Here at the Train house we have two 4-year-olds and a 2-year-old, and that means we are ALL about learning our ABC’s and 123’s. The Little Trains (as I like to call them) have been learning a letter a week since we started school in September. My goal for them is to be able to recognize the upper and lower case forms of each letter and be able to say its sound. It has been so much fun watching their little light bulbs come on as they look around and recognize the letters they’ve been studying.

One activity that came to me when I was working in the kitchen one day, was to take food or household boxes (cereal, pasta, frozen pizza, laundry detergent, etc.) and make a Find the Letter Flip Chart. I actually made 2 flip charts, and here is how I made them:

1. Cut out the fronts (and sometimes the back) of different food or household boxes.

2. Hole-punch the top corner of each box.

3. Use book rings to hook the boxes together. All done!

We play Find the Letter with our flip charts using whatever letter we are studying that week. I give the boys a flip chart, and they hunt for the upper or lower case form of the letter. When they find it, they point at it and say the letter’s sound. It’s fun because they always end up identifying other letters they know, so it’s a great way to review. It’s also fun for me to discover new boxes to add to our flip charts. And, I get to pat myself on the back for re-purposing!!!

~Mama Train

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