Letter Art

• Toddlers enjoy creating art projects, and such projects can be used to promote letter-sound recognition in children. Draw individual letters on sheets of construction paper; the letter "M," for example, and discuss the letter with children. Ask them to identify the name of the letter and review the sound that the letter makes. Offer children items that begin with the focus letter to use to decorate the letter; in the given example, macaroni is an option. Say the word macaroni, enunciating the /m/ sound and ask children if they can hear the sound the word begins with. Encourage kids to glue pieces of macaroni onto the letter "M."
  
  

Finding Letter Sounds

• Play a hunting game of sorts to promote letter-sound recognition. Discuss the sound a particular letter makes and encourage children to search around the room for an object that begins with the given letter. For example, if you are talking about the letter "C," children may search the room and find cookies or crayons. If there aren't any obvious items in the room that begin with the focus letter, set out preselected items for this activity.
  
  

Sorting Letter Sounds

• Encourage children to sort through pictures of objects to promote a recognition of the sounds that letters make. Print out pictures of items, some that begin with a focus letter and some that do not. Invite children to sort through the pictures to determine which images begin with the chosen letter and which do not. For instance, if the focus letter is "F," kids may determine that a picture of a frog and a fish begin with the letter, while a picture of a cat and a mouse do not.
  
  

Naming Words

• In this activity, children must name words that begin with a selected letter. Print a letter on a dry erase board or chalkboard or hold up a picture of a letter. Discuss the name of the letter and the sound that the letter makes. Prompt children to name words that begin with the chosen letter; for example, if you are concentrating on the letter "B," kids may state the words balloon, ball and bug.