Although this ABC book isn't a craft that can be completed in a single afternoon, your child will learn the alphabet and some spelling skills because instead of just looking at pictures in a published book, your preschooler will actively create the book. After the book is done, you child will be able to look at the book time and again as they learn their letters.
Craft Materials
The finished alphabet book will be a scrapbook, bringing together images from a variety of sources. I've listed some ideas below, but you can use your creativity to include whatever materials work for you and your child.
You will need
- 1" 3-ring binder
- Top-loading page protectors
- Cardstock
- Printed pages showing the letters of the alphabet
- Coloring pages
- Magazines and catalogs for pictures
- Scissors, glue stick, ruler, and any other tools or embellishments you wish to use
An Arts and Crafts Alphabet Book
Start your book by printing out the uppercase and lowercase versions of each letter of the alphabet in a few typefaces, avoiding any that incorporates flourishes that could make it difficult for your child to interpret the letter forms. (You can have your child sit with you at the computer and select the typefaces.) If you limit yourself to one letter on each page then you could use this as a cover page for each section. Another option is to cut apart these letters so your child can paste them on paper.
If desired, have your child color pages from a book or online that highlights each letter of the alphabet. It isn't necessary to have your child work on more than one coloring page each day.
With your child, go through magazines and catalogs looking for pictures of objects that your child would like to include in her book. Together, sort through the pictures, storing them in the page protectors until you have enough images to assemble your book.
Assembling an ABC Book with Your Child
It isn't necessary to limit each letter to a single page. The more images and words you provide for your child, the more practice they gain with each letter. If you use multiple pages for a letter, you may wish to include the uppercase and lowercase versions of the letter on each page.
If you have a coloring page, slide it into one of the page protectors.
Set out one or more sheets of cardstock and have your child set down the pictures associated with a particular letter. If desired, you can type up the words that name the images.
Glue the pictures to the cardstock. Embellish with stickers (representing images that correspond to the letter you are working on).
You can add actual items to the book. For example a leaf, a few grains or rice or pieces of pasta, a piece of string or yarn. Again, type up and glue down labels that name these items.
Now have your child glue down the words that describe each picture or object. While working together, help your child sound out the words and recognize the letters as they appear in each word. Slide the completed pages into the page protectors.
Keep things simple by focusing on a single letter each day you and your child work on the alphabet book. You may want to create placeholder pages for the pages you and your child haven't yet scrapbooked. When desired, sit with your child to go through the book. Keep the book someplace where it will be available to your child when they wish to read it on their own.
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