ABC GAMES

• Sing "The Alphabet Song" with the children. Point to each letter on The Alphabet Train as it is named.
• Use a piece of construction paper to cover a letter on the Alphabet Train. Ask the children to tell you which letter has been covered. Challenge the children to name objects around the room that begin with the missing letter.
• Name a letter of the alphabet and have children name the letter that comes after the letter and, for an added challenge, the letter that comes before it.
• Sit in a circle with the children. Explain that you will be playing the A to Z game. You and the children will take turns saying the letters of the alphabet in order. Say the letter "A," and have the child to your right say "B." The next child says "C," and so on. Go slowly at first and then quicken the pace to see how fast the children can say all of the letters. You may want to set a time limit and see how many correct A to Z rounds the children can complete, or time the children and see if they can beat their own best time for one round.
• Allow the students to look through old magazines for pictures of things that begin with "A" (or another letter on the Alphabet Train.) Have each child cut out the pictures and glue them to a piece of construction paper to make a collage. Then, gather all of the collages together and make them into a class book of "A" (or other letters).
• Use index cards to make a letter matching game. Write each upper- and lowercase letter on a different index card. Laminate the index cards for durability. Have students match the corresponding upper- and lowercase letters and put the letters in alphabetical order. You may wish to number or color-code the backs of matching letters for self-checking.
• Use the Alphabet Train to help children understand beginning sounds. Repeat the sound of each letter and have the children point to it on the Alphabet Train. Challenge children to name the objects and identify their beginning sounds. Once students are familiar with the letters and their sounds, let them make up tongue twisters. For example, "Peggy picked peaches for Penelope's peach pie."
• Learn letters with alphabet soup. Place a large soup pot on a table. Fill the pot with plastic letters or letter cards. Have children take turns scooping out a letter with a soup spoon or ladle. Have each child name the letter. As an added challenge, have him name something which begins with the letter.
• Graph the first letters of the childrens' first names. Create a graph with a large piece of poster board and markers or use the chalkboard and chalk. Write each uppercase letter along the bottom of the graph. Have each child print the first letter of her first name on a small square of paper. Allow each child to place her card in the correct column with tape or a push pin. When every child has had a turn, have the children count which letters are the most and least common.

Help children practice printing the alphabet. On 9" x 12" pieces of poster board, have children make sand letters. Write upper- and lowercase letters on the poster board using white glue. Before the glue dries, have the children sprinkle sand on the glue. After the glue dries, shake off the excess sand. Have children trace the letters using their fingers.

Practice letter writing in the sand! Fill a shoebox lid with sand. Have children write letters in the sand with their fingers. Gently shake the sides of the lid to erase the letters and start again.
Divide the children into pairs. Have the one child write a letter on another child's back with her finger. Have the second child guess the letter. Have students take turns writing and guessing.

Challenge the children to name the animals and objects above each letter. After naming an object or animal, have the child say the beginning sound of the object or animal on the Alphabet Train.

Point out that each vowel on the Alphabet Train is accompanied by objects that begin with both the long and short vowel sounds. Write long sound and short sound at the top of a piece of chart paper. Have the children identify the objects on the A section (apron, apple). Write the words under the correct column and circle each a. Ask children to name other words that contain the long and short vowel sounds and list the words under the appropriate column. Repeat with the other vowel sounds.

Write a letter on the outside of a brown paper bag. Find small objects, cut out pictures of objects, or print words on index cards, then place them inside the bag. Have children sort the items in the bag into two groups—one group that begins with the letter on the bag and one group that does not.

Challenge children to name animals which begin with each letter of the alphabet. Allow each child to pick a letter of the alphabet, then draw a picture of an animal which begins with that letter. Have each child write the letter of her animal on the back of her drawing. After the drawings are complete, have the children group the drawings by letter and place the groups in alphabetical order. Display the drawings near the correct letters of the Alphabet Train or make into a class book.

Point to a letter on the Alphabet Train. Have the children name animals which begin with that letter. Pick an animal the children can easily imitate and ask the children to move about the room imitating the animal named. You may wish to do this activity outside and allow children to climb on playground equipment.

Use masking tape to make letter outlines on the floor. Have children "drive" over the letter outlines using toy cars and trucks.

Write each letter on a 9" x 12" sheet of construction paper. Have children stand in a circle. Place a letter in front of each child. Play music and have children march from one letter to the next. Stop the music and have each child name the letter in front of her.
Cut out each child's initals from construction paper. Lay the letters on a table in alphabetical order. Have each child approach the table and pick out his initials. Provide construction paper and glue and let each child glue his initials on the construction paper, and tape his initials to his desk.

Give each child a magazine, safety scissors, glue, and a sentence strip or construction paper. Have her search the magazine for each letter of the alphabet. Have her cut out one letter for each letter of the alphabet and glue the letters in the correct order onto a sentence strip or construction paper.

Let children sponge paint using letter-shaped sponges. (These sponges can be found at most craft stores or make your own by cutting each letter out of a standard rectangular sponge.) Fill a shallow pan with tempera paint and have each child cover the bottom of the sponge with a thin layer of paint. Let each child gently press the sponge onto a sheet of white construction paper to make letter prints. Encourage the children to print words using the sponge letters. Also, encourage each student to spell out his name or print his initals.

Gather colored chalk, black construction paper, and several paper cups filled with water. Tell the children that they will be drawing with chalk in a new way and may dip their chalk into water before drawing with it. Ask the students what they think will happen when they draw with wet chalk. (Colors are brighter after chalk is dipped in water.) Encourage each student to write his name on the construction paper with the wet chalk and name each letter as it is written.

Create your own letter trains using the patterns on page 6. Copy one train engine pattern and then copy one train car pattern for you and one for each student. Write the letters "Aa" on a train car and display it after the engine where students can see the letters. Then, give a train car pattern to each student. Have each child draw an object which begins with the letter shown and label his picture. Connect each of the students' cars to the beginning of the train to form your own original letter train!

Allow the children to help you prepare play clay by mixing 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon food coloring, and 2 cups water. Mix the ingredients together. Give each child a ball of dough. Name a letter and have each child form the clay into the letter and then roll the dough back into a ball. Allow each child to name a letter for the children to form and continue until each student has had a turn. Store the clay in an airtight container.