Practice the letter a

Letter A Worksheets | All Kids Network

A is for apple, alligator and airplane! We’ve organized all of our letter A worksheets in one place for your convenience. This collection of worksheets are a great resource when teaching students the basics of reading and writing. Whether it’s recognizing that angel starts with A, matching capital and lowercase As or just practicing writing As, your kids will have fun while improving their early literacy skills.

Practice writing the letter A in cursive

Draw words that start with the letter A.

Find and color the uppercase and lowercase lett...

Color the letter A and the apple, anchor, allig...

Color the letter A and the apple.

Trace the lowercase and uppercase versions of t...

Trace the uppercase and lowercase versions of t...

Trace the capital and lowercase versions of the...

Circle the words and pictures that begin with t...

Say and trace the word apple along with printin...

Write in the missing short vowel a in each of t...

Trace the words apple, ant, alligator and airpl...

Trace the letter A’s, then cut and paste the ap...

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12 Awesome Letter A Crafts & Activities

ByLiz Updated onSeptember 1, 2022

It is time to get creative with these Letter A crafts! A is the first letter of the alphabet. Apples, angels, alligators, airplanes, apple trees, avocados, aardvark…there are many words that start with the letter A. Today we have some fun preschool letter A crafts & activities to practice letter recognition and writing skill building that work well in the classroom or at home.

Let’s do a Letter A craft!

Learning the Letter A Through Crafts & Activities

These awesome letter A crafts and activities are perfect for kids ages 2-5. These fun letter alphabet crafts are a great way to teach your toddler, preschooler, or kindergartener their letters. So grab your paper, glue stick, and crayons and start learning the letter A!

Related: More ways to learn the letter A

This article contains affiliate links.

Letter A Crafts For Kids

1. A is for Angel Craft

This angel made from the letter A is a fun project and is easy to make. It’s so easy to make with paper, feathers, googly eyes, and pipe cleaners. Don’t forget the black marker to give the angel a smiley face.

2. A is for Apple Craft

This paper plate apple craft is the easiest apple craft we have here at Kids Activities Blog that makes it a great alphabet craft for even toddlers!

3. A Is For Alligator Craft

Make an A is for alligator craft where we turn the letter a into a green alligator! via Miss Marens Monkeys

The angel has angelic wings!

4. Ants On The Apple Craft

To work on the lowercase a, make this ants on the apple craft. Grab your red paint, black paint, and green paper, for this letter a craft. via Pinterest

5. A is for Alien Craft

Use your handprint to make a letter a alien. via Red Ted Art

6. A is for Acorn Craft

Use a lowercase a to make a paper acorn. via MPM School Supplies

7. Apple Tree Craft for the Letter A

Make an apple tree from construction paper and use a stickers to place apples on them! via 123 Homeschool 4 Me

8. Toilet Paper Roll A is for Airplane Craft

Turn the letter A into a toilet roll airplane! This is the perfect way to learn the letter a as well as recycle. So grab your paint and popsicle sticks use different colors to make the coolest airplane. via Sunshine Whispers

9. A is for Astronaut Craft

The best way to learn is by hands on crafts. This letter a astronaut is a fun alphabet craft. via Glued To My Crafts Blog

Aliens start with A and look very silly!

Letter A Activities for Preschool

10. Letter A Sound Activity

Use this printable to work on the letter A sound and identify which images start with the letter a. This is such a great way to learn about letter sounds. via The Measured Mom

11. Letter A Worksheets

Grab these free letter A worksheets to work on tracing the letter and identifying which objects start with an a. What a great way to learn about upper case letters and lower case letters.

12. DIY Letter A Lacing Cards

Use these letter a lacing cards to practice the letter a and things that start with it. Plus, this is a great way to work on fine motor skills as well. Paper is great, but for a sturdier lacing card, you could back them with craft foam. via Homeschool Share

More Letter A Crafts & Printable Worksheets from Kids Activities Blog

We have even more alphabet craft ideas and letter A printable worksheets for kids. Most of these are also great for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners (ages 2-5).

Free practice tracing the letter a worksheets are perfect for reinforcing the letter a and its uppercase letter and its lowercase letter.
Use tissue paper to make this super amazing apple craft.
Grab your paint, pom poms, and paper plates to make this apple tree craft.
These alligator coloring pages are so much fun and an easy letter a craft.
Here is another alligator craft! How cute are these little alligators?

Oh so many ways to play with the alphabet!

More Alphabet Crafts & Preschool Worksheets

Looking for more alphabet crafts and free alphabet printables? Here are some great ways to learn the alphabet. These are great preschool crafts and preschool activities , but these would also be a fun craft for kindergarteners and toddlers as well.

These gummy letters can be made at home and are the cutest abc gummies ever!
These free printable abc worksheets are a fun way for preschoolers to develop fine motor skills and practice letter shape.
These super simple alphabet crafts and letter activities for toddlers are a great way to start learning abc’s.
Older kids and adults will love our printable zentangle alphabet coloring pages.
Oh so many alphabet activities for preschoolers!

Which letter a craft are you going to try first? Tell us which alphabet craft is your favorite!

Liz

Liz chronicles her adventures in mommyhood at Love & Marriage.

I'm just a mom keeping it real about how little I sleep, how often I get puked on and how much I love them.

How to teach a child to say the letter "p"

September 29, 2019LikbezAdvice

"Mosquito", "motor" and "drum" will help to cope with the recalcitrant sound.

Of all the sounds, “p” is the last thing children learn, by the age of five or six. If your child is younger, do not rush things. If it's a little more, don't panic. Let's calmly figure out what is wrong with this letter and what are the ways to cope with it.

Why growling is difficult

The "r" sound is considered one of the most difficult to play. To pronounce it correctly, you need:

lift the tip of the tongue to the upper teeth - while it should remain flattened like a pancake, and not narrow from tension;
while exhaling, send a powerful air stream to the tip so that vibration occurs.

For such manipulations, the child needs a developed speech apparatus, a strong root of the tongue and a frenulum. Usually all this is formed by the age of six.

What makes it difficult to pronounce the letter "p" correctly

Even with prepared tools in their mouths, preschoolers manage to distort the ill-fated sound. And there are several reasons for that.

1. Short hyoid ligament

Also called the frenulum. It prevents you from freely moving your tongue and lifting it up. Most often, the problem is discovered even in the hospital. If the hyoid ligament does not allow the baby to suckle normally at the breast, it is cut. At a later age, the frenulum is usually stretched with the help of speech therapy exercises.

2. Impairment of phonemic hearing

Phonemic hearing is the ability to correctly perceive and reproduce speech sounds. Normally, a baby already at the age of three catches the difference between similar sounds - even if he does not know how to pronounce them.

Sometimes the development of phonemic hearing is delayed due to previous otitis media, adenoids, or other health problems. As a result, sound analysis and synthesis are disturbed: the child hears the sound differently, skips it in speech or replaces it with another.

3. Incorrect speech breathing

For correct pronunciation, you need to be able to control your exhalation. Not all children succeed: some raise their shoulders while inhaling, others breathe too shallowly and unevenly, or do not know how to distribute exhalation according to words.

4. Deep bite

With a correct bite, the upper front teeth overlap the lower ones by about a third, and the rest close to each other. But if the bite is too deep, the upper ones cover the lower ones by more than half. It becomes more difficult to achieve the correct position of the tongue with emphasis on the upper teeth.

How the letter “r” is distorted

The following main variants of the distortion of the sound “r”, or scientific rotacism, are described on specialized resources:

Burr, or throaty "r". It is not the tip of the tongue that vibrates, but the soft palate. This pronunciation is normal for French and German, but not for Russian speech.
Lateral "p". The tongue is pressed against the upper teeth with one side, the other side hangs down, and the tip does not vibrate. The result is something similar to "rl".
Single stroke "r". Instead of vibrating, the tip of the tongue hits the hard palate once, forming a semblance of the English r.
Nasal "r". On exhalation, the air flow does not pass through the mouth, but through the nose. In addition, the tip of the tongue is pulled back and does not participate in articulation. The phrase "Roma, open the door!" will turn into "Ngoma, otkngoy dwengi!".
Coachman "r". And again, the vibration does not occur where it is needed, namely on the close lips. The kid makes something similar to "whoa."
Pararotacism, or replacement of "p" with another sound. Instead of "baby" you hear "baby", "fuck", "web", "fuck" or even "fuck".
Missing "r". The kid just avoids difficulties. He says not “fish”, but “fish”, not “glad”, but “hell”, not “thunder”, but “gom”.

What exercises you can do at home

Finding the exact cause of rotacism and determining how to deal with it in your particular case is a task for a speech therapist. But if the child is not yet six, or due to certain circumstances, it is not yet possible to visit a specialist, you can try to curb the “r” yourself. To do this, you need to fulfill only three conditions.

Be patient. The process is unlikely to be fast, and the result is easy. You may need months of daily practice.
Prepare the site. Speech therapy exercises are best done sitting together in front of a large mirror. The baby needs to clearly see the movements of his mouth - yours and his own. Alternatively, sit opposite each other, but then your student should have a large table mirror.
Get ready for the game. Although mastering the “r” is a serious matter, it is better to conduct classes in a playful way. Let the child perceive them as an occasion to have fun with mom or dad, and not as a heavy and boring duty. In any case, training should take no more than 10-15 minutes a day, and even then with breaks.

Now let's move on to the exercises.

Articulation gymnastics

You need to start the lesson with a warm-up of the speech apparatus. These exercises will warm up the muscles, strengthen the tongue and help stretch the hyoid frenulum.

1. Swing

Open your mouth wide and move your tongue up and down, touching the upper and lower teeth. Then we hold the tip at the upper teeth for 15-20 seconds.

2. Cuckoo

The mouth is still wide open. We stick out the tip of the tongue and touch it to the upper lip, and then hide it behind the upper teeth.

3. Painter

Imagine that the tongue is a wide brush, and carefully “paint” the teeth, cheeks, and upper palate with it.

4. Horse

We click the tongue on the upper palate, as if the hooves of a horse are clattering.

4. Treat

Lick lips with spread tongue clockwise and counterclockwise.

5. Kitten

Imagine that there is a delicacy on the saucer - jam or ice cream. Now you need to stick out your tongue as far as possible and lick off the treat so that the tongue does not curl up into a tube, but remains flattened.

6. Accordion

Raise the tongue up and “glue” its tip to the palate. Now, without lifting your tongue, open and close your mouth.

7. Hammer

We stretch the mouth in a smile and tap the tip of the tongue on the base of the front teeth, as if hammering nails.

Exercises for producing the sound "r"

To pronounce "r" correctly, you need to start with other sounds.

1. Drum

We open our mouth wide and strike with the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth, pronouncing the sound "d". Slowly at first, then faster. And there is already close to the "r".

2. Buzzer

Pronounce the sound “g” and at the same time constantly pull the tip of the tongue deep into the mouth. Over time, "g" will turn into a weakly vibrating "r".

3. Snake

We repeat the sound “s-s-s” several times, after which we swallow the tongue and touch the palate with the tip.

4. Turkey

We stick out a wide tongue and perform back and forth movements, sliding the tip along the hard palate. At the moment when the tongue touches the alveoli - the tubercles behind the upper teeth, a single-strike "p" is obtained.

5. Mosquito

Open your mouth wide, lift your tongue up and rest it against the alveoli. And now, for 10-15 seconds, energetically buzzing like a mosquito.

6. Motor

Put your index finger or cotton swab under your tongue and vigorously move it back and forth while doing the exercise “Komarik”.

Consolidation of the result

When the sound itself is already obtained, you need to bring its pronunciation to automatism. To do this, after articulatory gymnastics, instead of setting exercises, perform a complex to consolidate the skill.

Pronounce the letter “r” loudly and clearly several times.
Practicing "r" through the consonant sounds "d" and "t": "dra-dro-dru", "tra-tro-tru".
We remove the supporting "d" and "t" and work with "ra-ro-ru".
Let's move on to reverse syllables "ar-or-ur", as well as to the position of "r" between vowels - "oru-ura-ara". We repeat these combinations in different combinations from day to day, until the child can pronounce "r" with vibration. Only then can you practice with words.
First, we practice words that begin with “r” or even “tr” and “dr” (grass, firewood, throne, drone, ladder, drape, hand, river, shirt). Then we take on nouns, where "r" is in the middle or at the end (cow, great, carpet, fence, ax).
We connect sentences, rhymes and tongue twisters with the letter "p".

When to take your child to a speech therapist

Preferably before the child goes to school. Otherwise, a problem with the pronunciation or perception of "r" may affect your studies or communication with peers.

How long will the correction take? Everything is very individual: some need three or four sessions with a specialist, while others need months of regular training at home under the supervision of a speech therapist. In any case, in adulthood, the process of correcting speech errors will require much more time and effort than at 6-7 years old.

we teach the child to “growl” correctly in different languages - Education on vc.ru

[R] is one of those sounds, the absence of which hurts the ear. In the speech of children, this sonor begins to sound later than other sounds. Should I be worried if he is late? How to get the right sound? Discussed with an expert.

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At first, the speech of the baby is understood only by the family. Gradually, his speech apparatus masters new and new sounds, coping even with difficult sonors. And here is an epoch-making event! The kid confidently Rrrrrrychit. Here, however, it is important not to rush things and not expect, say, a four-year-old to confidently pronounce the sound [r]. Until the age of 4 or even 5, saying “lyba” instead of “fish” is quite normal.

At the age of 5-6, a child masters the normal pronunciation of the most complex (sonorous) sounds - [p], [l].

How to teach a child the letter p: the first steps to success

However, if the question: “how to teach a child to say the letter r” excites you literally from the moment the baby began to babble, it would be useful to devote time to prevention. This includes, for example, early rejection of pacifiers and bottles. It is not uncommon for a baby to sip compotes and kefir from a bottle with a nipple at a completely “mature” age. Of course, it is convenient for parents that the baby does not spill the drink, as happens when using a cup. However, speech therapists do not welcome this approach and warn of possible orthodontic disorders that provoke problems with sound pronunciation. There is even such a thing as a "nipple" way of language. Its upward movement, towards the sky, is sharply limited. The form is far from perfect, the air stream spreads at random during sound pronunciation. Where can we talk about the vibration of the tip of the tongue, which is necessary for a clear setting of a complex sonor?

What else can parents take care of? Introduce articulation gymnastics into your daily routine. It is also called myogymnastics. Sets of exercises are selected individually for each child by a speech therapist or orthodontist. Therefore, with a visit to these specialists, you should not delay too much.

By the way, even at the earliest stages, the orthodontist can diagnose the presence of a shortened hyoid frenulum. It prevents the appearance of all sounds at which the tongue should rise up (p, w, w, l, p, h, u).

However, you yourself may suspect that something is wrong, if the tip of the baby, when trying to lift the tongue up, seems to bifurcate like a “snake sting”.

There are several types of shortened bridle, which limits its mobility. Sometimes it is determined even in the maternity hospital, if the baby categorically fails to suck mother's milk or a bottle. In this case, it is possible to cut the frenulum in the first days of life.

At a later age, according to indications, full-fledged plastic surgeries are performed to correct it. However, at present they are less common, since quite often, in the absence of a serious pathology, it is possible to stretch the frenulum with the help of speech therapy exercises.

How to teach a child to pronounce the letter r: speech therapy exercises

So, articulatory gymnastics is the best prevention for a clear and beautiful sound [p]. Performing them, the baby prepares the muscles of the articulatory apparatus for pronouncing it.

Classes, we remind you, you need to select individually. We will only give a few popular training exercises. They can be started from the age of 2.5 years and they, in particular, are aimed at stretching the hyoid frenulum. Don't forget to put a mirror in front of your baby!

Cup. A wide tongue with high raised side edges turns into a "cup". Hold the “cup” with your mouth open as long as possible. At the same time, the tongue stretches to the upper lip.
"Mushroom". Smile, open your mouth. The tongue, with its upper surface, sticks to the palate, as if sticking. The lower jaw drops, and the hyoid frenulum turns into a "mushroom" leg. It is important to ensure that the lips are stretched in a smile, and the adhesion is symmetrical, and the "mushroom" is kept in the mouth for as long as possible.
"Accordion". This exercise is a more advanced version of the Mushroom. In the initial “fungus” position, the lower jaw descends and rises with maximum amplitude. The frenulum is stretched, and the tongue does not come off the palate.

Each exercise is repeated 5 times in one session. Excellent muscle training for the development of the articulatory apparatus.

And for a snack - tongue twisters:

Three magpies chattered on the hill.
The ram-buyan climbed into the weeds.
All beavers are kind to their cubs.

How to teach to say the letter p and not make mistakes

"The initiative is punishable" - this truth fully applies to the attempts of parents to independently put the sound [p] into a child with speech therapy problems. If at the same time they are in no hurry to consult a specialist, the result is deplorable.

There can be many speech therapy nuances and they are not visible to the "naked" eye. For example, the root of the tongue may be in hypertonicity. The specialist, having identified this problem, first removes the tone with the help of exercises and only then proceeds to setting the sound.

The habit of pronouncing the sound incorrectly is fixed instantly. And retraining is always more difficult! How to learn to say the letter r if the child suffers from sound pronunciation disorders, for example, burr? Only a specialist can remake the defective sound [r]! In the absence of serious pathologies, it will take a speech therapist 3 months to set up the sound [r], after which automation will begin (automatic pronunciation, without thoughtfulness). Such a long period (it takes 1-2 months for other sounds) is associated with the laborious process of preparing the articulatory apparatus for the pronunciation of sonors.

How to pronounce the letter p (r) in English

In Russian, [r] is literally “growling”. When pronouncing, the tongue touches the palate close to the lips and vibrates strongly - we growl.

In English, [r] is pronounced much softer, one might say, burr. The tongue does not touch the palate, it is pushed back a little and makes light vibrations. This, of course, is not a French grazing, but it is not a booming "Russian roar" either. When learning English “from the cradle”, for example, in a bilingual family, both parents should study the sound formation of sonors especially. To pronounce the sound [r], you need to move the tip of the tongue to the middle of the sky. Between the palate and the tip of the tongue there should be a gap through which air will go. At the same time, the tongue takes the form of a “boat”. An important point: it is not relaxed, but tense to avoid vibration. More precisely, only the vocal cords vibrate.

Amy Krolewiecka, Director of Education Programs, Novakid
, an online English language platform for children

By the way, the Americans and the British, the owners of the classical pronunciation, [r] speak differently.