Alphabet Art for Parents and Home School Curriculum

Children in both traditional and home school environments require frequent exposure to letters of the alphabet to firmly grasp letter recognition and sounds. They need to practice using letters in new and varied ways before they can freely recognize them. Because of the amount of time and activities required for successful alphabet learning, it can be difficult for parents practicing the alphabet and/or home schooling their children to present letters in new, fun ways their children will enjoy. Enjoyment is key, as bored children become frustrated with alphabet learning and lose interest in memorizing letters altogether.

The activities provided here are appropriate ways to incorporate the alphabet into any young child's home school art curriculum, and they are great alphabet activities for parents of traditional school students to help children practice their letters at home. Any needed supplies are inexpensive and found easily in local stores, but chances are you already own most of them.

Letter Prints
An inexpensive set of plastic alphabet cookie cutters is a good home school supply to invest in, as they can be used for an endless variety of alphabet learning activities. By dipping cookie cutter letters into paint, home school children can practice their letters and quickly print words with your assistance that otherwise might take a long time and become frustrating. When setting up for this activity, pour a small amount of paint onto a Styrofoam tray. Too much paint will make the letters unclear. Placing a folded paper towel on the tray before adding the paint helps control the amount of paint the cookie cutter picks up (something of a stamp-pad effect).

The same home school activity can be done with letter shaped sponges for sponge painting. Letter shaped sponges are sold with children's art supplies, but you may find they are very soft and flop around, making painting with them something of a chore. Dollar stores and home centers often sell large bags of cheap sponges, sometimes the ends of a run, and these can be easily cut into all the letter shapes you need.

Alphabet Puppets
Alphabet puppets may start as home school art projects, but once made they can be used in many other areas of your home school curriculum.

To make alphabet stick puppets, have your children and home school students trace and cut letters onto card stock. Letter cutouts can be colored or decorated as your children and homeschoolers see fit. Letter cutouts can be made into characters with facial features, too. Once colored, or if necessary, after glue has dried, attach the letter puppets to craft sticks with strong tape or glue.

Home school curriculums can extend the alphabet puppet project into reading and literature by writing and performing a puppet show. To complement your home school science curriculum with this project, gather flashlights, darken the room, and use the letter puppets to cast alphabet letters on the walls. Your home school science curriculum can discuss light and dark, light waves, reflection and more.

Letter Mosaics
This home school art project is a good project to do each week with your home school letter of the week. Use the project once, or leave it out on an easel or side project home school children can do again and again.

Trace or cut out large letters on sturdy paper for the letter you want to focus on for your home school curriculum. Home school children can glue mosaic supplies to the letters in any creative fashion.

Art materials for letter mosaics can come from a number of decorative and recyclable sources. Keep a collection of colorful scrap paper clippings, collect packing peanuts, glitter, bottle caps, shells…the list goes on and on. For this home school alphabet art project, items can coordinate with the letter in some way to extend learning, or be a fun mix of everything. As an example, use R-rice or ribbons, M-macaroni or metal, B-blue materials, beads or buttons and so on.

Remember your home school recipes for coloring sand, rice, and pastas for this project. They can used repeatedly in a variety of textures, shapes, and colors.

Molded Letters
Help children build and mold each letter with a medium that will hold together during home school art time. This can be done with play dough and clay, of course, but this recipe for moldable sand that can be kept and dried offers your home school plans a new, interesting medium to work with.

The recipe comes from The Rainy Day Activity Book by Jennifer Rader (Doubleday, NY, 1995).

Castles to Keep

1 Cup Water
1/3 Cup All-purpose Flour
6 Cups Sand

Cook water and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly. Continue cooking and stirring until thickened (2 minutes). Add the cooked mixture to the sand in a large bowl. Stir. Mold into shapes and dry for a day.

*A similar mix made with white glue should work, too.

Molded sand letters are the ideal companions to a home school beach or ocean theme. Shells, pebbles, or other embellishments can be added as well.

String Letters
String letters are a fun art activity to go along with a home school worm or snake project, as they resemble the fun crawlers when they are being made.

This home school alphabet art project starts with a mixture of white glue thinned with water. Use one part water to one part glue. Have your home school students dip lengths of yarn or heavy string into the mix. Be sure to soak the entire string. Next, children can shape letters with the glue soaked yarn on paper. You may choose to prepare the papers ahead of time and draw letters onto the paper with a permanent marker for children to follow. If your homeschoolers don't like getting their fingers wet and sticky, attach the string to a clothespin before dipping. Leave string letters to dry onto the paper.

Whether using alphabet art projects to have some educational fun with your children or as part of a creative home school curriculum, these art projects and more can keep learning letters fun and interesting to your budding scholars. More fun alphabet and early reading activities can be found here, or by perusing more articles on my Associated Content Producer page.