Books to Grow On Related Activities Fingerplays

Books to Grow On
Alphabet
Contents
Books
Q is for Duck:
An Alphabet Guessing Game
Mary Elting
The Turn Around Upside Down
Alphabet Book
Lisa Campbell Ernst
O is for Orca: An Alphabet Book
Andrea Helman
26 Letters and 99 Cents
Tana Hoban
Kipper’s A to Z
Mick Inkpen
Alphabatics
Suse MacDonald
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Bill Martin
Ashanti To Zulu
Margaret Musgrove
The Graphic Alphabet
David Pelletier
Dr. Seuss’s ABC
Dr. Seuss
Adult Resource Book
Alphabet Art:
With A to Z Animal Art & Fingerplays
Judy Press
Compact Discs
Alphabet Jam
Cathy Bollinger
Can A Jumbo Jet Sing the Alphabet
Hap Palmer
Here Come the ABCs
They Might Be Giants
DVDs
Related Activities
Fingerplays
Alphabet Song
(Tune: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”)
A-B-C-D-E-F-G
H-I-J-K
L-M-N-O-P
Q-R-S
T-U-VW-X-Y and Z.
Now I know my A-B-C’s
Next time won’t you
sing along with me?
Traditional
“A, B, C”
A is for apples we love to eat,
(form circle with hands)
B is for books we wear on our feet,
(point to feet)
C is for candy that tastes so sweet.
(lick lips)
Elizabeth McKinnon
A is for Alligator
A is for alligator, chomp,
chomp, chomp.
(move arms like an
alligator chomping)
B is for Bouncing, hop, hop, hop.
(jump up and down)
C is for Circle, around and around.
(spin around)
D is when we all sit Down!
(sit down)
Sing Hurray for A!
(Tune: “Farmer in the Dell”)
Let’s sing hurray for A,
Let’s sing hurray for A,
Let’s sing hurray for A today
Let’s sing hurray for A.
Apple starts with A,
Asparagus starts the same way,
Let’s sing hurray for A today,
Let’s sing hurray for A.
(continue with any letter
of the alphabet)
Fun and Games
Name Game
After sharing 26 Letters and 99
Cents, have each child come
up with something that starts
with the same letter as their
first name. It may be easier to
choose a theme to get them
started (e.g. animals, foods, etc.).
Letter Match
Print simple words from
Alphabatics onto index
cards. Place the cards and a
set of alphabet blocks or any
representation of the letters
on a table. Let the children
chose a word card then have
them find the letters that
match to create the word.
The Alphabet Zoo
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
Toys
Coconut Tree Felt Set
Alphabet Egg Puzzles Felt Set
Continued...
Rev. 4/2010
Body Alphabet
Ask the children to use their
bodies to make the following
letters; I, L, J, N Y. Encourage
them to explore working together
to make the letters like M that
require more than one person.
Play Dough Letters
Give the children play dough and
show them how to roll the dough
to make long snakes. Show them
how they can use the rolled dough
to create a chosen letter. Playing
with play dough is not only a
favorite preschool alphabet activity,
it also helps develop the fine motor
skills necessary for writing. If the
child is unfamiliar with the letter,
you can write it out for them on a
piece of paper.
Alphabet Go Fish
Use a set of picture cards (or make
them using 3x5 cards and pictures
cut from magazines) and group
them by the first sound in the
word. The words you use should
be simple and familiar to your
child. Be sure that the printed
word appears on the card so that
you can point out that they all
start with same letter. At first, use
only two sounds. Later, after your
child is better at this task you can
increase the number of sounds
to categorize. Finally, you can
make the game involve many
sounds by playing “go fish” with
the initial sounds of words.
Create a shuffled “deck” from the
picture cards (making sure that
there are at least two of each
beginning sound). Give you and
your child each five to seven cards
and then take turns trying to
create pairs by asking the other
player if her or his hand includes
a card with a specific first sound
(e.g., “Do you have a “b?”). When
the player has that card, the
opponent gets to create a pair;
otherwise, the opponent gets
to “go fish” for a match in the
deck. Continue the game until
one player has eliminated all of
the cards in her or his hand. The
player with the most pairs wins.
Hands-On Letter
Exploration
Cut out alphabet letters from
a variety of materials, such as
sandpaper or felt and then let
the children trace them with
their fingers. You can also “write”
the letters on the carpet with
masking tape for the children to
walk around or trace. Children
can also write the letters in sand,
shaving cream, finger paints or
pudding. This alphabet activity
is great for kinesthetic learners.
Flash Light Letters
Get a flashlight and dim the
lights in the room. Using the
flashlight, make giant letters
on the wall. Have the child
name the letters that you make.
Children can also trace letters
on the wall with the flashlight.
Alphabet Hunt
Go on an alphabet hunt. Search
the house or neighborhood for
things that begin with a certain
letter. Take pictures of the items
and make a poster or book.
We hope you enjoy this
theme kit!
Each Books to Grow On theme
kit includes books, a curriculum
packet and other library materials
related to a specific subject. These
kits have been designed to use
with preschool age children. We
recommend that you review each
item in the kit before you share
it with your children. We also
encourage you to return the kit to
your local library as soon as you
are finished so we can make it
available to others.
960 Newport Way NW
Issaquah, WA 98027
425.369.3323
1.877.905.2009 Ext. 3323
www.kcls.org