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Games for Toddlers to Identify Letters

Toddlers are just realizing that all those randomly overlapping, sometimes curvy lines, known as letters, serve a purpose beyond being refrigerator magnets. Toddlers' interests are based on sensory engagement and stimulation. In other words, black and white flashcards won't cut it. Teaching your toddler letter identification requires making the letters fun and stimulating, or you'll lose your child's interest in less than three minutes.

Letter Flip Cards
- Lettered flip cards are large cards or stiff pieces of paper depicting a colorful capital letter on one side with an the equally colorful corresponding image on the other side. For example, one side of the card depicts the letter A and the other side will have a picture of an apple. String the cards together through the middle so your child can flip back and forth between the image and its letter. Go down the row, or pick a card at random and ask your toddler to identify the letter. When she answers correctly, say, "That's right! A is for...." then flip the card over and exclaim, "Apple!" Be a player of the game, not just the quiz master by letting your child ask you to identify the letter and flip the card.
Sandpaper Letters
- Tracing sandpaper letters engages your toddler's sensory memory while he leans the motion and direction of each letter. In this game, your toddler closes his eyes and runs his fingers over a sandpaper letter mounted against smooth material before guessing the letter he's feeling. Color the sandpaper letters with glitter or paint so he sees something besides brown paper when opening his eyes. Let him touch the letters by himself even when you're not playing the game.
Name that Letter
- Practice identifying letters in his environment or while reading a book in the game
  "Name that Letter." Before beginning the story, tell your child, "let's find three 'A's on this page" Then have your toddler point out all times he sees the letter "A." Don't dwell on finding every single example or he'll feel frustrated and lose interest. If he misses a few obvious examples or incorrectly identifies the letters, gently guide him by saying, "I think I see one more near the top of the page, can you help me find it?"
Sing-Song Alphabet
- Felt letters or a magnetic alphabet are the only materials you'll need for this song-based game. Without individual, corresponding images, the alphabet song easily confuses a toddler, for example by making "L," "M," "N," "O," "P" sound like one letter. Instead, sing a slowed version of the alphabet and ask him to identify the corresponding felt or magnetic letter as it appears in the song. Keep all the letters close together so he's not scrambling to find the correct one.

Kids Games