Letter E: Letter of the Week (age 3)

Here's what our week looked like for Letter E: 

Read, Read, Read. I love reading to my kids on a daily basis. My three has always loved being read to, but my one is pretty hit and miss. Most days, I'll read to both of them while they're eating breakfast. I checked out our Letter E Booklist at the library a week in advance. The picture above were our very favorite books, but you view more great Letter D books by clicking on the booklist link.

Read Letter E Book. We also love to read these Little Letter Books from The Measured Mom. There are only eight or so pictures in each booklet. I pointed out the uppercase and lowercase D's (since we are focusing on both this year) and we talked about the pictures. 

Letter E Songs & Rhymes. This year, I'm putting together an interactive set of songs & rhymes for each letter of the alphabet. I know this series is focused on my almost three, but my one year old had so much fun doing the Letter E Songs & Rhymes with us this week. If you're looking for something more simple without props, take a look at this printable set of songs and rhymes from The Measured Mom.

Writing Practice. Every child is different, but my barely three loves writing letters! We practiced writing the Letter E's with "E's of All Sizes" from The Measured Mom. I decided to laminate them, so we can use them over and over again. Because my barely three loves writing so much, we practiced more with our ABC Write & Wipe (picture above). I've tried teaching pencil grip, but my three isn't up for it. 

Craft #1: Elmer the Elephant Craft. After reading Elmer, from our Letter E Booklist, my three made a "patchwork" elephant with paint and sponges. My three really loved this craft. This idea and elephant printable are from Buggy & Buddy.

Craft #2: Decorate a letter to the mailman from Preschool Alphabet: My three used ikea stamp pens to decorate a letter to leave for our mailman. I was thinking my three would nicely stamp the pens on the paper, but he decided to draw lines with them instead. We put the finished letter in an envelope (envelope is how this craft relates to letter E!) and left it in our mailbox as outgoing mail. My three kept telling me how excited our mailman would be to get a letter. 

Craft #3: Earth Balloon Stamping from I Heart Arts & Crafts. My three dipped a balloon in blue and green paint and stamped the balloon onto a piece of white card stock to make an earth. We didn't quite get the circle effect, but had fun nonetheless. My one wanted in on the fun, too.

Color Review - Envelope Color Sorting. My three loved pretending to be a mailman and delivering "letters" to its matching colored envelope. He drew construction paper squares "letters" (in the bowl at the bottom of the picture) and placed them in their matching envelope. A few of the envelopes ripped as my three was placing the papers inside, which was frustrating for him. If you do this, find a better way to tape the envelopes to the wall!

Math - Letter E Pattern Block from Confessions of a Homeschooler. With the help of a magnetic cookie sheet, my three placed foam shape magnets on our Letter E Pattern Block. He loved this activity. I saw his perfectionist side as he matched every shape perfectly.

Math - Egg Counting Activity from The Measured Mom. My three drew a nest card and loved placing the same amount of "eggs" (glass gems from the Dollar Store) on the nest. Usually counting activities aren't my three's favorite, but he loved this one!

Sensory Play - Egg Sensory Bin. My three (and my one) absolutely love sensory play. I filled a bin with rice, big and little e's, and plastic easter eggs. Inside the eggs are pictures of oviparous animals (animals that lay eggs). We added a few kitchen items (bowls, spoons, funnel, etc.) to enhance our play. My three loved scooping rice into bowls, sorting the big and little e's, and learning about animals that lay eggs. 

Letter Ee Activity #1 - My three really loved this activity! I hid a bunch of easter eggs around the room, each with a big or little E inside. My three opened the eggs and placed the big E's onto the contact paper with a big E and the little e's on the contact paper with a little e. 

Letter Ee Activity #2 - Ee is for Elephant from The Measured Mom. The goal is to put an "egg" on all the big and little e's. My three thought it would be more fun to put the eggs on his favorite letters. This was more of a letter review activity for us. We used glass gems from the Dollar Store as our eggs. 

Beginning Sounds Cover from The Measured Mom. Out of the few beginning sound activities we've done so far, this one is our favorite! I'll point to a picture, have my three identify it and we'll figure out if it starts with the letter E. "/Eh/ /Eh/ /Eh/ Ladybug. Does Ladybug start with Letter E?" Every child is different, but these come easily to by three. This week, he place a plastic gem "eggs" on the pictures that start with Letter E.

Letter E Science - Elephant Toothpaste. We love making elephant toothpaste at our house! My three helped me add a few ingredients into a plastic water bottle and loved watching the reaction. After the "toothpaste" was finished reacting, he used a scrub brush to brush our toy elephant's teeth. Click the link above to view a tutorial. I found this idea at fun at home with kids.

Alphabet as a Whole. Each week, I like to review the entire alphabet, so my barely three can see the big picture. This week, we played with our foam alphabet letters and shaving cream in the tub.

Name Review - Circle Sticker Name from The Measured Mom: I wrote my three's name on a piece of colored paper and he used circle stickers to cover the letters. I was thinking he'd want to cover the entire letter with stickers, but he only wanted to put one sticker on each letter, so that's what we did.


And that's it!