As you probably know, I was a Kindergarten teacher for three years! I loved teaching kiddos new concepts, and one of my favorite things to teach is letters! Letter naming is such an important foundational skill needed for learning how to read. I don’t do anything formally with Gracie at this point, but here are a few games I use at home with minimal to no prep that help her learn her letters. Keep reading to see three easy letter games for toddlers.
Three Easy Letter Games for Toddlers
QUICK TIPS FOR TEACHING LETTER GAMES FOR TODDLERS:
Before I share the activities, I want to share these helpful tips.
1 // STOCK UP
Since these activities have such quick prep, make sure you have these supplies stocked in your craft bin at all times! That way, when you’re in a bind, you aren’t missing anything! Each activity only requires three things 🙂
2 // MODEL
Carefully model each activity that you start. Don’t give your child the supplies and then let them figure it out. Modeling new tasks is the easiest and most effective way to teach a child how to do something new!
3 // I DO, WE DO, YOU DO METHOD
Start by doing the activity yourself. (I do.) Then have them do it with you. Pick up a sticker and say, “hm, where should I put this R?” Have them direct you with their voice. (We do.) Then let them try it independently but still have you nearby to help if needed. (You do.) As a former teacher, I swear by this method! You’ll find you start naturally doing it in all aspects of life!
1 // Dot Sticker Name Tracing
This is SO easy to prep. When I’m in a bind, I grab these supplies and write Grace’s name, (or our family’s names too) and it keeps her busy!
What You Need:
-dot stickers
-construction paper
-sharpie
How to Play:
Take a few pieces of construction paper (I got 5 for each letter in Grace’s name) and write one letter on each sheet. Then on the dot stickers, simply write out the letter’s of your child’s name, out of order. (I wrote each letter 5-6 times, so that’s 5-6 stickers per sheet of construction paper). The more you do, the longer your child will keep busy! Have your child find the letters and match them to the construction paper sheets on the wall. See the photos below.
2 // Dot Sticker Name Tracing
This one is great for names, shapes, numbers. You can even draw pictures (for instance a mountain) and have them trace the jagged lines with stickers. Easy peasy.
What You Need:
-dot stickers
-construction paper
-sharpie
How to Play:
Write your child’s name with a sharpie on a piece of construction paper. Give them colorful dot stickers (or any stickers) and have them “trace” their name with the stickers!
3 // Recycled Box Matching
Before you recycle those Amazon boxes, grab a sharpie and some dot stickers and make it a game for your littles! I do this game for letters. Numbers. Shapes. You can even do sight words if your little one is in school-age!
What You Need:
-dot stickers
-sharpie
-small box
How to Play:
Simply write out the alphabet (or shapes or numbers) onto the box out of order. Write the same letters you wrote on the box on a sheet of dot stickers. Have your child take the dot sticker and “hunt” for it on the box! The amount of satisfaction they get from finding a correct match is just adorable 😉
I hope you enjoyed this post about easy letter games for toddlers. Please consider pinning any of these images so that other families can find this blog post and read it too!
