Dear Reader,
How do you feel about all the stuff? Don’t get me wrong the gadgets and having things are fun but can also be very distracting. There are many cases where these devices become distractions and prevent us from connecting with each other and ourselves.
In light of this thought I created an ABC worksheet that can be used in at least 10 different ways with items you have in your home! Here are some of the ways you can utilize this worksheet.
Option 1: Good Old Fashioned Coloring
Coloring is a timeless activity that remains constant through the generations. It is a simple activity that allows us to relax, unwind, and connect with both ourselves and others. The health benefits range from reducing stress, working on fine motor skills, expressing creativity and so much more
Option 2: Using Scissors
Cutting out the images with scissors is a great way for your child to work on their fine motor skills. The hand muscles and eye hand coordination that are developed through cutting with scissors prepare our little ones to be able to hold crayons to color, pencils to learn to write and so much more.
Whenever I am hosing a coloring gathering, I often see children expressing their creativity through cutting out the images in different ways and testing the boundaries.
Option 3: Using Glue and Glitter
Decorating the images with glitter is another way for your child to practice their fine motor skills and test out their creativity. It takes time and practice apply glue to an image along with the pouring and shifting of the glitter. Giving our kiddos this opportunity to practice allows them to test their skills and grow to be able to handle more complex tasks.
Yes, glitter can be messy but the colors and textures are fun to play with :).
Option 4: Creating Flashcards
Flashcards are staple part of the learning process in encouraging memory techniques, engagement, creative thinking and more! Allowing your child to decorate and create these cards with you is a great opportunity for quality time as well.
Option 5: Letter Tracing
Tracing of letters not only sets our little ones up for being able to write independently but also enhances fine motor skills, eye hand coordination, spatial awareness and more. As with the flashcards your child add their special touch by decorating the front of the cards!
*You can also laminate the cards so that they can be used multiple times too!
Option 6: Name Collage
While practicing fine motor skills and developing literacy skills, a child being able to spell their name is also a great step toward independence. With the respective images your child can decorate, cut out, and paste the images onto a piece of construction paper to create a unique name collage while learning to spell their name!
Option 7: Memory Game
Raise your hand if you like the memory game!!! This game is fun in addition to developing memory, concentration, and problem solving skills. The joy of making a match builds our little ones confidence too!
You can add as many images to the games as you like :). The games can consist of as few as 4 matching images or as many as 26 images.
Option 8: Word Games
Word games are a wonderful way to practice spelling among other skills. These games develop memory, concentration, and problem solving skills in addition to pattern recognition.
Option 9: ABC Banner
Who does not love an ABC banner! It is a nice decoration while also being a great reference tool for young readers.
As with the other activities you can decorate each square as you please and join them together through a variety of options.
- Pasting the images onto a piece of construction/ drawing paper.
- Using decorative tape and joining the pieces together along a border.
- Punching hole and stringing ribbon through each piece to create a banner.
Option 10: Storytelling
Do you have a storyteller at home? Honestly, I was that kid in my house :).
Invite your child to choose 3-5 images from the sheets and tell a story through them :). If your child is writing, they can write sentences and draw accompanying pictures. If your kiddo is younger, they could draw images or even use toys to help demonstrate their words.
When I visit schools, children often ask me how I learned to both draw and write. Yes, there are years of lessons and college degrees behind these skills but there is also a million hours of practice too. Practice is a form a play the more we do it the more we discover and grow.
Stay tuned because I am brainstorming more activity sheets that can be used in a variety of ways!
Love Always,
Kristina Lucia xoxo