Who wants another reason to break out the mini erasers??!?! I sure do! I honestly have no idea how many different varieties of mini erasers I have in my stash anymore. It’s a lot though. I love making activities to make use of my mini eraser obsession. These free printable alphabet fine motor mats with beginning sounds are no exception. I am thrilled with how many ways this alphabet activity can be use with different fine motor materials.
Differentiated Alphabet Activities
These Alphabet Mats are beyond versatile!
With a special needs daughter and a bunch of awesome kids in our daycare, I want to make sure that every activity I create is accessible for every child. So there are ways that you can use this alphabet activity with special needs kids, but you can definitely also use them with typical and advanced children!
Save on Printing Preschool Activities
And of course, I have to tell you how much I love HP Instant Ink because it makes printing actually cheap. So I don’t mind printing at home and not on my work printer. (Hello, late night laminating sessions…) For real though, if you are not using HP Instant Ink yet, check it out here<<< It costs me something like $0.02 a page to print in full color. #insanity
This is one activity that I definitely recommend laminating. Not only will it keep the mats safe from little hands longer, but if using the mats with say playdough or wikki sticks, you will need the lamination to make sure that the playdough or wikki sticks don’t stick to the paper and ruin it!
If you don’t have the option of laminating the activity you can slip the full pages into a page protector or write & wipe pocket.
Enough drooling over the ability to print in color whenever I want…
Build Fine Motor Skills with Alphabet Activities
These mats provide multiple ways for children to work with the alphabet. This could be letter recognition, letter formation, and beginning sounds.
AND fine motor skills!! Get them using more than their thumbs on a phone screen and prepare kids for writing skills that they will need their entire life.
Letter recognition & formation can be strengthened by showing the mat to the child and letting him or her fill the letter. This can be done in so many ways. Here are a few of my favorite ideas:
- Playdough
- Wikki Sticks
- Dry Erase Markers
- Tracing With Fingers
- Pom Poms
- Mini Erasers
- A Handful of Crackers
- Etc.
You may also like our Pattern Block Letter Mats too for more fine motor skill building!
All the differentiated ways to use these mats ensure that every child can feel included and challenged at their own level.
Pre-Writing Fine Motor Skills for Preschoolers
Kids who aren’t ready for writing can gain exposure to letter recognition by filling in the letters with mini erasers, pom poms, and Wikki Stix to build the foundational fine motor skills that they need to progress to the next level of learning.
These mats can also help with beginning sounds. As the child is filling the letters or at a completely separate time, you can review the letter and speak the beginning sound. Each letter is accompanied by a picture of an item or object that begins with the letter being focused on. For instance, H is for hippo and B is for boat.
Pair the alphabet mats with some of our favorite alphabet books for a fun reading activity!
Alphablock (An Abrams Block Book)
P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book EverEating the Alphabet
Search and Find Alphabet of Alphabets
AlphaOops!: The Day Z Went First
The Alphabet Tree (Dragonfly Books)
The Pajama Zoo Parade: The Funniest Bedtime ABC Book (Short and Funny Bedtime Stories for Children Ages 3-5, that Every Parent will Enjoy) (The Funniest ABC Books 2)
More Preschool Alphabet Activities You’ll Love!
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