Letter I: Letter of the Week (age 3)

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

Read, Read, Read. I love reading to my kids on a daily basis. I checked out our Letter I Booklist at the library a week in advance. The picture above were our very favorite books, but you view more great Letter I books by clicking on the booklist link. 

Read Letter I 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 I's (since we are focusing on both this year) and we talked about the pictures. 

Letter I 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 I 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 three loves writing letters! We practiced writing the Letter I's with "I's of All Sizes" from The Measured Mom. I decided to laminate them, so we can use them over and over again. Because my three loves writing so much, we practiced more with our ABC Write & Wipe.

Craft #1: Ice Painting. I made a bunch of colored ice this week for this craft and a color mixing activity below. All you do is fill an ice container with water and squeeze one drop of food coloring into each cube. I mixed the color around with a half a popsicle stick and left the stick in the container to freeze. My three really enjoyed painting with colored ice cubes!

Craft #2: Puffy Paint Ice Cream Craft from Preschool Alphabet. This craft was one of my three's favorites of the series. My three glued the ice cream cone (made from brown construction paper) and got to work painting his ice cream with mostly his hands. I had a large popsicle stick for him to paint with, but his hands were a lot more fun. You can make puffy paint by mixing 3T shaving cream + 1T elmer's glue + food coloring of choice in a bowl. After he was done painting, my three shook sprinkles for a finishing touch. 

Craft #3: Inchworm Craft. One of my goals this year is to teach my three how to use scissors. My three used these very toddler friends scissors to cut grass, while I helped hold a piece of green construction paper. My three glued the grass onto our paper and stamped an end of a zucchini (I used the rest to make this amazing zucchini bread) to make the inchworm. 

Color Review - Color Mixing with Ice Cubes. To make the ice cubes, I filled an ice container full of water and added one drop of food coloring to each cube. I mixed the color with a popsicle stick, so it was distributed evenly. My three loved this activity! We had extra colored ice cubes we added to the tub later that evening, and that was also a lot of fun. 

Math - Insect Shape Match. My three used these magnetic foam shapes to fill in these insect pattern blocks. I put the pattern card on a magnetic cookie sheet, so the foam shapes would stick. He did a bumble bee (pictured above), butterfly and dragonfly. We talked about the names and colors of the shapes.

Math - Inchworm Counting. My three drew a number (1-10) and placed the same amount in inchworms (cut straws) into their home (empty parmesan cheese container). 

Sensory Play - Ice Cream Play Dough from Smart School House. This ended pretty messy, but was so much fun! My three (and one!) loved scooping ice cream and making ice cream cones. To make the ice cream you mix one 15.6 oz can of frosting and 3-4 cups of powdered sugar (enough that the frosting is no longer sticky). Click the link above to view a full tutorial. 

Letter Ii Activity #1 - My three drew an insect (bought from the Dollar Tree) and I asked him if the insect liked big or little I's. Then, he placed them on the correct one. 

Letter Ii Activity #2 - Igloo Letter Ii Match. We didn't end up doing this, but I had planned to draw two igloos - one with an uppercase I and one with a lowercase i (as shown above). Cut out ten squares of white paper (ice) and draw uppercase I's on five of them and lowercase i's on the other five. Mix them up. Have your child draw a piece of "ice" and match it to the correct igloo. 

Beginning Sounds: My three is doing really well with letter sounds and can recognize the majority of uppercase and lowercase letters. He knows all the letter sounds and has shown a lot of interest in reading. I was so excited to find a perfect (and free!) reading series for very beginner readers that know their letters and sounds. It's called "Reading the Alphabet" from This Reading Mama. It's a 31-week program that has lesson plans for each day of the week. The lessons take up around ten minutes of our day and I have been so impressed with the program and how well my three is grasping a very early start to reading. It's a perfect fit for us. Click the link to find out more.

Letter I Science - Icy Insect Eggs. Because it's cold outside, we decided to do this activity in the tub. I placed our icy insect eggs in a plastic container and my three chose how to get the insects out. He tried a hammer and tools, salt and warm water from the tub. We talked about how salt melts the ice, but the quickest way to melt ice is with warm water. By the end, we had colored tub water! You can view a tutorial of Icy Insect Eggs by clicking the link.

Alphabet as a Whole - Inchworm Alphabet. My three loved this activity. He drew an alphabet card, identified the letter and sound, and placed it into the letter home (parmesan cheese container). If he drew an inchworm we had to stand up and wiggle around. Print the letter and inchworm cards from Nuttin but Preschool.

Name Review - Ice Cream Name Match from Preschool Alphabet. My three added scoops of ice cream onto a cone (brown construction paper) to spell his name. I laminated the ice cream, and used a dry erase marker to write the letters, so I can use this activity again with other names. Print this activity from the link above.


And that's it!