After reading the book Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming, your children are going to be more than ready to construct, craft, and carve letters of the alphabet. Play dough, some construction equipment, and some loose parts are all they will need to get started.
Build Vocabulary with Alphabet Under Construction
Wait! Before you have your children make their own letters, you may want to go over the three types of “C” construction words I noticed when I read the book. Those words are construct, craft, and carve. Start by reading the book Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming, then look at how the letters were made and decide if they were constructed, crafted, or carved.
Some construction words I found:
- buttoning
- gluing
- nailing
Some crafting words I found:
- airbrushing
- dyeing
- rolling
Some carve words I found:
- pruning
- carve
You may decide that some of the words fit in more than one category.
Build Alphabet Letters
After you have discussed the words, the children will get to make their own letters with play dough and loose parts. Invite your children to create or decorate the letter with items that start with that letter or with whatever they want to use.
Check out this research-based, playful learning unit in our curriculum shop!
The Community Helper Bundle
A bundle of of my most popular community helper resources, math, literacy, dramatic play and more! Make learning fun with these hands-on resources!
These are the loose parts placed in or beside the activity tray:
- Construction toys
- Measuring tape
- Caps
- Nuts and bolts
- Washers
- Cookie cutter
- Cardboard tube
- Buttons
- Bread tags
- Spoon
- Straw
- Chenille craft stems
- Craft sticks
- Rolling pin
Alphabet Construction Activity
After reading Alphabet Under Construction by Denise Fleming, here are some different ways your kids can make the first letters of their names. Each idea gives children a chance to work on their fine motor skills. (And think about the shapes of the letters.)
They can construct the first letter of their name by cutting play dough “snakes” with a craft stick and then putting the pieces together to form letters.
They can roll play dough into a long snake. The snake can be bent and twisted to make the letter.
They can roll out the play dough into a pancake and carve the letter with a craft stick. The letter can be decorated with buttons, ribbon, caps, bread tags, etc.
They can use a construction toy to create the letter in the play dough or flatten a letter they have made.
They can use a cookie cutter to cut out the letter and then craft it. The letter could be pinched with fingers, poked with a pencil, clipped with scissors, or dotted with buttons. Or anything else the kids can come up with.
If you have digital camera or smart phone available, you might want to take picture of each child’s letter creation. The pictures could be displayed or put into a book.
BIO: Deirdre is the author of JDaniel4’s Mom where she shares other learning activities, printables, crafts, and food creations. She loves growing and learning beside her son. You can find her on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
More ideas with the Alphabet—
LMNO Peas: Alphabet Discovery Bottle
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Inspired Snacks
Dinosaur Alphabet Matching Activity
Insect Alphabet Matching Game
Fun idea! Somehow everything goes over better in our house when cars or trucks are involved, lol!
Brilliant idea – love the combination of the different elements!