Have you read E-mergency, by Tom Lichtenheld? It’s a funny story about alphabet letters who live together in a big house. The emergency occurs when the letter E gets hurt, and needs to take some time off. Can you imagine life without the letter E? It definitely results in some pretty strange reading, and lots of laughs; but it’s the cast of 26 alphabet letter characters that makes this book such a hit at our house.
My three year old loves to play with a set of foam bath letters, as if each one is a character with “his” or “her” own personality traits. These letters get into all sorts of action. The other day, the letter O was very wild, jumping off of tall buildings while the other letters urged him to settle down. Why is it the O that is so wild? According to my son, it’s because his mouth is open, like he’s yelling OOOOH! when he jumps.
We also love The Singing Alphabet app for the iPad, and drawing letters with clothing or other add-ons that correspond to the sound they make. (A top hat on the letter T, etc.)
Do your kids ever assign personalities to letters, or play with them as characters? It’s a creative and playful way to help the little ones solidify their ability to recognize and name letters, plus it’s just fun! What are your favorite letter-character activities?