Planet Mom's Alphabet Ideas

Hi, I'm Planet Mom and I wanted to share with you some ideas for making learning the alphabet more fun for your kids. I've divided my alphabet resources into sections for easy navigation.

First, you'll find Online Alphabet Activities. These are links to games and activities provided by LearningPlanet.com and others.

Next, you'll see Offline Alphabet Activities like coloring pages to print for each letter and abc games to play away from your computer.

Last, you'll find sections for Toys and Books where I've suggested some fun products for making the abc's more fun for your child. Each item is linked to Amazon.com for your convenience if you want a better description or would like to purchase the toy or book. I hope you'll find something in this alphabet resource section that is helpful and makes learning a great experience.

[Online Activities] | [Offline Activities] | [Toys] | [Books]

For our subscribers, Alphabet Action is a LearningPlanet.com game that helps children begin recognizing letter names in an entertaining and interactive way. Play it with your child the first few times through. As you click on a letter, it will tell the letter name & show an object beginning with that letter. It does not say the name of the object because we've found children like to be able to name it themselves (and we don't want you to wait forever to load the game!) You can take a few seconds on each letter to reinforce the letter name by saying it yourself and making sure your child can name the object correctly.

ABC Order is a LearningPlanet.com game with a train theme that helps children review the alphabet and learn the order of the letters. In this game, your child will be shown the letters a through j and will be given a train car containing barrels on it. For example, the barrels will be labeled "d e _ " They'll be asked "What comes next?" and should click on the correct answer on the barrels below. You should point out to them that they can find the d and e barrel below and see which one is next. The focus changes to other groups of letters as the game progresses. It also has levels where the child will have to select the first or middle letter that is missing from the three letter sequence.

Learn the Sign Language Alphabet

Play Alphabet Soup at Kayleigh's Playground and find items starting with each letter.

The Virtual Alphabet contains "piggy-backed" songs. I love these! These songs are new words written to familiar tunes. This site also provides links to other places on the web related to each letter.

Mrs. Alphabet has a free newsletter full of great ideas. You'll also find links to games and activities, ideas for things to glue on each letter, fun ways to practice the letter of the week, and more.

Alphabuddies Alphabet Ideas is a part of DLTK's Crafts for Kids. This site offers ideas for crafts related to each letter as well as corresponding activities and food ideas. The crafts are simple and many use toilet paper tubes. Check out the main page for more craft ideas for kids.

For our subscribers, find Alphabet Action and click the Print icon. This allows yout to access our Printable Alphabet Coloring Pages and print out a letter for your child to color. Find stickers of items that begin with that letter, or cut out pictures and glue them to the page.

Play "I Spy" alphabet style to help review what sounds the letters make. Set out some toys or household objects beginning with different letters and say "I spy with my little eye, something that begins with /buh/." Don't just say letter B, but make its sound /buh/ so they can learn the sound it makes.

Alphabet Blocks are fun to stack and are a great way to sneak in some teaching while you play with your child. They also have numbers and math symbols on the other sides for help with easy math.

I Spy A is for... 63 piece jigsaw puzzle

Wooden alphabet puzzle that has a picture of something beginning with that letter under each letter.

Magnetic Alphabet These are great for practicing letter recognition and a fun hands-on way to learn the letter names and sounds. They are also great for beginning spelling.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Dr. Seuss's ABC Hardcover

Dr. Seuss's ABC book & cassette

ABC Bunny
by Wanda Gag
Look for this delightful alphabet book in your local library. It is currently out of stock at Amazon, but you may be able to find it elsewhere. This classic ABC picture book was a Newberry Medal Honor Book in 1934.

I Spy: An Alphabet in Art by Lucy Micklethwait

This book has the basic idea of the traditional "I Spy" game, but each two page spread contains a famous painting with an object hidden that begins with that letter. The book contains artwork by artists such as Renoir, Vermeer, Picasso, Rousseau, Van Eyck, Botticelli, Matisse, Seurat and more. This book would be a good way to expose your little one to art without venturing out to your local art museum. Be advised that I had a hard time finding some of the items & at the end discovered an answer key. Be a step ahead of your kids, and read the key first. Check at your local library or click here to buy it from Amazon.com.