Play dough is a wonderful sensory experience for children and one that most will thoroughly enjoy.

Today we're combining a couple of our favourite tactile materials 

with an easy way to practice Name Recognition, Letters and Spelling. 

This activity is also great for promoting fine motor skills and can also be used to focus

on colours and patterns.

Ages: 2-6+

(Maddie is currently 3.5. See the Handy Tips at the bottom of the post to either Simplify or Extend this activity)

Materials: Playdough, Pompoms, Rolling Pin and Pencil

Roll out the playdough and using the pencil, write in your child's name

Start covering the lines with pompoms to show your child what to do. We used mini pompoms here.

Children place the pompoms to cover the lines to spell out their name using their pincer grip. 

Add tweezers for an added challenge.

Pom-pom name. Discuss the letters and order. 

Use to practice single letters

Using larger pompoms

Handy Tips:

- To simplify this activity, start with single letters, such as the first letter of your child's name. Using larger pompoms will be easier for less advanced fine motor skills as they are easier to grab. When teaching single letters try to start with letters that have meaning to them (like the first letter of their name) and letters that generally have only 1 sound (eg S, M, F etc)

- To extend this activity, have your child do the writing in the play dough with the pencil. You could always do a very faint outline and have your child trace over the top to make the lines themselves if they're not confident at letter formation

- To begin again, simply scrunch the dough back into a ball and re-roll out.

- Use this same idea for teaching sight words or numbers

- Mix it up by providing different materials to cover the lines with such as beans or beads etc.

- Include further areas of learning by talking about and focusing on covering each letter with a particular colour or by encouraging simple patterns.

Want more ideas for Learning Letters?

Try our most popular and comprehensive post ever on the subject: The A-Z of Learning Letters. 90+ Activities

or, try making some fun Alphabet Goo!

How about some different fun Learning with Playdough?

Our Playdough Imprints. Texture and Pattern Exploration activity was really fun

or, how about this fun Invitation to Play with playdough and some other materials?

Happy playing,
Debs :)

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Letters are everywhere! It's no wonder that often long before children start school they will start talking about, noticing and questioning about letters.

For parents, it can sometimes be hard to know when is the best time to start teaching your child about letters and how to go about it?

When to start "teaching" your child about letters?

I believe that Children need to be exposed to letters, through reading books with their parents, from birth. The entirety of their lives should be filled with books, words and text and learning about letters should be as much a part of everyday life as brushing your teeth.

Children will be learning about letters long before you intentionally set up activities or expose them to any explicit or purposeful teaching of letters.

You should know when your child is ready to start learning more about letters by them showing interest. Asking what a letter is, what sound a letter makes, what a word says, pointing out letters, recognising particular letters, attempting to write etc. are all signs that your child might be ready to learn more about letters.

How do I teach my child about Letters?

There are so many different "methods" and "programs" out there on the *best* way to teach Children the letters. Let's face it though, each child will learn and respond differently. Some will pick it up very quickly with minimum exposure and others will need multiple exposures before they have consolidated the learning.

At around the age of 5-6 most children will be attending/completing a more formal schooling where they will more than likely be taught about letters (recognising them, naming them, their sounds, their shapes, their blends, writing them, building words etc). Therefore, your job before this time is recognising their interests and readiness and providing FUN and ENGAGING ways for your child to learn more about letters. I believe that forcing learning at this stage will only lead to your child resenting learning. 

• Starting with the first letter/letters in their Name can be a good beginning point as your child will often be the most interested in knowing that. Having them recognise their own name is also a handy skill!

• Letters that have only one sound (eg M, F, S etc) can also be easier for your child to learn about.

• Adding in knowledge about vowels (a, e, i, o, u) early on can be useful as well as you require these letters for word building.

Above all, make it FUN and don't force it.

Here are "90+ FUN Activities to Help your Child Learn Everything there is to know about Letters"

Alphabet Order Game [Learn with Play] Actions for Early Literacy [Playdough to Plato] Alphabet Soup [Malimoo]  Alphabet Boxes DIY [Smiling like Sunshine]

Bottle Caps ABCs [Boy Mama Teacher Mama]  Alphabet Bath learning [Momma Fun World] Alphabet Ball [Playdough to Plato] Sensory Word Building Blocks [Critters and Crayons] Monster Box Phonics [The Iowa Farmer's Wife]

ABC Cup Hunt [Playdough to Plato] Alphabet Cookies [Red Ted Art] Coloured Salt Letter Writing [The Imagination Tree] Candy Cane Letters Printable [The Activity Mom]

DIY Salt Tray for Beginning Writers [In Lieu of Preschool] Digging up the Letters of our Name [Teach Preschool] Salt Dough Initials [The Imagination Tree] Decorating Cupcakes with Literacy Skills [Learn with Play at home] Dr Seuss ABC Book [Preschool Book Club]

Egg Drop Alphabet Soup [No Twiddle Twaddle] Easy Letter Reversal Solution [Come Together Kids]

Foam Alphabet Painting [Mommas Fun World] Find and Match Alphabet [The Activity Mom] Fine Motor Letter Recognition [Rainbows Within Reach] First Letter Sounds Activity [Crayon Freckles] Freight Train Letter Practice [Inspiration Laboratories]

Alphabet Goo [Learn with Play at home] Giant Chalk Letters on Fence [JDaniel4's Mom] Gross Motor Letters [3 Dinosaurs] Glitter Letters [Mommy with Selective Memory]

Handprint Alphabet [Red Ted Art] Hopscotch Name Spelling Game [In Lieu of Preschool] Hunt and Match Alphabet [Reading Confetti] Hand Stamps. Letter of the Day [In Lieu of Preschool]

Ice Letter Hunt [Reading Confetti] Playdough Letter Impressions [The Imagination Tree] Alphabet Identification Game [Kids Activities Blog] Letter Identification Fun [Lovely Little Bookworms]

Jumping Alphabet Mat Game [Mama Peapod] Letter Jars [Fun in the Making]

Kinderwebgames Online Letter Identification Game [Kinderwebgames ]

Letter Writing in Salt [Learn with Play at home] Light Bright Letters [Growing a Jeweled Rose] Writing Large Letters  [Playdough to Plato] List of Alphabet Books [My Little Bookcase] Letter Matching [Creative Playhouse]

Milk Caps Spelling [Crayon Freckles] Alphabet Matching Centre [Mommas Fun World] Mosaic Board Letters [In Lieu of Preschool] Magnetic Letter Painting [Growing a Jeweled Rose] ABC Mat Game [Hands on as we Grow]

Noisy Letter Jump Phonics Game [The Imagination Tree] Fun Name Spelling Ideas [Playdough to Plato]

Outdoor Sound Sort [Playdough to Plato] Outside Alphabet Game [My Little Bookcase] Alphabet Olympics [Playdough to Plato]

Phonics Seeking Game [A Little Learning for two] Playdough Letter Printing [Playdough to Plato] Alphabet Parking Lot. Letter Identification [Crayon Freckles] Push Light Letter Learning [A Little Learning for two]

Quite a lot of Alphabet Printables! [3 Dinosaurs] Quick Letter Puzzle [The Activity Mom]

Rice Play. Find the Hidden Letters [Learn with Play at home] Reading Race! [Playdough to Plato] Alphabet Reverse Stencils [Mama Pea Pod] Read My Mind Letter Game [Playdough to Plato] Alphabet Rocks [The Activity Mom]

Letter Sounds Spray [Train up a Child] Dr Seuss ABC [Train up a Child] Sticker Chart Alphabet [In Lieu of Preschool] Sensory Style Alphabet Learning [Growing a Jeweled Rose] Letter Scavenger Hunt [Hands on as we Grow] Sorting Letters [Glittering Muffins]

Alphabet Tree (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) [Mommas Fun World] Letter Treasure Maps [Reading Confetti] Teaching your child the Alphabet [Boy Mama Teacher Mama] Train Set Letter Play [Inspiration Laboratories]

Upper case and Lower case Letters [The Activity Mom]  Uncover Whiteboard Marker Covered Letters [A Little Learning for two] Using your Body to make Letters [The Activity Mom]

Vintage Style Alphabet Cards Printable [The Handmade Home] Very Cool Highway/Road Printable Letters [Making Learning Fun] Video to Learn the Alphabet [kindersay]

Writing with Water on the Chalkboard [Learn with Play at home] Letter of the Week [Teach Preschool]  25 Ways to get your child ready to Write [In Lieu of Preschool] Writing in Salt [Teach Preschool]

EXploring with Letters [The Activity Mom]

A Year Long Study of the Alphabet [Teach Preschool] Yarn Letters on Sandpaper [JDaniel4's Mom] Funny Youtube Alphabet Song [DJC Kids Media]

Letter Z Song [Kiboomu Kids Songs] The ABCs Zoo online Learning Game [Fisher Price] Zoo Animals Alphabet Video [Christie Abbott1]

I hope you found a great activity (or 2, or 3...) to help your child learn their letters.

If you have any more Letter Learning posts that you would like to share with us, you're welcome to leave them in the comments.


Happy playing and learning,
Debs :)

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The other day, I was reminded by this post from TeachPreschool about the simplest, no-mess, no-fuss, fine motor activity that is, painting with water on a chalk board.

Sounds easy? You bet! And you'll probably be surprised by how long children will focus on an activity as simple as this.

So, you will need a chalkboard/blackboard, chalk, water and a paintbrush

Start by writing patterns, words, numbers etc. on the chalkboard with chalk for your child.,

Early handwriting practice normally starts with basic patterns like those you see above. Zigzags, waves, swirls, squiggles, dashes, dots, etc.

 Practicing fine motor skills and coordination to follow the chalk line with the water-dipped paintbrush.

These sort of flowing movements and control over lines etc. are the starting point for being able to write letters

Once your child has had a few goes of tracing your patterns and designs, let them try their own.

Here she discovered that the faster you go, the less accurate you are.

Practicing lower case letters for some added letter recognition

Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by simply playing "make the chalk disappear." Draw simple shapes and lines for your child to paint over. You could demonstrate how to paint just over the chalk or just let them remove it in any way they can

-Extend this activity by putting more of an emphasis on staying on the lines. If practicing handwriting letters, try indicating where your child should start painting the letter from so that they start to learn proper formation. For letter recognition, sing the alphabet song while painting to figure out which letter you're up to or let your child paint off all the letters they can name first etc.

- Make a maze on the chalkboard and paint your way through it

- Show your child how to wipe the excess water off the paintbrush before painting on the chalkboard so that the water doesn't run down your board.

- Try without chalk. Just painting on the blackboard with water is still tons of fun for kids!

- If you liked this idea, perhaps you would like our DIY Writing Board :)

- Looking for more Early Literacy Ideas? Have a look at our 5 Easy and FUN Ideas for encouraging drawing, writing and creating with your young child.

Debs :)

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For Grandpa's birthday we decided to bake him some cupcakes. When they were done, I thought we'd include just a little more learning into the activity with the decorating by creating this little decorating station.

Mini cupcakes (made first by Madeline), chocolate icing (with kiddy knife for spreading), A writing icing pen and variety of toppings

Practicing fine motor skills and hand eye coordination to ice the cupcakes

A baking tray with magnetic letters to spell out the word for the cupcakes. 

You could use any word, ("Congratulations", "Happy Birthday", "Love" etc)

You or your child could pipe on the letters (depending on their level). Take the time to talk about them. 

Can your child recognise any of the letters? Where have they seen them before? What sound do they make?

Practicing pincer grip to put little silver balls on a letter

Being creative. Making a smiley face from mini marshmallows

Having a turn at the piping

Cupcakes made with love and learning by a 3 year old. A yummy handmade gift for a loved one.

Handy Tips

- You and your child can make the cupcakes together before the decorating.

- Simplify this activity by not putting such a great emphasise on the letters and by focusing more on the creativity and fine motor skills

- Extend this activity by having your child write the letters on themselves. Depending on their ability they could sound out the spelling of the word themselves

- Continue to talk with your child about the methods they are using and the easiest ways to do them. Remember that practice makes perfect!

- Include the correct vocabulary for the techniques etc to help extend their vocabulary and understanding

- Use this time to talk about "Sometimes foods" and "Everyday foods" Cupcakes are a sometimes food.

- Letting your children help with the cooking from an early age holds incredible learning opportunities. From important maths concepts (such as timing, measuring, counting, comparing, weighing etc.) to learning safety skills, processes, healthy food choices, vocabulary, organisation and much more. Get them in the kitchen as early as you can and start stimulating their senses and letting them learn through observation.

Debs :)

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