Games to Teach Preschoolers Letters

Memory Games

• Print the letters of the alphabet on a sheet of paper, and cut the letters into squares. Do this twice so you have two of each letter. Place the letters face down and have the children play a game of memory match. If a player finds a match, he goes again. The player with the most letter matches at the end of the game wins. Make the game more difficult by printing uppercase and lowercase matching letters.

  You can also write letters on a chalkboard, and tell the children to look at them. Have them close their eyes, and wipe one letter off the board. Ask the children to open their eyes. The child who tells you the missing letter first wins the game.

Tossing Games

• Write a letter on the outside of several pails. Mark a line 4 feet from the pails. Have the children try to toss the corresponding magnetic letter into the pail. For example, the children must toss the letter "S" into the bucket that has the letter "S" on the front. Award a small prize for each correct match and toss. You can also use alphabet cereal letters instead of magnetic letters.

Letter Hunts

• Hide several magnetic letters around the play area. Call out a letter, and have the students search the play area for the correct letter. The first child to find the correct letter wins a small prize. Instead of magnetic letters, you can print jumbo letters on sheets of paper, cut them out and laminate each one. Use these letters to make the hunt easier for little ones. If the preschoolers are just learning the alphabet, hold up a picture of the letter when you call it out to make it easier for them to search for the correct letter.

Letter Shapes

• Teach preschoolers the correct shapes of letters using buttons. Give each preschooler a bowl of buttons, and have him sit at his desk. Call out a letter, and have the children make the correct shape of the letter using the buttons. If a student has it correct, award a small prize. Call out uppercase and lowercase letters. Throw a challenge and see if anyone can spell out a word using the buttons, such as an animal or their name. You can also stones or candy pieces instead of buttons.