These little ones of mine love to learn on the move! They like to touch things, reach and stretch, run and jump, and use all of those great big muscles they are forming. And guess what? Using gross motor alphabet games is a fabulous way to really retain that letter learning.

In fact, How Wee Read, my learn-to-read program, includes lots of whole-body activities that help children learn how to read through play!

How Wee Read covers it all, from rhyming to reading in 70 sequential, simple, and playful lessons:

• Step One: Phonological Awareness (7 lessons)
• Step Two: Letters, Sounds, and Blending (12 lessons)
• Step Three: Special Rules (4 lessons)
• Step Four: Decodable Readers (47 lessons)

Check it out right here: https://shop.howweelearn.com/pages/how-wee-read

Gross Motor Alphabet Games

Are you ready for some wonderful ways to get those little ones moving as they learn the letters and sounds?

If you are new to this blog of mine (welcome!), I have a very specific way I suggest introducing letters and sounds to little ones. As a teacher and certified Reading Specialist, I have honed a very special method for teaching children letters that allows reading to flow naturally.

And I have a freebie for you all about it! Grab your Free Teaching Letter Recognition Guide right here:

Alright, now that we know the order to introduce these letters (and sounds), let’s get to the gross motor alphabet games! Here are a few fabulous ways to get little ones learning the alphabet with their whole bodies.

Flying into Letter Recognition – Little pilots will have such fun flying paper airplanes and learning the alphabet at the same time.

Alphabet Matching Game: On the Run – Mix a letter scavenger hunt with running around in the backyard.

An A-Maze-ing Learning Letters Game – Learn about letters while driving a bulldozer around a maze. Who wouldn’t want to learn that way?

ABC Balloon Swat – This is so much fun and can be played inside or outside.

Move and Groove Gross Motor Alphabet Game from No Time for Flash Cards – The kids get to dance around as they learn about the alphabet.

Lowercase Scavenger Hunt from Hands On As We Grow – Set up a string scavenger hunt focused on matching lowercase letters to their uppercase counterparts—lots of crawling and moving with this alphabet activity!

Swat the Fly from Gift of Curiosity – Put alphabet “flies” all around the walls, and then let the kids loose with a fly swatter. Make your own flies, or use the free printable in the post.

Letter Sounds Race from Inspiration Laboratories – So many ways to explore the alphabet with this racing game!

Musical Alphabet Game for Preschool from Mom to 2 Posh L’il Divas – Grab some index cards and well-loved music. This game is so easy to set up and play with the kids.

Grab and Pull a Letter from Growing Book by Book – This game can be set up inside or outside, with the children loading up a basket with a set of letters to deliver.

ABC Ice Cream Gross Motor Game from Coffee Cups and Crayons – Make letter “ice cream cones” and make a relay game of it.

Alphabet Hop from Simple Fun for Kids – You just need some chalk, busy kids, and a sidewalk for this activity. If the weather isn’t great outside, grab some paper and use that.

Snowball Throw Alphabet Game from Mom Inspired Life – Get those arms moving as kids throw “snowballs” while learning more about letters.

Alphabetical Order Obstacle Course from The Educators Spin On It – Children run around this obstacle course, but they have to do it in alphabetical order!

Jump and Learn from Kids Play Smarter – Get the trampoline out for this fun alphabet game! If you don’t have one, the kids can still jump and learn their letters.

Musical Letters from Reading Confetti – It’s like a dance party, but while learning the alphabet.

Alphabet Leaf Activity from A Dab of Glue Will Do – Use real or fake leaves for this activity, and then let the kids get to raking up the letters.

Gross Motor Phonics Games from Learn~Play~Imagine – Hockey-loving kids will have such fun with this. They can work on letter recognition, letter sounds, and words.

Alphabet Flash Light Hunt from Parenting Chaos – Play a non-traditional game of hide and seek using letters and flashlights.

A Simple Bean Bag Game from Teach Preschool – Use alphabet bean bags for some easy and fun letter games. If you don’t have the bean bags, you can make your own or use an alternative.

 

I’ve got to say—those gross motor alphabet games seem a heck of a lot more engaging to me than any worksheet I have found. I know it takes more time to set up, but the learning is so much more meaningful.

For absolutely everything you need to teach your child to read, step-by-step in 6o simple lessons, check out How Wee Read right here:

https://shop.howweelearn.com/pages/how-wee-read

If you have an active little one or two who seems hesitant about learning the ABCs, perhaps one of these activities will be just the ticket!

The mamas of active kids need to stick together! And drink a lot of coffee…

Happy Monday, friends. I hope you are having a fabulous week. Thank you so much for reading!

xo
Sarah

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