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Activities to teach alphabets


26 Easy, Fun Alphabet Activities That Give Kids the Practice They Need

Alphabet activities make learning your ABCs more fun. There are so many ways to practice your ABCs, you might be able to do one alphabet activity a day for a year without repeating. We’ve gathered over 25 super fun alphabet activities so kids can play and learn every day.

1. Write letters on dried beans

Large dried white beans are inexpensive to purchase and easy to write on. Grab a sharpie and write all the upper and lower case letters on them. Then put each set in a pile (or baggie) and ask your kids to match them.

2. Letter sort with sticky notes

Write individual letters on sticky notes and then place them all over your house or just on every stair in a staircase. This practice game has a lot of variations—all tied to sorting. Ask kids to sort by:

  • lowercase
  • uppercase
  • letters in their name
  • straight lines (H)
  • curved lines (c)
  • both curved and straight lines (B)
  • consonants
  • vowels

For even more practice: have them sort their finds into ABC order, match lowercase letters to uppercase letters, and then, find a way to sort them that’s new.

3. Write letters in shaving cream

Squirt shaving cream on a table and let your kids write letters in the cream. Smoothe it out to erase and start again. Bonus: their hands and your table will be cleaner than ever!

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Source: Rose and Rex

4. Bend letters with pipe cleaners

Pipe cleaners have always been a trusted source of good fine motor practice as well as a fun craft resource. Now use them to have kids create uppercase and lower case letters.

Learn more: make and takes

5. Make sensory ABC bags

This one is great because you can change up what you put in here and even move to sight words. You’ll need a gallon bag with a ziplock top. Add letters written on pieces of paper, magnetic letters, scrabble tiles, or anything else you can think of with letters. Then fill the bag with rice or oatmeal and seal it. Kids dig through the rice through the bag to find the letters. When they find them, they write down the letter they find until they locate all 26 letters of the alphabet.

For more sensory ideas: Little Bins Little Hands

6. Find invisible letters with watercolors

This is a classic. Using a white crayon, draw letters on a piece of white paper. Give your kids watercolor, let them paint the paper, and watch the letters appear.

Learn more: Gift of Curiosity

7. Play musical alphabet

Set up letters in a big circle on the floor. You can use magnetic letters or just write them on index cards. Put music on and have your child walk around the circle to the music. When the music goes off, your child tells you the closest letter. Expand on it: ask your child to name three things (colors, animals, etc) that start with that letter.

8. Sponge the alphabet

Cut sponges into letters and use them for sponge painting letters or playing in the tub.

Learn more: Learning 4 Kids

9.

Put together name puzzles

Write the upper and lower case letters in a name and then cut them apart in a simple zigzag. Mix up the letters and ask a child to match them up and put them in the right order.

10. Make letters from nature

Find the alphabet right outside. Choose natural objects that already look like letters, or arrange them to look like them.

To learn more: Right Brained Mom

11. Eat your ABCs

We know from Alphabet Soup that eating your ABCs is plain old fun. So think of all the ways you can practice the alphabet at mealtime. Pancakes can be made into letters, jello can be cut into letters, and noodles can be used to make letters (just to name a few).

Learn more: Parent Map

12. Go on an alphabet scavenger hunt

The fun part about this for grown-ups is that there is no prep. Tell kids to go find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. To make this game take longer, designate spots for them to bring each item back—one at a time. Every item must be approved before they can move on to the next. This allows for fewer meltdowns at the end when an item is deemed inaccurate.

13. Make your own ABC book

Personalizing the ABCs helps kids process and retain their learning. One of our favorite alphabet activities starts by creating a book out of 26 pieces of paper and staples or hole punches and a ribbon. Have kids write an uppercase and lowercase letter on each page. Finally, have them draw or cut out pictures of things that start with each letter. Voila!

Learn more: Teach Mama

14. Create ABC popup books

Use the following tutorial video to learn how to make different kinds of pop up pages. Then, create a page per week for 26 weeks for each letter. At the end, use a glue stick to glue them all together to make an ABC popup book!

15. Stamp letters in playdough

Roll out playdough and push letter stamps right into the dough. This is both tactile and great for practicing ABCs.

Learn more: I can teach my child

16. Make tactile letter cards

There’s lots of research (and experience) to support the value of using all the senses to learn. Making these tactile alphabet cards will be fun and have lasting benefits.

Learn more: All About Learning

17. Trace letters in spices

This one combines touch, smell, and sight. It gives you an opportunity to talk about what we uses spices for as well. Put the bottle in front of a child and have them write the spice name in the spice to make things a bit more challenging.

Source: Frog in a Pocket

18. Study a letter of the week

Many PreK and Kindergarten classes do a letter of the week, and for good reason. Teachers all share that instant recognition of letters and practice writing them is so important for learning to read. Doing alphabet activities for one letter each week reinforces knowledge and recollection.

For weekly activities: Preschool Mom

19. Do the yoga alphabet

Show kids this video and take the time to learn each yoga pose. Connecting the mind and the body is great for learning.

20. Sing songs about the alphabet

Everyone loves to sing the alphabet song, but did you know there are lots of other songs to sing that can help you remember the alphabet? Try out this Sesame Street favorite:

21. Draw pictures from letters

Using letters as a starting point, teach kids how to draw. If this is too difficult at first, just write a letter and then draw a picture around the letter.

Learn more: Felt Magnet

22. Highlight letters on a page

Print a page of text or grab your favorite magazine and a highlighter. Ask kids to highlight as many of one letter as they can find. This is also great for sight word recognition.

Here’s a freebie from The Inspired Apple to get you started.

23.

Do-A-Dot letter tracing

These dot markers make tracing letters more fun and help kids with directionality and remembering how to write and recognize letters.

Free Dot tracing sheets: DTLK’s Educational Activities for Kids

24. Play letter slap

Make 2 sets of index cards with all the letters on them (52 cards in all). Shuffle the cards together and deal them so each kid holds 26 cards. Together each player takes their top card and turns it upright. The player with the letter closest to A wins the hand and takes the card. If two of the same letter are played, the players slap the card. The one on the bottom of the slip wins the hand. The game ends when one player holds all the cards.

25. Match plastic Easter egg letters

Surely you have some plastic Easter eggs hanging around your attic. Use a Sharpie or letter stickers to put an uppercase letter on one half and a lowercase letter on the other. Then separate the two and throw them all in a basket. Kids pull them out and match them up. Tip: Add difficulty by not coordinating the colors.

Learn more: Crystal and Co.

26. Create loose part letters

What are loose parts? Loose parts are exactly what they sound like—a collection of loose materials or objects. These can be small pebbles, bottle caps, random LEGO bricks, seeds, keys, anything. Draw big letters on a piece of paper and have kids line up loose parts to make the letter.

 

Recognizing letters is a fundamental part of learning how to read. Without it, children struggle to learn letter sounds and identify words. Beginning readers who know their alphabet have a much easier time learning to read. Making alphabet practice a part of every day in fun ways helps create a lifelong love for letters and words.

What games and activities do you like to use for practicing the alphabet?

Plus, our favorite activities using alphabet beads and the best alphabet books.

50 Simple Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

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30 Jul

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It’s almost time for back to school for preschool and kindergarten kids and these alphabet activities will come in handy!

How do you teach the alphabet to preschoolers?!

As a preschooler, I don’t really think a lot is expected for them to know. Some basics are good though, like colors, shapes, numbers and letters.

To refresh my preschooler’s memory of letter recognition in general, as well as knowing the uppercase and lowercase alphabet and getting to know some of the letters sounds, I’ve been collecting ideas for activities that Henry can do to get him back on track of school. (Check some more out my ABC Learning & More Pinterest Board. )

Not to mention it’ll be great to get me back into school mode too!

With any learning activities, it’s very important to not crush your child’s confidence. Build on what they already know and expand slowly. And only go further when they’re excited to learn.

We want our kids to love learning! Not dread it.

So if they’re not excited about an activity, put it away until another day.

The big question then is…

How do you teach alphabets to preschoolers in a fun way?

Here are 50 alphabet activities meant for preschoolers that do just that.

Hands-on activities that have the preschoolers playing and involving their entire body while learning their ABCs.

Without them even realizing that they’re learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet, both the upper and lower case… or their letter sounds.

Let’s get on with it and see how to teach the alphabet to preschoolers in a fun way!

Recognizing Letters of the Alphabet

Identifying the letters of the alphabet can be a fun activity for preschoolers to learn while playing!

Here are 

25 Alphabet activities to recognize the letters of the alphabet.
  1. An ABC Mat is super handy to have on hand when your child is learning the alphabet! Try an active ABC mat learning game to get them really involved!
  2. By singing the ABCs the child can find his way through an alphabet maze! Use vehicles or a ball, or even a doll to walk their way through the maze.
  3. Squirt the Letter.
  4. Make learning magical with magic letters that the kids reveal as they paint over them.
  5. Do a letter search and find and match the pieces back together. (Little Hands, Big Work)
  6. Make a sensory bag to find the letters.
  7. Get creative and have her feed the monster letters as you call them out. (Little Family Fun)
  8. Use sticker letters to match to letters that you write on a paper towel tube! (Activity Mom)
  9. Make letters from pipe cleaners. (Make and Takes)
  10. Have fun stacking letter tiles! The catch? Name the letter before you can add it to your tower! (Stay At Home Educator)
  11. Try a magic trick like Playdough to Plato does with a ABC cup hunt game! Which one is the pom pom under?
  12. Find the letter and trash it! A fun idea from Motherhood on a Dime.
  13. Playing House does a bean bag toss into a letter tub that you call out.
  14. An activity twist on musical chairs, play musical alphabet with your preschooler and identify the letter you stop on! Kids Activities can make this more difficult for older kids too!
  15. Fish for Letters from First Palette. Can you identify your ‘catch’?
  16. Letter “I Spy” with Grown Up Board Games from A Heart for Home.
  17. Make these simple ‘building blocks’ so your child can build a letter and then tell you what it is! (Simple Real Moms)
  18. Write the alphabet on the sidewalk and water the ‘garden’. (Toddler Approved)
  19. Magnetic letters matching from NutureStore make great alphabet games!
  20. Simply make it a race! Lay out some letter cards and shout out a letter, have your child run as fast as they can to find it and bring it back to you. (Frugal Fun 4 Boys)
  21. A classic from my childhood. When in the car and traveling, do an alphabet hunt. (Teach Mama)
  22. Let the children play on a typewriter, or old computer keyboard. (picklebums)
  23. NurtureStore reinforces alphabet identification by baking the alphabet.
  24. Another use for the ABC Mat is to play twister! (Learners in Bloom)
  25. Homemade letter sponges for the bath from Learning 4 Kids are a fun learning addition to bath time!

Additionally, these products are excellent to have on hand when learning letters.

These do include my affiliate link that helps to support Hands On As We Grow® at no additional cost to you if you purchase. We truly appreciate the support, thank you.

  • Alphabet Foam Puzzle Mat
  • Foam Bath Letters & Numbers
  • Large Wooden ABC 26-piece Puzzle
  • Melissa & Doug Classic ABC Block Cart
  • Alphabet Fun Flash Cards
  • LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Alphabet Set

These provide amazing opportunities for letter or alphabet games and activities to do at home!

Learning Uppercase & Lowercase Letters

Lowercase letters tend to be harder for preschoolers to identify as well as match up with their uppercase counterparts.

Here are 9 alphabet activities to help preschoolers distinguish between upper and lower case letters.

  1. Got on a letter hunt and match the found letters to a set of lowercase letters!
  2. Match uppercase and lowercase hearts using a free printable.
  3. Write lowercase letters on clothespins and have your child match and clip them onto an uppercase letter that’s printed (or written) out. (I Can Teach My Child)
  4. Bring out the Easter Eggs. Label each side with corresponding upper and lowercase letters! Can your child put the eggs back together? (Teachers Pay Teachers)
  5. Learn letters on the go with two paper plates, one with lowercase, one with uppercase letters. No Time for Flash Cards has the how to.
  6. Make learning the ABCs a big event! Turn the floor into a mega doodle of letters and then match corresponding letters to it! (Filth Wizardry)
  7. Match upper and lowercase letters on the sidewalk.
  8. Practice writing while also learning both upper and lowercase letters by using a tray of salt. (Teach Preschool)
  9. Play a game of alphabet bingo. (Teach Mama)

Letter Sound Activities

Many of the activities for preschoolers that are listed for recognizing the letters of the alphabet can also be adjusted for learning the sounds of the letters too! 

Here are 16 alphabet activities for preschoolers to work on the sounds of the letters!
  1. Go on a hunt for toys that start with the letters and then got to punch through for a prize in our letter sound punch alphabet game.
  2. Make an alphabet game to sort by beginning letter sounds.
  3. An active way for the kids to learn their letters is simply with a ball and shouting out words that start with a letter! The Pleasantest Thing gives us many variations of this alphabet game in her guest post!
  4. Take learning outside with a sidewalk letter sound scavenger hunt like No Time for Flashcards.
  5. Another version of this would be to spray the letter that makes the sound from Train Up a Child.
  6. Indoors, set out some cups and letters on them and have the kids find as many toys as they can that start with each letter. (PreKinders)
  7. Simple. Kids love to pretend to ‘work’. Give them tees and a hammer and pound the sound idea from ABCs of Literacy.
  8. Add letters to muffin tins and toss a small object. Where it lands the child has to tell you what sound that letter makes. This idea’s found at ABC & Learning by Playdough to Plato.
  9. Do a beginning letter sound toy wash!
  10. Climb up the stairs when you get the right letter sound from A Mom with a Lesson Plan.
  11. Make a collage from magazine cutouts for letter sounds. (Carrots are Orange)
  12. Get active with a letter sound jumping game from The Imagination Tree.
  13. A Run N Spell alphabet game from Having Fun At Home gets the kids moving and learning starting letter sounds.
  14. “Baking” the Alphabet on a hot day from Not Just Cute. Hungry for a banana? Fill up the letter b-b-b-B!
  15. Alphabet bowling with letter pins from Toddler Approved
  16. Use letter pops (sticks with a letter on the end) to have the kids identify objects from around the room or house that start with the same letter.  (Dr. Jean & Friends)
  17. Match toys to letters with this hands-on sound activity from No Time For Flash Cards

Fantastic books for learning ABCs:

Supplement these learning activities with books and your preschooler will be singing, reciting, spelling and sounding out the ABCs in no time I bet!

  • Alphabet Book (Farmyard Tales Books Series)
  • Alphabet Rescue
  • Alphabet Mystery
  • Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
  • I Spy Letters

I’d love to know.

When was your child able to identify some letters of the alphabet?

Henry learned his alphabet really early it seemed. Identifying a few letters when he was 20 months old and knowing almost the entire alphabet when he was just over 2 years old.

George on the other hand has no interest yet at 22 months so it’s not on our radar.

If you have an eager early learner, these beginning learning letter activities are perfect for toddlers!

Onto numbers! 40 number activities for preschoolers too!


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About Jamie Reimer

Jamie learned to be a hands on mom by creating activities, crafts and art projects for her three boys to do. Jamie needed the creative outlet that activities provided to get through the early years of parenting with a smile! Follow Jamie on Pinterest and Instagram!

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Learning the alphabet: methods, exercises and games for children

The alphabet is the foundation of reading. Therefore, before you start reading and writing, teach your children the letters.

Children can start learning to read as early as preschool age. Parents and teachers need to teach their child how to pronounce sounds correctly in their native language. These are important prerequisites for learning letters and learning to read successfully. The educational process of preschool children is based on visual, acoustic and tactile exercises. The use of various channels of perception in the educational process increases its effectiveness and stimulates long-term memorization of letters.

Learning the alphabet: introducing the child to the alphabet.

To master reading, a child must learn and recognize not only the graphic form of letters, but also be able to compare them with their corresponding sounds. This means that the child must be able to write letters and pronounce them. When the child learns to correctly pronounce all the sounds in his native language and distinguish letters by visual form, go directly to reading. As a rule, at the age of 5-6 years, most children no longer experience difficulties in this.

See also: Reading and bilingualism. Bilingualism in children

From the age of 5 to 6, children begin to understand that there is a lot of information encoded in language using letters. Thus, they are interested in learning to read by then, as they are naturally curious.

Of course, babies can learn and memorize individual letters quite early. However, their interest, mostly spontaneous, is directed to individual words and letters. Here it is important to gently motivate the child by encouraging him to learn through games and a comfortable environment. However, too much pressure can lead to stress, causing little ones to lose any motivation to learn letters.

Alphabet learning games

The first rule of learning the alphabet: learn the letters one by one!

Don't forget, each letter is made up of visually similar elements. If you try to teach a child several letters at a time, he may become confused. Learn the letters one by one. One lesson - one letter.

Second rule of learning the alphabet: take your time!

Give your child enough time for each letter. Plan 1-2 lessons for each new letter. Organize the lesson in a form that is interesting for the child with the help of games.

Tactile method: from studying letters to reading

The child sees something abstract in a letter. Chains of associations will help in learning letters. Associating each letter with something specific or familiar helps the child fix it in his memory.

1. Make a letter out of plasticine

Let's memorize what a letter looks like and develop fine motor skills.

We will need: plasticine (should be elastic), modeling board and a disposable plastic knife.

Together with your child, roll out 8 approximately identical sausages from plasticine. 2 - divide in half, 2 - divide into 3 parts. From the remaining 4, make rings by blinding their edges and cut 2 of them in half, creating semicircles. Thus, you should get a set of elements to compose any letters of the alphabet. Show the child a couple of examples and ask them to repeat, collecting previously passed letters.

2. Magic wands

Let's memorize letters, learn how to make letters from sticks, learn how to transform letters.

We need: a set of counting sticks. If not, you can replace with matches or toothpicks.

The easiest way is to lay out letters from sticks according to a pattern or without a pattern (according to the idea). When the child learns to lay out all the letters, you can complicate the task by laying out objects familiar to the child from them, and then ask them to change them, for example, make a figure resembling a door out of sticks, and then ask the child to remove 2 sticks to make the letter P.

3. Tactile letters

Memorize letters and develop fine motor skills

We will need: sandpaper, velvet paper, scissors.

Cut out letters from sandpaper or velvet paper. The child will have to close his eyes to identify the letter by touch.

4. Draw a letter on the semolina

Memorize letters, develop fine motor skills

We will need: a bright dish tray, semolina

Pour sand or semolina in a thin layer on the tray. Set an example for your child, show how to write letters on the croup with your finger or stick. Ask him to write next to the letter, the same as you wrote, write a letter more or less than yours, add an unfinished letter, or erase the extra detail of the "wrong" letter. Children will like this game, just shake the tray a little, and the mistake or inaccuracy made disappears!

5. Mirror letter

Memorize letters and train attention

We will need: cardboard, pencil and scissors

Prepare identical cards cards, 2 pieces for each letter. Write 1 letter on each card. Write the letters in mirror image and correctly. Lay out cards with the same letter in front of the child and offer to choose the correct one.

6. Memory test game

Train memory

We will need: scissors, cardboard and a pencil

The game "Memory Test" will challenge even older children. Write each capital letter on one card and lowercase letter on the other card. Turn over all the cards and place them on the table. Ask your child to match uppercase and lowercase letters. You can complicate and add a dictionary element. Have the children match the letter of the alphabet with the picture that starts with that letter.

7. Bean bag

Memory training

We will need: a bag of beans or other bulk material, a tablecloth or a large piece of paper.

If you want to warm up a bit while you study the letters, play a game of Beanbag. Write the alphabet randomly on a large piece of paper. Give the children a bean bag and ask them to put it on paper. The child must name a word that begins with the letter on which the bag fell. If a student is stuck, help him.

Ask the child to check the chosen letter with letters from the alphabet. Be sure to ask the name of the letter. The exercise will help children learn to distinguish visually similar letters and avoid mistakes when writing them in the future.

Drawing, coloring, cutting letters out of paper and gluing them together develop fine motor skills in children. Self-made flash cards with letters facilitate memory and associative thinking, creating the basis for tactile games. You can make postcards alone or with your child. Letters can be cut out of paper of various textures and pasted onto cards made of cardboard or paper. Then you can ask the child to pick up letters from 2-3 cards with their eyes closed.

Literacy begins with learning the letters of the alphabet. Combine different perceptual styles. The alphabet learning games described above help children to learn letters at different levels. Moreover, fine motor skills play a crucial role in the formation of systematic connections in the mind of the child and create the basis for the development of reading and writing.

ABC for children 5 years old learning the alphabet. Letters

Little tomboys are not so easy to get to learn something, and the alphabet is no exception. But still, you need to start learning letters as early as possible, and free online games "Letters for Kids" were created specifically to facilitate this process. Bright and exciting applications will help little ones to master the first reading skills in an easy and interesting way for them. Colored pictures stimulate visual perception and thus improve memory. Not to mention that in many games, training will take place in the company of your favorite cartoon characters. It's one thing when parents explain the letters, and quite another - for example, SpongeBob. In the second case, the child will obviously be very enthusiastic about the idea of ​​​​learning!
In addition, in addition to the Russian alphabet, your baby will have the opportunity to start learning a foreign language from an early age. Some flash games "Letters for Kids" on our site are dedicated to the English language, which will definitely come in handy for your child in the future. In general, the sooner you begin to instill in your child the basics of literacy, the better! Together with Letters for Kids games it is much easier. Therefore, do not limit the time spent by the child at the computer, it is better to make sure that he spends it playing the right games!

The optimal age for learning the alphabet is 5-6 years. By this time, the baby will no longer distort the spoken sounds, it will quickly perceive information and remember it. Cognitive interest, aimed at studying the world around us and actively manifesting just at this period of a child's development, will be of great help in mastering letters.

Acquaintance with the alphabet

The study of the alphabet should take place regularly and systematically, but the lessons should not tire the little student.

For this purpose, one can not only look at illustrations for fairy tales, guess what the story will be about, and think about the behavior of the characters. Gradually developed reader interest will encourage the study of the alphabet and.

When the child is ready to learn, you can start learning letters. So that after getting acquainted with the letters the child does not lose interest in reading activities, it is important to take into account several points.

  • Sounds or letters?

You need to choose one option: learn either letters or sounds.

It is important to understand that it is easier for children to distinguish sounds in a word ([b] is a drum, compared to “be” - “drum”), and in the process of learning to read it will be easier for them to combine 2 sounds than 2 letters (“be” and “a they will read "bea" instead of "ba").

If a kid grasps everything on the fly, then he will be curious to know that letters are icons that encrypt the sounds they make, and their name is not always read like the called sound.

  • Immediately or gradually?

Not required dump all the information on the child at once. Acquaintance with letters should occur gradually.

You can spend not one, but several days on one letter, until it becomes recognizable. Only then can you move on to the next one.

  • Where to start?

It is not always advisable to study letters in alphabetical order. It is better to start with vowels, and then proceed to get acquainted with consonants. The most difficult letters are left in the end (b, b).

  • When are the classes?

Not worth it allocate strictly defined time for classes: it is difficult for a child to engage in one type of activity for more than 10-15 minutes, and if you do not consolidate what you have learned all the time, then everything will be forgotten very quickly.

It is better to introduce the process of learning the alphabet into the life of a student: in the morning they got acquainted with the letter, laid it out for breakfast from vegetables, during a walk they found words starting with this letter, and in the evening they painted or made a model from improvised material.

  • Stick or carrot?

Definitely the second - any punishment eventually provokes the appearance of a negative attitude towards the activity that provoked them. And if the child is not interested in what he is doing, then all efforts will be in vain.

To motivate a student , increase self-confidence, you need to praise him as often as possible for any success. For the same purpose, you should not conduct various kinds of checks and exams: all children are different, and they learn the material in different ways.

Alphabet Learning Methods

Any activity should be conducted in a playful way using a variety of methods that will help you remember all the information given out (or at least most of it).

Learning will be easy and interesting if you use in the process:

  • Entertaining tasks (puzzles “A letter is hidden”, “How many letters are on a line”, coloring books, riddles, poems).
  • Word games (“Select the first sound”, “What letter is hidden in the house, if the owners are known”, “Find as many words as possible for the desired letter”).
  • Association method (an adult calls a letter, a child - a word beginning with this letter).
  • Practice methods (making an alphabet from plasticine, salt dough, natural material, fabric, etc.).
  • Magnetic letters or cubes , from which it will be possible to add even whole words.
  • Educational cartoons and videos.
  • Computer games .

Letters learned in an unusual situation are quickly remembered . For example, joint baking of cookies - letters, drawing letters on the snow or sand during a walk, edible letters (from peas or corn on the surface of a salad, from cream on the top of the cake).

It will also be interesting and exciting to find the letters hidden around (a cloud in the form of "o", tree trunks - "k", pillars - "l"). If you use all the methods of memorization, then the process of learning the alphabet will be easy and fast.

Almost all parents understand that the time will come when they will have to learn the letters of the Russian alphabet together with their child. And they have a lot of questions. For example, at what age will learning be most successful? Or how to make classes interesting for children? And, in general, how to study it?

Children learn best through play

Alphabetical learning can begin at any age. Some parents start learning the alphabet , when the little man was not even a year old. And many do not think about it before school. Of course, these are extremes. In the first case it is still early, in the second it is already too late. The optimal age for learning letters is 4.5–5 years. During this period, children develop the ability to analyze, interest in the environment greatly expands, and the ability to absorb information increases. It is at this time that the child may have a desire to learn to read.


Methods that help learning

There are a lot of different methods, methods and exercises that make learning the letters of the Russian alphabet easy for children. These can be special coloring books, and computer games, and cutting out letters, sculpting them from plasticine, and even baking.


The original way to memorize letters

You can try this technique: first you need to memorize 10 vowels, they come in pairs and rhyme, so it will be easy to learn them: A-Z, U-Yu, O-E, E-E, Y-I. And then move on to consonants, which can also be divided into pairs, for example, deaf - voiced. There is also a method of studying sounds, not letters.

One of the most effective ways is singing. You just need to learn the song with the alphabet and constantly sing it. And this option is also popular: learning the letters of the Russian alphabet for children aged 5 years not with letters, but immediately with words.

Learning and memorization work best when visual memory is involved. Therefore, it will be very effective to cut out large letters and place them in a zone of constant visibility so that the child can get used to them and remember them. It is good that they are red, as this color attracts attention. In general, all tools, cards, materials used in training should be very bright, colorful, beautiful and attractive in appearance.


It has been proven that children remember the alphabet faster and easier if the letters are depicted as an animal. Or when a picture is drawn next to the letter. And then the letters will be associated in children with a certain image. For example, A with a watermelon or a stork, B with a drum, etc.

If you simultaneously teach your child to write the letters being studied, the effect will increase many times over.

Only no exams and forced imposition! All this should be interesting to the baby. Let the information flow slowly so that the child does not get confused and does not refuse to learn. It's just wonderful if the baby begins to be interested in letters on his own. And if not, then you need to awaken this curiosity in him. And temporarily postpone classes if, nevertheless, interest does not arise.

Want to know the most effective way to teach your child letters and learn the alphabet in the shortest possible time? With our recommendations, it will not be difficult for you to teach your child the alphabet at 3-6 years old. In just a month of short lessons, you can learn vowels and consonants with your child and start reading.

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Why teach your child the alphabet

Before you introduce your child to the letters of the Russian alphabet, answer yourself the question WHY you want to do it right now. Is your child 5 or 6 years old and you want to prepare him for school? He is 2 years old and you want to show off the successes of a little genius to your friends and relatives? The kid is 3 years old and you want to "invest in him the maximum" in all ways available to you, so as not to miss the optimal moment for all-round development? What?

Of course, you can teach your child the alphabet at any age. You can show letter cards from the cradle, but... Let's put parental ambitions aside and focus on the object - the child. Why does he need to know letters? Right to read! Are you sure that right now he is READY to learn the basics of reading? Read what conditions are necessary in order to teach a child to read in our articles and only after that make the right decision:

Any knowledge should be put into practice. You must clearly understand that the study of letters and the alphabet is teaching the child to read. Otherwise, there is no point, there are a lot of other effective ways to develop memory, thinking, speech. It is not necessary for this to learn letters with a one and a half year old malupas, who is not yet able to pronounce them correctly. If you start learning the alphabet too early, there is a high chance that the child will simply forget the letters by the time he is ready to learn to read. Or the second, more "terrible" moment. Having learned “be”, “ve”, “de”, the child will not be able to read, because other rules work when reading. To merge syllables and turn them into words, you need to pronounce sounds completely different. Relearning is always harder. Be careful with the choice of talking toys and books: they do not always pronounce the letters correctly!

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By itself, knowing the alphabet will not give the baby anything. He will simply memorize it like a song or a rhyme, but this will not teach him to read. Therefore, leave the study of the alphabet for children 5-6 years old, who will need it at school, and with toddlers, just learn the letters without adhering to the alphabetical sequence.

  • The alphabet is not just all the letters, it's the letters in a CERTAIN sequence.
  • The alphabet is the base of any language.
  • The alphabet is the key to all dictionaries, reference books, encyclopedias and other documents where order and systematization are important.
  • Knowing the alphabet saves time.

Learning letters: where to start

In what order to learn letters? Do I need to learn the alphabet? Start with vowels or consonants?

Let's be clear, so:

1. No need to learn letters in alphabetical order.

2. Do not learn letters mixed up: either vowels or consonants.

3. Be the first to learn with your child the 10 letters for vowel sounds.

The most important thing at this age is to pay attention to CORRECT SPEECH. If necessary, contact a speech therapist to help put the right sounds, because success in school education directly depends on this.

A common problem at this age is sound R . You can work with your child on your own by doing it regularly.

When a child of preschool age lives in a family, he wants to quickly show the world, tell what the alphabet is, learn the alphabet and numbers with them. But too early such classes will not bring any result, because no one has canceled the physiological characteristics of children and they must be reckoned with.

For example, from the age of 2, a child consciously learns the world through touch, taste and sight, but it is almost impossible to interest him in learning at this time, since the child's mind has not yet understood the meaning of numbers and letters.

Learning letters with a child most often starts from the age of 4, because he already begins to analyze his actions and gradually understand why he needs to learn. In addition, it will take little time - 10-15 minutes a day.

At 6-7, children improve their memory, thinking and perception, so they are probably ready to play at school. So if before your baby did not show any interest in learning, now is the time to teach him new activities.

Maria Monsessori is a famous Spanish teacher who founded her own school for toddlers and proposed one of the most famous methods that will help children learn the alphabet with the help of a game. It consists of 4 parts and is designed for children of all ages from 3 to 6 or even 7 years old.

Drawing in the sand - developing speech

Before a child can write letters correctly and quickly, he needs to develop the muscles of his hands and strengthen his fingers, which will soon have to hold the pen quite often. So the first Montessori game is finger drawing in the sand. If there is no opportunity to go to the beach, then it is enough to pour a little semolina onto a baking sheet, on which the lesson will take place. Start drawing something simple, for example, a smiling emoticon, a sun or a Christmas tree, and let the kid repeat everything after you. When you move on to more complex drawings, then work with the child together: he drew the head, you - the body, and so on.

"Rough Letters"

The next exercise to help you learn the alphabet while playing is called "Rough Letters", which involves special letters. You can buy them online or watch a tutorial video on how to make them yourself for kids.

Next, show the child one letter and say how it is pronounced, then let the child repeat the sound he heard after you. At the end, be sure to give the opportunity to touch the card with the letter, while pronouncing its sound and showing the object that begins with the learned letter.

It is necessary to study three letters at a time and at the beginning of each lesson repeat what has already been learned. If the child has forgotten something from the past material, then feel free to add the forgotten “comrade” to the new triple from the alphabet.

All other developing ways of learning letters for kids can be found in the book by Marie-Helene Place "Learning Letters Using the Montessori Method".

Techniques and exercises for babies 4 to 6 years old

Letters from the mosaic

As mentioned above, 4 years is the best period for learning and memorization. At this time, you can already use the mosaic, from which the child will have to put together the letter named by the parent. In a mosaic, it is easier to teach how to write letters with horizontal lines, and to complicate the task, ask to make a letter of a certain color, small or large.

"ABC from plasticine"

The next version of the game with a child already 5 and 6 years old is "ABC from plasticine". On the board for modeling with a pencil, draw the outline of the letters and ask the child to fashion a certain letter from plasticine. When you get to learn them well, you can complicate the task by completing the task quickly. "ABC" is good for playing with a child because it helps to quickly memorize the alphabet and develop finger motor skills.

There are many more techniques that are suitable for small children. For some of them, you need to make an “inventory” with your own hands, in which videos from the Internet will undoubtedly help you.

Educational computer games for learning numbers

Children are very attracted to technology, including computers. And there is nothing wrong if girls and boys, starting from the age of 4, will learn and memorize numbers while playing on a laptop. After all, there are videos, methods that develop toys online that can correctly teach you how to memorize numbers. For example, an online program where a child has to paint a certain number in the color he likes and the more often he paints it, the faster he will remember.

If your child is already 5-6 years old, then more difficult simulators are chosen, such as "Find a pair - addition", "Find a pair - subtraction" and use them to learn calculation and addition. These toys are made in the form of closed squares, which the player opens, remembers what is written there (for example, 7+3=) and looks for the correct answer to it.

If you do not touch the computer, then simple exercises will help you remember the numbers. For example, while walking down the street, ask the child to memorize the number of a car standing in the yard or to find a specific number in it.

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