Literacy Baskets, Buckets, Bags, and More: It's Alphabet Galore!

Literacy Baskets, Buckets, Bags and More will give you millions of ways to organize 26 thematic mini units from A to Z!  Each mini-unit can be sent home for children to share with their families as a home-school connection, used as centers in a classroom, or at home visits.  Any way they are presented, these 26 containers will fascinate children and give them ways to practice with fundamental skills.  So, lets pack our baskets, buckets, bags, and more to get ready for some alphabet galore!

Imagine It!

First, find any container that will hold all kinds of goodies.  Find one for each letter of the alphabet.  Some ideas are:

                  E - Easter basket          B - briefcase

                  D - duffel bag               P - pizza box

                  L - lunch pail                T - trash can

                             

These things can be really easy to find and cheap too!  The best places to look are garage sales, clearance aisles, dollar stores, second hand, Goodwill, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michael's, or even your own basement.  You will be surprised at how creative you can get!  Then, find a stuffed animal figure for each letter of the alphabet.  Some ideas are:

E- elephant          B- bunny          S- snake

   D- dolphin            P- pig               H- hamster

Create It!

Let's put your imagination to work!  Put together your container and animal to make:

Pig's Pizza Box          Bunny's Briefcase

           Tiger's Trash Can       Elephant's Easter Basket

The sillier it sounds the better, and the combinations are endless!  The children love to laugh about a snake in a stocking or a tiger in a trash can.  Taking home a pig in a pizza box is a very funny concept to them, which makes learning the letter "P" more fun!

Make It!

Once you have decided on your letter theme, such as Pig's Pizza Box, then you can fill your pizza box with all kinds of goodies that start with "P".   Start out by making a list of things that start with "P".

pencil          paper          pear          pretzel          plate
popcorn      playdough   pie            pancake        pumpkin

I also include activities in each mini-unit that have to do with the letter.  Each activity not only enhances literacy skills but other skills as well.  For example, Pig's Pizza Box I included:

               * Make a Pentagon with Popsicle sticks

               * Make a Pattern with Pretzels

               * Make the letter "P" with Playdough

In each mini-unit I include a small tablet of paper called a word finder.  In the word finder, the parent and child will try to find things around their house that starts with the letter they are focusing on!

I also make an inventory list in each mini-unit to make sure that everything gets returned!

New "E" Activities Posted!

Great book for the letter "E"!

Alphabet Fun

I LOVE this book!  I highly recommend it!

I just added new "D" activities!  There will be more to come!

I have to admit that I have severely neglected this blog!  I have been taking pictures, just haven't posted them yet!  Don't give up on me, I will start posting again soon!

I just added new "S" activities!  This is one of my new favorite books!

New "G" Activities added!

I have added new "T" activities!

 and

I just added new N and Q activities!

Fun Alphabet Foods

Fun Alphabet Foods

When I add posts to this blog I put it under the letter that the activity starts with.  So if it looks like I never add anything new, that's why!  I try to post new things everyday!

Our Very Own Coconut Tree!

I use AlphaTales books for my alphabet themes!

Aa

Alligator's Apple Basket

Activities

Ants in the Pants

Animal Cracker Game

Ape only eats things that start with "A"

Apple, Airplane, Ant and Alligator's Wordfinder Notebook

Alligator's Apple Basket Inventory List

Letter "A" Books

A You're Adorable by Buddy Kaye

A Was Once An Apple Pie by Suse Macdonald

Apples by Gail Gibbons

Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

Fantastic Ants by Elizabeth Bennett

Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSieg

Little Mouse and the Big Red Apple by A. H. Benjamin

The Ants Go Marching One by One (Scholatic)

I Am An Apple by Jean Marzollo

One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes

The Airplane Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota

The Ant Bully by John Nickle

Alligator Alphabet by Stella Blackstone

There's An Alligator Under My Bed by Mercer Mayer

I Saw An Ant on the Railroad Track by Joshua Prince

Ant, Ant, Ant! by April Pulley Sayre

Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch

The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Westcott

A is for Airplane by Theresa Howell

Other "A" Activities

We painted apples!

We used ink to make fingerprint apple trees!

Making patterns with apples!

Sorting apples by their color!

Measuring Ourselves with Apples

Finding the secret star inside an apple

Make apple prints

Investigating and Tasting Avocados

Sorting Apple Jacks

Making an Applejack "A"

Sorting the A's out of Alphabits cereal!

We read, "Ten Apples Up On Top" and we stacked beanbag apples on our heads to see how many we could get up on top!

Bb

Bear's Bathtub

"B" Activities

See how many buttons it takes to make a "B".

Feed the Baby Butterfly things that start with "B".

Time for a little Bug Bowling!

Make "B" shapes with Blue Playdough!

Things that start with "B" and the Bear's Wordfinder Notebook!

An inventory list of all the things that belong in Bear's Bathtub!

Cc

Cat's Cart

Activities

Use clay to create a "C"

Read the card and add the candles to the cake.  Then count the candles!

Play the Cookin' Cookies Game!

Carrot, Camel, Car, and Cat's Wordfinder Notebook

Other Activities

Making Crayons

Peel the paper off old crayons and break them into pieces!

Choose which colors you want and place them in the muffin tin!

Put them in the oven at 250 degrees for 10 minutes.  If you let them go too long the colors will melt together and mix into one color (usually black). Take them out and let them cool.  Remove papers.

Ta Da!

While your waiting for the crayons to melt, read "The Crayon Box That Talked".