Preparing for school – letters in the air

We’re talking about literacy this week as part of getting ready for K through play series to help with preparing for school – whether this is the ABC’s, Phonics, Books or reading. In the UK there is no requirement that children will know their ABC’s before they enter school and much of the first year will be spent reviewing the basic phonemes and introducing blended sounds as well as teaching children to read through this knowledge.

However a knowledge of letters is always good and teaching them how they look and are formed is part of that, getting moving and making the letters will help those learners that work best by doing things and this is a very simple activity to do with children to review their letter knowledge and can be easily adapted as we did for my older one for words and for a younger friend for shapes (I know not technically literacy but the shapes will form part of the letters that he learns later).

Check out these other fun ways to learn the alphabet with our Fun and Simple Alphabet Activities for Toddlers and Preschoolers.

What you need for letters in the air

A set of letters (either cards or even magnetic letters)
2 or more people

Making letters in the air

With 2 people 1 lays down on the floor with their legs in the air this is the letter maker, the other person stands at their head end so that they can see the letters that they make the right way round.

The laying down person picks a letter (J was able to randomly chose a letter whereas T needed the letters to help jog her memory of the ABC’s) and then with their feet they write the letter in the air.

The person standing has to then work out what letter they are writing in the air. Then they swap positions.

Alphabet activities like this are perfect to include in a preschool morning basket. Find out how easy it is to set one up and other ideas that you can include in yours.

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