Everything we do as adults requires literacy skills. From chatting with friends to firing off emails at work, how well we write and speak affects how we lead our lives. 

The problem is, many parents wait until school starts to start teaching literacy skills. Preschoolers are at an age where they can absorb incredible amounts of information. By starting their literacy education early, you are giving them a big head start in life.

You might be wondering how to get your child to sit down and learn the alphabet? Well, we’ve prepared a guide to 10 engaging literacy activities for preschoolers to give you some pointers. 

What are Literacy Activities for Preschoolers?

Literacy activities for preschoolers are fun ways to engage preschool aged children and teach them the building blocks of verbal and written language. 

While they are still too young to learn reading and writing, you can begin teaching them the alphabet and how to associate letters with sounds. Some basic association between letters and objects, like ‘A’ is for apple, can also be possible at this age.

1. Read a Bedtime Story

This is a literacy activity for preschoolers that you probably already do. If your kids can’t get to sleep without the ritual of hearing their favourite story for the hundredth time, that’s a good thing! 

If they love the story, they’re already engaged. That’s the hard part already sorted. Now you simply need to shift from you reading the story, to asking them what happens next, to getting them to help read what comes next. Easy!

2. Sing Their ABC’s

If I was to ask you what letter comes after ‘L’ in the alphabet, how would you know? There are 26 letters in the alphabet, so it’s pretty unlikely you can recall the exact placement of each one. I’m guessing you’d sing your ABCs. 

The ABCs are a mnemonic device that arranges the letters into the melody of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. This allows you to simply sing the song through until you find the letter you needed to know. Teaching your kids to sing their ABCs is a fun way for them to learn literacy skills. 

Oh, and the answer is ‘M’ by the way. 

3. I Spy 

If your child is a little more advanced, you’ll need some more complex literacy activities to hold their attention. You probably played I Spy during long car trips as a child (or as an adult, I’m not judging!). While you mightn’t have thought much of it at the time, there’s actually a lot going on in that game. 

For a young child, having to associate a letter with an object, all within a time limit, is a real test of their literacy skills. Then, if they want to win the game, they need to choose a more obscure object, which means they have to be able to associate multiple things at once. For the mind of a preschooler, that’s like solving a calculus equation!

4. Alphabet Association Baskets

This literacy activity will take a bit of preparation, but it is well worth it when it’s ready. Get yourself a set of alphabet blocks and a bunch of toys. Toys of animals and assorted objects are ideal. The more exciting the toys (bonus points for something cool like dinosaurs), the more fun the activity will be. 

Place baskets on the floor with an alphabet block in each one. Then, get your child to sort through all of the toys on the floor and put them into baskets with corresponding first letters. For instance, they would put a toy horse in the ‘H’ basket, a dog in the ‘D’ basket etc. With so many toys lying about your child is guaranteed to love it. 

5. Knock the Alphabet Toilet Rolls

While people traditionally use cups for this game, to be environmentally conscious I recommend using toilet rolls instead. Not only are they recyclable, but if you decide to save them you’ll find preschooler, ahem, accidents will keep up a steady supply.

Simply write a letter on each one and line them up in a row. Then start knocking them down! Whether you want your child to unlock their inner Ronaldo, or you think tenpin bowling is more up their alley, the goal is the same – knock down those rolls! 

Make the game even more advanced by calling out a letter and seeing if they can hit the corresponding roll. If you’re really generous, include a prize in some of the rolls. 

6. Etch-a-sketch

If only there was a way to make teaching preschoolers how to write letters fun…

Wait.

An etch-a-sketch makes everything more fun! Don’t just trade turns writing letters on a piece of paper. Buy an etch-a-sketch to make learning to write a lot more fun. Unlike crossing or rubbing something out in a workbook, clearing an etch-a-sketch and starting over is actually the fun part!

7. Alphabet Picture Games

This literacy activity for preschoolers is easy and effective because it taps into something they already like doing. Next time they are drawing or painting, guide them by asking them to make a picture of something starting with the letter ‘A’. Then each time get them to do a new letter of the alphabet. 

While most of their drawings probably get a turn on the fridge, or a one-way ticket to ‘your desk at work’,  it’s a good idea to keep these ones displayed somewhere in their room. That way, your kids are building their own visual guide to the alphabet that they can use to help remember. 

8. Feed the Alphabet Monster!

This is one of the most fun activities on the list because it lets you unlock your inner child as well. Take an empty tissue box and turn it into an adorable monster with markers and some wrapping paper. Think Monster’s Inc or Sesame Street – not Pennywise staring out of a storm drain…

Write the alphabet on some colourful paper and cut out the individual letters. Then unveil your little alphabet monster and tell your child it needs to be fed each day. The catch is, it’s incredibly fussy! It’ll only have a craving for one letter each day, and your preschooler will need to learn which letter to put in the box to keep their new friend well-fed.

9. All Aboard the Alphabet Train

This is the perfect literacy activity for preschoolers who love playing with toy trains. Get a toy train track that needs to be assembled in pieces, like a puzzle. Build it and put a sticker on each piece in the order of the alphabet. Then disassemble the track and mix up the pieces. 

Sit down with your kids and tell them the train is leaving the station. But first, the track needs to be fixed. Then, as each piece is found, move the train a bit further along the track to show them their progress. 

This activity is great because it teaches two skills at the same time. It develops fine motor skills because your kids will need to actually build the track, but it also teaches them the alphabet sequence because of how the pieces are labelled. 

10. Writing Family and Friend Names

Writing sentences requires an understanding of how letters and words combine. But some words can be learned purely through repetition. Good words to use as starting points are the names of the people in your family. 

Teaching your child to write their name, and the names of their siblings and friends is a good way to introduce them to more complex literary skills while also having a practical use. Plus, they’ll be so excited at preschool to show their friends that they can write their names. 

Have You Considered a Childcare Centre?

At Little Miracles, we specialise in helping children develop early literacy skills to prepare them for their school years. 

We know how important it is for them to learn these skills early, so we have a range of engaging activities for them to enjoy. 

If you’d like to learn more about Little Miracles childcare centres, visit our website.

To enquire about child care centre vacancies, visit our contact page.