5 Alphabet Art Ideas for Preschool

When you allow young children to create alphabet letters using different art tools, materials, and techniques, they are more likely to recognize and learn how letters are formed. This article has five alphabet art ideas for your preschoolers. Let the children partake in these crafts where they will learn and be creative as well.

Make Collage Letters

Draw a box-type letter on a piece of cardboard or poster board. Invite the children to spread glue onto the letter and adhere any of the following materials to make a raised textured letter that they can feel. Think about using sand, seashells, crushed egg shells, paper scraps, dried beans or pasta, buttons, seeds, and even spices (so they can smell the letter). These are just a few ideas and I'm sure you can think of others. Sometimes it is best to coordinate the letter and the material used in the collage to make the letter sound. For example, when making a letter B, use buttons or with the letter S, use sand.

Create Letter Characters

Give each child a block letter and colored markers. Invite them to 'dress up' the letter by drawing in facial features, hair, and designs. You can even give the children scraps of fabric for them to dress up the alphabet letter with clothes. Challenge the children to give their letter a name, such as "Billy B" or "Tara" T.

Unique Fingerprints

Do the children know that they have unique fingerprints and that no one else has the same prints? Even though they are young, it's a piece of information well worth mentioning. For this alphabet art craft, have the children stamp thumbprints to create letters. Take a foam produce tray and place a few layers of paper towels inside. The towels act as a stamp pad when tempera paint is poured on top. Have each child put a thumb into the paint tray and stamp out a thumbprint in the shape of a letter. It's best if the teacher lightly draws the letter on paper for the children to follow. Another variation is to fill in a block letter with a number of fingerprints, maybe in different colors too.

Negative Paintings

Tape an alphabet letter pattern onto a sheet of paper. You could have the "letter of the week" or individual letters that represent the child's initials. With a pencil eraser or cotton swab, have the children make dots with paint all over the paper. This is like a form of pointillism. When the paper is dry, remove the template and the alphabet letter will stand out from the decorated background.

Melted Alphabet Letters

With this alphabet letter art craft, cut large block letters from sandpaper. Have the children color very heavily with crayons directly on top of the rough side of the sandpaper. Place the letters on a cookie sheet and into a 300-degree oven for 4-5 minutes or until the crayon melts. The alphabet letters will emerge in vivid colors.

These five alphabet art ideas will make learning the letter fun for preschoolers. These craft ideas are perfect for preschool classes, home-based day care, and for parents. Make everyday a learning day with creative art activities.

For added teaching ideas, read these preschool lesson plan articles:

Preschool Math Lesson Plans: Using Cereal for Counting and Patterns

Preschool Story Time: Frederick by Leo Lionni

Two Ways to Teach Concepts to Children