20 Alphabet & Phonics Activities for Kids {Get Ready for K Through Play}

If you are a longtime reader you know I am passionate about active, playful learning. I firmly believe kids learn best when they are actively engaged. As part of our Get Ready for K Through Play series I'm sharing 20 FUN activities and games that you can do/play with your kids to strengthen their phonics and alphabet skills. Why? They will be working on this A LOT in kindergarten - why not get a head start in a fun, playful way.

20 FUN Alphabet & Phonics Activities for Kids

1. Make some letter cards, turn up the music and play a Musical Alphabet Game (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas). 

2. Dig for Letters (Sugar Aunts via Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas) in dirt, sand or rice - once found encourage child to name them, say the letter's sound aloud and possibly even make simple cvc words (i.e. cat, sun, fan) or spell known sight words if possible.

3. Make & play with an Alphabet Sounds Machine. (The Imagination Tree)

4. Have some fun with plastic letters and mushy water beads and mix up a batch of Alphabet Goo (Learn with Play at Home). It's a fun & sensory way to practice letter recognition and sounds.

5. Do you have a cookie tray and some magnetic letters? Then you can play and learn with them like Mess for Less did to reinforce letter recognition, ABC order and more. 

6. Build a tape spider web on the floor and play an ABC Spider Web Game. (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

7. Get kids up & moving by playing ABC Slam (Toddler Approved)

8. Play and learn with Alphabet Soup. (Playdough to Plato)

9. Kids will have a great time practicing letter recognition and working on sounds with an Alphabet Squish activity. (I Can Teach My Child)

10. Play Alphabet Eye Spy with this fun slime recipe from Growing a Jeweled Rose.

11. Practice phonemic blends with Word Rolls. (Laughing Kids Learn)

12. Take rhyming play on the go with a Car Phonics Game. (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

13. Play Pound the Sound. (Happy Brown House)

14. Make a Word Family Tree. (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

15. Make a Phonics Flip Chart. (Kids Activities Blog)

16. Go on a Letter and/or Sound Hunt. (No Time for Flashcards)

17. Have fun making & practicing word families with a Word Slide. (Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas)

18. Make & play with an ABC Beach Ball to practice letter recognition and sounds. (Playdough to Plato)

19. Make Alphabet Gems (Thrive 360 Living via Housing a Forest)

20. Freeze some letters and then have some Smashin' Ice Fun while practicing sounds and working on letter recognition. (Glued to My Crafts)

Wow, so many great ideas! Now you just have to decide which to try first? 

Do you have a favorite way to practice letter recognition or work on phonetic sounds? Please comment below and share them with me (and my readers!).

Thank you to My Cute Graphics for the use of the superhero kids graphic.

This post is part 7 of an 8 week series being hosted on 6 blogs to help kids Get Ready for K Through Play! In previous weeks we discussed:

 Developing Kindergarten Language Skills

Top 5 Social Skills for Kindergarten Readiness

Independence Skills

Math Concepts

Top Books for Beginning Readers

55 Ways to Make Handwriting Practice FUN

For even more Alphabet and Phonics Fun ideas

check out our other Alphabet and Phonics posts -

 and our Pinterest Boards -

 Alphabet Fun, ABC/Alphabet/Letter Crafts and Phonics Fun 

Be sure to read this week's posts shared by my series co-hosts:

Walk the Word: A Gross Motor Phonics Game

(by Coffee Cups and Crayons)

Learning Letters and their Sounds

(by Mama Smiles)

Water Balloon Phonics Game 

(by Mess for Less)

Active Alphabet Activities

 (by Toddler Approved)

Chalk Letters
(by Rainy Day Mum)

and be sure to follow our Get Ready for K Through Play Pinterest Board for lots of awesome Kindergarten Readiness resources, ideas and activities. 

Have fun getting ready for K!

Bern