGO.”
There is a letter you should know,
What can the letter be oh?
/a/ /a/ It’s an A.
/a/ /a/ It’s an A.
/a/ /a/ It’s an A.
The letter A you know!
Let the badge wearer call on friends to say a word that starts with their sound.
*Challenge children to call friends by the letter they are wearing instead of their real name. For example: “D, come sit by me.”
Letter Supervisor
Skills: alphabet knowledge; print knowledge; phonological awareness
You will need a plastic visor, index cards, and tape for this activity. Choose a different letter each day and write it on the index card. Tape the index card to the visor.
Choose one child each day to wear the visor and be the “letter supervisor.” Every time you leave the classroom the letter supervisor stands at the door with her arm extended. Classmates must name the letter or say a word that starts with that sound before she raises her arm so they can exit the room.
Letter Bottles
Skills: alphabet knowledge; invented writing
Recycle plastic bottles for this project. Write letters on the bottles, and then fill with small toys or objects that begin
with that sound. Introduce one bottle at a time. Have the children name the items in the bottle. Can they think of other things that could be put in the bottle that start with the same sound? Place the bottle in a center with paper, pencils, and crayons and encourage the children to write the letter and draw pictures of the objects.
Hint! This would be a great family project. Give each child a bottle with a letter on it and ask them fill it with their parents’ help.
Letter Bears
Skills: alphabet knowledge, print knowledge
Cut 26 bears out of construction paper using the attached pattern.
Write a different letter on each bear.
Sing the song to the
tune of “Twinkle Little Star” as you hold up the bears.
(First letter) bear, letter bear, what do you see?
I see (second letter) bear looking at me.
(Second letter) bear, letter bear, what do you see?
I see (third letter) bear looking at me….
- Use the bears to dismiss children for centers or to line up by
having them look for the bear with the letter at the beginning of
their name. - Use letter bears to assess children’s recognition of letters.
Letter Vests
Skills: alphabet knowledge; letter/sound relationships
These letter vests can be used to create interest and focus children’s attention in a wide variety of activities.
All you need is 26 sheet protectors, paper, and string. Make large copies of letters on 8 ½” x 11” sheets of paper, or go to makinglearningfun.com to download free “highway letters.” Place letters in the sheet protectors. Punch two holes in the top and thread through a piece of string so children can easily slip the letters over their heads.
Hint! Put the lowercase letter on one side and the uppercase letter on the other side. Put a star on the side with the lowercase letter so children will know to wear it in front.
- Pass out letter vests to children and sing the traditional alphabet song. Tell the children to stand when their letter is sung.
- Have several children come to the front of the room and hold hands to make words.
Rapper Necklaces
Skills: alphabet knowledge; print knowledge; phonics
Cut out cardboard letters.
Let children decorate them with fake jewels, glitter, or stickers. Punch holes in the letters and tie on string. Let children can wear these as you sing alphabet songs.
- Have the class stand in a circle. When the letter that their name starts with comes up in the song they can get in the middle of the circle and break dance.
- Use these for a school program. Ask children to bring in baseball caps and sunglasses. Make microphones by wrapping toilet paper rolls in aluminum foil. Children can turn their caps backwards and sing favorite alphabet songs like rappers.