Do you have any children in the group whose names start with those letters? If so, a photo of them would be good and would make the book more personal to them. Also, think about photos of items in your classroom setting that might work.

For j, use the front of a jello box. You could cut one out of a grocery ad so it wouldn’t be so bulky. For e, use a photo of an egg or egg carton. I’m sure you could draw a cute ice cream cone for i, or an ice cube. How about a lollipop or lemon for L. For o you could use a picture of an orange from a magazine or grocery ad, or draw a cute octopus. Q is a hard one. Maybe a queen or a quilt. For u I would draw a colorful umbrella, or a table with a child under it! (Use an arrow to show under.) V could be a valentine or one of those little heart candies. or I bet you could find a cartoon-like drawing of a vulture on the internet. X, hmmm, that’s a tough one. Cut out a picture of a xylophone from a toy catalog, and make an x-ray drawing of a rib cage or skeleton. And z is easy. Glue an old zipper on that page! And maybe cut out a picture of a zebra from a magazine. Oh, and one more thought, use some numbers whenever possible. Like for o, use a one, and for e use eleven.

(I love doing this kind of stuff! Hope I was helpful!)

I made alphabet pages and put them in a binder with a velcro strip on the page. In the front of the book was a pocket with pictures of things that start with the different letters of the alphabet. These pictures had a spot of velcro on the back. The children could use this in small groups (they learn well in threes). I also made alphabet boards (11 x 14) and had my son come up with something that started with that letter sound, then I would draw the picture and he would color it in. We then used the finished boards to “study” from. We had French Fries for “F”, etc…

e – elephants

j – jungle

i – ice cream

l – lollypop

o – octopus

q – queen

u – umbrella

v – violin

x – x-ray

z – zebra

Asked the kids a few days in advance, to bring in a picture of something starting with the next letter or small objects that start with the next letter.

So if you get let’s say A, B, and C ready you can send a note home asking for things starting with D, then E, and so on. The kids will love contributing and it saves you time and money.

Preschool age children learn letters that have personal meaning for them, first. So they will need to individually learn the letters in their names first, beginning with the first letter. Make sure each child has a sturdy, laminated name card that they can use whenever they want to. They can use it to find their name on the sign in sheet or to help them find their chair. Michael and Mary will learn their M first. Oh, you both start with M? Well lets see what comes next! (Great opportunity to teach both of them the letters A and I.) Encourage them to trace or copy their name from their card on the back of the picture they just drew so you won’t “forget” who made that nice picture! Use the name cards for a transition activity. Hold up a card and say this person will wash their hands next? At first you will have to point out that it starts with M. Emphasize the MMM sound. Soon, some of them will start to come up with Michael and Mary’s names and you can say Good, Johnny! How did you know it says Mary? Oh, because you saw the M and the A? Good, you read her name! Some will catch on quicker than others. Keep them moving along. If they recognize their names, help them to recognize their friends’ names, then color words, labels on toys, etc. If you’re working on M this week, use it all the way across the curriculum. Encourage them to paint M, find M in magazines and newspapers, draw an M and color it or collage it. Help them to find the word mom (there’s a word that will have personal meaning to most of them!), count the M’s they see in the classroom or on a page of a story, build an M with blocks, put shaving cream on the table so they can make M with their finger, and encourage them to make M in the sand table. Don’t just sing the ABC’s, because then it’s just a song. Let the kids take turns using a pointer to point to each letter as they sing the song together. Children learn in different ways, so the more variety in the experiences you provide for them, the more of them will catch on! Keep reviewing. When you’re done with M, don’t forget about it next week when you’re doing D. Point out M from time to time: Oh, look, I see M. Remember we talked about that last week?

Ok first things first…..PRESCHOOL and BUTTONS don’t mix….if it is SMALL and you are working with children BELOW 1st Grade go with something Larger (kids are quick and no amount of glue can stop them).

Try cutting the letters out of different materials (sandpaper,carpet,slik,burlap, etc)……. make a collage for each letter…..here are some ideas for your different letters…

Ee> elephant nose to wear, sing ‘Do your Ears hang low’

Jj> jello painting (spray with hairspray after it is dry to preserve it and keep out the bugs),,jellbean pictures(made with real jellybeans), jam picture, jumprope

Ii> make paper ice cream cones, make paper igloos, get a bunch of boxes and let them make a play igloo, paper icecles, icepops

Ll> lemonade, lemon painting,lemon prints, lion masks,paper ladder, play with legos

Oo> make orange juice, orange prints, paint a paper orange, pretent to be Ostriches or Octopus, create Octopus arms to wear, onion prints

Qq> queen crowns, quicksand (cornstarch and water), be ducks and eat ‘quackers’ with water, quack like a duck, show them a porcipine quill and a writing quill, let them make their own quill by attaching a feather to a pencil, make a eggcarton porcipine or hedgehog and use toothpicks as the quills (explain that a porcipine can shoot his quills but a hedgehog can’t)

Uu> Unicorn horns (white clay rolled into 3 seperate ‘snakes’ and then wound round each other),show them a Ukelele (sp??)

Vv> plant violets that they can take home, create a vase using a plastic liter sized coke bottle and masking tape and shoe polish, play violin music, create a vacuum (table tennis ball and a plastic 2 liter bottle)

Xx> create a fake Xray, show them a real x-ray (check with a dentist or hospital as they may be able to let you have one or loan one to you), play a xylophone and let the kids play with it

Zz> zebra mask, play with a zipper,zoom around the room (or outside).

If you are going to use apples, how about making apple prints and telling them about the star in the center of the apple and how it got there.

Good luck

Dollar Tree every thing is a dollar. you could get zoo, farm animals, Stickers.

Lion, elephant, Eskimos, zebras, octopus, jacks game, quarters. Ideas for your basket. they have small plastic toys at the dollar tree or in the cheap toy area at walmart. you could also have them make cookies or playdoh cookies in alphabet shapes.

cma_lady6720

Try making letters cut them out and ask them to make it into something see how creative they are make sure that the thing the decorate it like starts with the letter

i did the same sort of thing at my kinder….. each week we focussed on a different letter and the children would have to bring something in starting with that letter…..i found it easier to cut out pictures of items…….egg, elephants…jelly, jam, etc… best to get some good ideas by the abc posters in shops that have pics for each letter….. flick through assorted magazines to get some ideas….. buttons are fine to use as long as the chilren aren’t under three…….

igloo, ice, icecream……. lion, ladder, lolly pop……octopus, orange, ostrich…..queen, quill, ……umbrella, under, up, ……..violin, viper, vase……..xray, xylophone…….zebra, zoo, zip, …………..

good luck……

well have each letter be sorrounded by a anamal or a color or a food that starts with that letter.