Let the games begin! My 5 year-old twins are just beginning to learn how to read! They’re on step one: Learning the letters and corresponding sounds. We’re using my phonics curriculum: Ready for Reading (I created it especially for them and other homeschool families after years of teaching my other 4 children to read and teaching 2nd grade.) The curriculum does not teach the letters in alphabetical order–but it does start with the letter a…So here’s a look at all the fun things we did to celebrate the Letter A! Fun (but SIMPLE) crafts, activities, and worksheets that you can do without much prep!
Letter A is for Apple
We took full advantage of the fall season to dive into apples…But honestly–apples work great as a Letter A theme year-round!
We started with Sensory Play!
Sensory Play: Apple Pie
We made this apple cloud dough and pretended to make apple pies!
It’s a super simple 3-Ingredient Recipe:
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
- Apple Pie Spice (Add to your heart’s content!)
After we made the apple dough, we set up to “bake our pies.”
Here’s what we used:
- Brown felt cut into strips
- Glitter Shakers (I found these empty containers by the glitter at my craft store)
- Sequins (our “spices”…I chose red and gold)
- Plastic Plates and Bowls
- Spoons
- Red, Green, and Yellow Pom Poms
And then I let the girls get “baking”…
Taste Test
If you want less mess and zero prep…Perhaps the simplest Apple Activity–A Taste Test! (Which my picky-eaters actually really enjoyed!)
I made a point to grab 4 different apple varieties at the grocery store. I cut them up, and we all sampled…(It turned out to be a great vocabulary activity filled with comparison words and adjectives!)
Apple Tree Prints
With our extra apples from the test taste, I cut apples in half to make “apple stamps.” Then I gave the girls paper plates filled with tempera paint–green, red, yellow, and orange.
I painted tree trunks for the girls and showed them how we could use the stamps to create apple trees. They got right to it!
After the paintings dried, we added sequins and gold letter A stickers to our apple trees! Easy peasy, Sweet Friends!
Practicing the Letter A
I love to use sand trays when introducing a new letter…My kids always love to practice writing new letters in the sand…(The girls are partial to purple sand!) I just made my trays from supplies off Amazon.
- Lunch Tray (like these BonBon Fast Food Serving Lunch Cafeteria Trays)
- Colored Sand (I use Fun Express Rainbow Craft Sand)
After they practiced writing the letter a…It was time to find it! These worksheets are whimsical, and my girls enjoy spotting all the different ways a letter can look! (You can find them in my curriculum: Ready for Reading)
Apple Books
Throughout the week we read some fantastic books! Here are my favorites:
Ten Apples Up On Top by Dr. Seuss (I love this for counting…It’s such an easy way to incorporate math skills into this theme!)
Apples by Gail Gibbons (Gail Gibbons illustrations are always so engaging! This book explains pollination and also shares about apple pies–which went perfectly with our sensory play activity!)
The great news is there are a ton of apple books available at the library! I just order online and then pick-up while I’m out running errands (we even have a drive-thru)!
Keep It Simple and Fun!
Use what you have and keep it simple and fun! Remember little ones learn best through play! These hands-on Letter A activities will help get your kids excited about learning!
With Love,
Jen xo
