Fun times are ahead for preschoolers and kindergartners when you create a collection of hands-on alphabet letters that reinforce sounds and the words they are learning to pronounce, read and spell.  Craft the 26 letters, save and use them over and over to practice language learning skills.

Here’s the stuff you’ll need:

—26 sheets of poster board or cardboard, 9 inches by 12 inches

—pencil and markers

—scissors

—assorted small glue-on objects, stickers, magazine cut-outs of items whose names start with the sound of specific letters (see suggestions below)

—glue

Here’s the fun:

1. Draw large block letters for each alphabet letter on poster board/cardboard. Cut out. (Instead of making all at once, consider designing a letter per week. Or start with a few, such as those that spell your child’s name.)
2. Choose a letter together and come up with things that begin with the sound of that letter. For example, the sound “p” in pasta for the letter “P.” Look on your shelf for dry pasta and glue a few pieces on the big “P.”

Here are more simple items with crafty ideas to get you started:

1. Cut a small apple in half, dip dried cut side into paint, and stamp on the A. Or, glue plastic ants crawling over.
2. Buttons, beads and balls on a blue letter B.
3. Candy and candy wrappers on C.
4. Use a cotton swab to glue paper punch dots on D.
5. Crushed eggshells all over the E.
6. Floral fabric scraps and silk flowers on F.
7. Green glitter glued on a green letter G.
8. Print your child’s hand with poster paint on H.
9. Cut a cone and rounds of ice cream from paper to glue on I.
10. Glue a jam label or some jacks to J.
11. Apply lipstick to your lips and smother K with kisses.
12. Glue pressed leaves to L.
13. Draw a picture of your mailbox and glue mail on M.
14. Glue real nickels on N.
15. Glue raw oatmeal and cereal “O’s” to an orange O.
16. Glue popped popcorn to a purple P.
17. Cover Q with craft feathers. Add a paper beak, eye and feet to resemble a quail.
18. Glue silk or pressed roses on a red R.
19. Glue used postage stamps on S.
20. Cover T with twisted and tangled masking and Scotch tape on T.
21. Draw a ukulele on U.
22. Make a Valentine on a violet V.
23. Glue wood chips to a white W.
24. Glue on pictures of xylophones on X.

Y: Shape and glue pieces of yellow yarn in “Y” shapes on Y.

1. With zippers closed, glue the fabric portion of recycled zippers to Z. When dry, they can be opened and closed.

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Donna Erickson’s award-winning series “Donna’s Day” is airing on public television nationwide. To find more of her creative family recipes and activities, visit www.donnasday.com and link to the NEW Donna’s Day Facebook fan page. Her latest book is “Donna Erickson’s Fabulous Funstuff for Families.”

© 2017 Donna Erickson

Distributed by King Features Syndicate