Alphabet Puzzles

I'm always on a look out for good Alphabet Puzzles. 

I found this one, Infantino: When I Grow Up Alphabet Puzzle (http://www.amazon.com/Infantino-When-Grow-Alphabet-Puzzle/dp/B000C24EWG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1298320419&sr=8-6) not to long ago and it's a lovely addition to our puzzles.  Not only does it show upper and lower case letter but it gives a worker for each letter sound.  The children were very excited about this puzzle because it was "different".  It was round instead of rectangle and the center circle are pieces to make up a city or town.  A lot of good conversation came out of this puzzle!  Learning about community workers, what they do and how they benefit the community is a part of almost every preschool and Kindergarten curriculum.

As mentioned before, we do a lot of singing throughout the morning.  Here is a few ways to make the ABC song fun for the kids!  (As always, use a visual!  Alphabet puzzles work well for visuals.  Point to each letter as you sing the song).

Singing the ABCs:  Slowly sing the Alphabet Song the traditional way.  Then change the way you sing it.  Remember to ENUNCIATE each letter distinctly (L-M-N-O-P) so they don't blend together.

*  Monster version:  Sing with a loud voice.

*  Mouse version: Sing with a high, squeaky voice.

*  Opera version: Sing dramatically with outstretched arms.

*  Backward version:  Turn around and sing.

*  Upside down version: Put head on the floor and sing.

*  With a cold version: Hold nose and sing.

*  Underwater version: Put finger between lips and wiggle.

* Z, Y, X version: Sing backwards from Z to A (difficult but doable with help!)

* Silent version:  Mouth the words with  no sound.

Ask your kiddos how THEY want to sing it!  You might find some very interesting ways!