Letter Identification Fun

Little Learners will become pros at letter identification as they explore the ocean with this video and free printable!

Learning letters is one of the first steps on the road to becoming a reader. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy for children to see the differences in letter shapes or to make the connection between letters and their names – that’s why repeated exposure is so important!

Using this Deep Sea Letter Hunt video and free printable is just one way to give your Little Learners some of that oh-so-important practice.

Find the Letters

This free download includes two pages: an uppercase letter hunt and a lowercase letter hunt. Little Learners simply find and circle all 26 letters, then read them to a grown-up! Of course, they can also read the letters to an older sibling, a pet, or their favorite stuffed animal.

Once they’ve found them all and read them to someone, they can color the picture.

Pro Tip: Instant Skills Check

Have your child/student circle all the letters they know in one color and all the ones they don’t know in a different color. That way you can quickly see which letters to spend more time practicing!

Use Fun Supplies

As a former kindergarten teacher, trust me when I say that nothing enhances learning engagement more than FUN supplies! Sure, some kids love coloring with regular old crayons, but sometimes they need a little pizazz when it comes to getting excited about doing the learning work. And honestly, it doesn’t take much more than a couple small changes…

Instead of regular crayons, why not try some glittery or pearly crayons? Or how about some scented markers, gel pens, or highlighters?

Watch the Video

The Deep Sea Letter Hunt printable freebie was created to complement the Deep Sea Letter Hunt videos on the Little Playful Learners YouTube channel. Your Little Learners can watch the video before they complete the printable or after – with the letter names given:

Or without:

More Hands-On Letter Identification Activities

While I believe that there’s value in worksheets and videos for helping kids learn, I firmly believe that the majority of learning should be playful and interactive.

That’s why, before you download the free printable, I’d like to share some more hands-on ideas and resources for working on letter identification.

The following activities are great for at home or in the classroom and can be adapted for any age. So whether your a parent or a teacher, I tl find some inspiration here!

On-The-Go Learning Games

In this blog post, I list 10 learning games you can play that require little to no prep, and many of them are perfect for letter identification practice. Even better, you can play them with one child or, if you’re a teacher, a whole classroom of kids!

Recommended Products:

Here are some of my favorite games and activities that will add a playful twist to learning the letters. Click on the images to find them on Amazon, or search for them on the shelf of your local stores.

Learning Resources Alphabet Acorns:

These cute little acorns are so fun! The bottom of the acorn has the uppercase letter and the top has the lowercase, plus there’s a little item hidden inside of each one that begins with the letter. Bonus: these are perfect for working those little fingers and building fine motor skills.

***A word of caution: the hidden items are pretty small so they could be a choking hazard. It’s important to follow the manufacturer’s age recommendations for safety purposes.

LEGO DUPLO My First Alphabet Truck:

It’s so easy to sneak some letter practice into playtime with this DUPLO set. Each block has a letter of the alphabet on it, so you can have your Little Learners search for a certain letter, ask them what letter is on the block they’re holding, and so much more!

Learning Resources Letter Construction:

I had this letter construction set in my kindergarten classroom and they were always a favorite. My students would have played with them for hours if I’d let them! The pieces snap together to make letters – great for learning letters, but eventually kids can put those letters together to make words too. One thing I love is that it comes with cards to show how to make each individual letter.

Melissa & Doug See Inside Wooden Alphabet Puzzle:

Beginner puzzles like this are great for concepts like letter recognition, but they’re also great for developing spatial awareness. This one is so adorable because when you pull the letter out, you see something underneath that begins with that letter.

Educational Insights Alphabet Bean Bags:

Sometimes the best thing is to just keep it simple…like these alphabet bean bags. I can think of about 100 ways to use these, but I’ll just list a few:

• Catch & Read – toss the bean bags one at a time to your Little Learner(s). When they catch it, have them name the letter.
• I Spy – spread the bean bags out on the floor or ground. Call out a letter and have your kid(s) find it and throw it to you or in a bucket.
• Hide & Seek – hide the bean bags around your house/yard/classroom. Set a timer and see how many your Little Learners can find. When the time is up, each player has to name the letters on the bean bags they found.
• Stack It – see how many bean bags can your children stack before the pile falls…but there’s a catch: they have to name the letter on each one before they can add them to the stack!

Book Recommendations for Letter Identification

I’m a HUGE fan of books of all kinds, but especially children’s books…and even more specifically…alphabet books! Here are some of my favorites:

Get the Free Printable:

I hope that after reading this blog post, you’ve gathered up some great ideas for practicing letter identification with your Little Learners. Now, here’s the free printable I’ve been promising! Click on the image below to download it instantly (and don’t forget to check out Deep Sea Letter Hunt video):