At this point in the year your Kindergarten child should recognize every
letter in alphabet. To help reinforce letter recognition at home here is a
list of ideas:
This will also help all Pre-kindergarten students as well:
Letter Recognition Ideas for HOME Practice
Start with the letters in their own name and the names of their classmates.
Also, they are very interested in the names of their family members as well.
Point to the letters as you spell the names together.
Recite the ABC's using a chart and a pointer. Say it together. Then have them
say it without you as they point to the letters. After a few weeks of pointing
to the letters on the chart and saying their names, add the letter sounds as
well so the chant was "AA a/a", "BB b/b" and so on. When possible relate these
to the children's names such as "BB b/b like Betty."
Climb the stairs - put a letter on each step. The child says each letter as
they climb the stairs (can lay on floor if there are no stairs). Say it first
or put the same letter on each step until child has mastered a few. Add a few
at a time.
Give child a flash card and have him look for that letter (5-10 times) in the
classified section of the paper or in a magazine. Each time he finds the
letter he circles it and says the letter.
Hide and Go Seek - Hide the letters around the room when the child is busy
elsewhere. When child returns, have him find the letters one at a time and
tell you what letter it is. It's fun if the letters you hide make a word he
knows-like hide the letters of his name, brother's name, etc. Can child
correctly rearrange letters to spell the word?
If you have 2 sets of cards (or make an extra set), you can play
Concentration. Choose several pairs of matching letters and spread them out
face down on a table/floor. As child turns over each letter, he must name
them. If they match, he wins them; if not, they are turned back over.
What's Missing - Child places 3-4 letters on the table, identifies letters,
then closes eyes while parent removes one letter. Child identifies missing
letter. Then parent closes eyes, and lets child remove a letter.
Make letters out of playdoh.
Make ABC puzzles available to them. Have them SAY the alphabet while pointing
to (or tracing) the letters on the puzzle.
Paint letters on the cement with water. Write them in snow or sand.
Find focus letters in magazines and newspapers, cut them out and sort them on
a graph of two or three letters.
Make letters out of pretzels, twizzlers, gummy worms, sour snakes, and other
long skinny candies.
Help choose items you are buying at the grocery store given a hint such as
"Get the can that is silver and has a word that starts with C" (carrots).
Let them sort the cans in your pantry by initial letter and alphabetize it!
Sing silly songs where you start every word with the focus letter; then sing
the tune just saying the name of the letter over and over.
EX: Bary bad a bittle bamb, bittle bamb, bittle, bamb.
Bary, bad a bittle bamb. Its bleece
was bite as bow. B,b,b,b,b,b,b, b,b,b, b,b,b ......
Play rhyming games such as "I'm thinking of a word that rhymes with cat and
begins with b (bat)
Play deletion games such as "What is cart without the /c/?" (art) "What is
bark without the /k/?" (bar)
Read, read, read to them! (especially ABC books)
