5+ No Prep and Fun activities with alphabet letter Magnets

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Have you ever searched Amazon for alphabet letter magnets? It can get pretty overwhelming. There are countless choices and they all seem like must-haves.

But here’s the truth, you can use one simple supply and set up several alphabet activities for your preschooler. Alphabet magnetic letters are a really versatile toy to teach your child the alphabet.

These alphabet letter magnet activities are perfect if you are short on time – you can set them all up in less than 5 minutes. They are also perfect for if you have limited space – they involve materials you likely already have.

They also are pretty inexpensive. But they are full of hands-on learning and skill-building.

This is a guest post by Anne Wahlgren of Printable Parents! Anne is a teacher turned mom who helps parents find resources for their children to learn and grow at home.

So check out these 5+ activities with alphabet magnetic letters.

Why teach your preschooler the alphabet?

Most parents instinctively know that learning the alphabet is really important.

You’re absolutely right. Letter knowledge is predictive of future reading success.

But maybe your child doesn’t learn best with flashcard drills. Most don’t! In that case you can do these activities with alphabet magnetic letters instead to help your child learn the ABCs.

First steps for alphabet activities for preschoolers

To have a successful time with activities using alphabet letter magnets, you need to do these things first:

Look at Your Child’s Alphabet Knowledge

Think about what your preschooler already knows. If you have a child who cannot name a single letter, you’re going to use few alphabet magnetic letters in the activities.

If your preschooler can already name most of the capital letters, you’ll review those in the activities then switch to lowercase alphabet magnetic letters.

You want to provide the just-right challenge. This is what teachers try to do with students – give them enough new learning to keep it engaging and purposeful but not overwhelming.

Set your boundaries

Some of these activities involve sensory materials. A lot of parents shy away from sensory play because it’s messy.

That’s totally understandable – there are already enough messes with small children.

But sensory play provides children with so much tactile learning and visual-spatial reasoning. So consider the benefits.

Then set some boundaries. I simply say to my preschooler: the water stays in the bin.

After that I check for his understanding – this is a fancy teacher term for making sure he actually listened.

So I say, “Where does the water need to stay?”

And he responds, “In the bin.”

When your preschooler tests or forgets your boundary, you give one reminder: ”The water stays in the bin.”

Then when your preschooler challenges your boundary again, you say, “Okay we’re putting this activity away for today. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

Calmly follow through and expect a tantrum. Then plan to give your preschooler an opportunity again the next day.

5+ Alphabet Magnetic Letters Activities

Here are 5+ simple activities you can do to teach your preschooler the alphabet:

• Alphabet thaw
• Alphabet soup
• Alphabet tape rescue
• Kinetic sand alphabet dig
• Magnet letter hunt

The best part of these activities is they do double-duty. They build skills like pencil grip and listening to directions. Those skills are just as important to school success as knowing the alphabet.

Alphabet Thaw

Freezing anything is a hit with preschoolers. While this activity can be set up in five minutes, it does require overnight to freeze. But you’ll see – it’s totally worth it!

While alphabet knowledge is the primary skill for this activity, you’re also going to build hand strength and pencil grip by using the spray bottle.

In order to hold a pencil, your child needs to develop the muscles that will help them have a solid three-finger grip.

Supplies:

• alphabet magnetic letters
• muffin tin
• water
• shallow plastic tub or tray
• towel
• spray bottle

Steps:

1. Put 1-3 alphabet magnetic letters in each section of the muffin tin depending on your child’s knowledge.
2. Fill with water and freeze overnight.
3. Place a towel on your surface with a shallow plastic bin or tray.
4. Allow your muffin tin to thaw slightly and remove 3-5 of the frozen sections. You can flip it over onto your tray and give it a tap with a butter knife to release the frozen pieces.
5. Place them in the bi or tray.
6. Give your child the spray bottle. You can use warm water to help them thaw more quickly. Or use cooler water to make it more of a challenge.
7. Show your child how to spray.
8. As your child removes letters, you can say, “Where’s the A?”
9. Or if your child has no alphabet knowledge yet, you can casually say, “that’s the letter B.”

Alphabet Soup

Just add water, a ladle, and a bowl and your child can make alphabet soup.  As your child stirs, you can make comments on the letters or just allow your child to explore.

This activity also increases your child’s imaginative and social play.  Give your child some plastic kid bowls and spoons and invite them to dish it up.

Watch to see if your child decides to feed their stuffed animals or serves you a bowl. This is a great opportunity to continue the social interaction with your child.

Supplies:

• Alphabet magnetic letters
• Large bowl
• Mixing spoon
• Ladle
• Dishtowel
• Small bowls
• Spoons

Steps:

1. Fill a large bowl with water.
2. Add 5-15 alphabet letters.
3. Place it on a large towel along with some bowls and spoons.
4. Invite your child to stir and dish up the soup.
5. If your child serves you, continue the social play by pretending to eat the soup.

Alphabet Tape Rescue

Preschoolers love the opportunity to be the hero. Tape rescue allows them to save the trapped letters.

This activity also works your child’s fine motor skills and pencil grip as they carefully peel off the tape to uncover each letter.

Supplies:

• Alphabet magnetic letters
• Muffin tin
• Blue painter’s tape

Steps:

1. Place one magnetic letter in each section of your muffin tin.
2. Tear off two pieces of blue painters tape and place them in an X over one section of the tin.
3. Explain to your child that they need to rescue the letters.
4. Depending on your child’s skill level, you can either comment on the letter names or ask which each letter is.

Kinetic Sand Alphabet Dig

Your child will be a young archeologist and uncover the letters hidden beneath the kinetic sand.

Kinetic sand is a great medium for developing your child’s sensory skills or tolerance for different textures. Watch your preschool explore by squeezing the sand.

Supplies:

• Alphabet magnetic letters
• Kinetic sand
• Large bin or tray
• Craft sticks (optional)
• Paintbrush (optional)

Steps:

1. Place 5-10 letters in the bottom of the large bin.
2. Cover with kinetic sand.
3. Place the paintbrush and craft sticks out as tools to excavate.
4. As your child digs, invite them to name the letters.

Magnetic Letter Hunt

Just like a Spring Egg Hunt, your child will locate the alphabet magnetic letters you hide.

This activity is fantastic for developing listening skills for your preschooler. You give instructions on where to find the magnetic letters.

This is a great activity for developing knowledge of prepositions like: under, on top of, behind, in front, to the side, and to the right or left.

Supplies:

• Alphabet magnetic letters

Steps:

1. Hide 5-10 letters in a living space.
2. Make a few letters really obvious so your child experiences success right away.
3. Invite your child into the room.
4. After your child has found the easiest letters, begin to give hints like “There is a letter under the chair.”
5. See if your child announces the name of the letter they found. If not, you can name it for your child.

Conclusion

You don’t need to be a teacher to provide your preschooler with meaningful learning opportunities at home.

These alphabet letter magnets activities give your child a chance to build their alphabet knowledge in a hands-on way. Plus they build other important preschool skills.

Let us know in the comments which activity you’ll try. Or pin this to Pinterest.

Other related articles for Kid’s Activities:

• Fun Indoor Snow Activities
• Super Fun Gardening Activities
• Fun Ice Cream Cone Crafts for Kids

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