Make an alphabet dot-to-dot for your little learner!
Be honest with me: You go to a restaurant and see the games on the back of the kid’s menu. Are you itching to do them? I cannot be the only one drawn to kid menus like a moth to a flame / mom to a Target sale. If you love a good kid menu moment like me, you’re going to love this alphabet dot-to-dot activity.
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It’s all about alphabetical order, baby!
Usually when I make an alphabet activity for my kids – I mix up the order. I don’t want them relying on the memorized order of the alphabet to recall the name of a letter? Does that make sense?
I don’t want them to look at a string of letters and automatically assume the first letter is an Aa and the last letter is a Zz. I like to mix things up and make their brains really work to remember those letters.
RELATED: Check out these 50+ Easy Alphabet Activities.
But for this activity we did something a little different.
For this alphabet dot-to-dot, I set it up with one goal: find alphabetical order, go from Aa to Zz.
So here’s how I set up alphabet dot-to-dot.
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It doesn’t take much to set up this activity – just some butcher paper and a marker. Come to think of it, a lot of my activities only need those two supplies!
I wrote the letters all mixed up from left to right on this butcher paper. I made sure it was good and mixed up – just like a real dot-to-dot. Lots of twists and turns!
Alphabet Dot-to-Dot was a total hit!
I showed my 4 year old the alphabet dot-to-dot and asked him about the letters.
“Are they in the right order?”
No, Mom – they’re all mixed up!
“You’re right – I need you to find a way to get from A to Z.”
We started out together…
…and then I backed away. We did A to B to C together and then I backed off into a watching role. I wanted this activity to be about him and give him the chance to do something independently.
This wasn’t easy and he did have to stop and regroup a few times. I’d hear him saying the alphabet to himself to double check that he knew which letter came next.
Once he finished, we brought out the crayons and markers and I let him turn the alphabet dot-to-dot into an alphabet work of art. It was a two-in-one activity: first dot-to-dot, then art. Win win.
Just like those games on the back of a restaurant menu, this alphabet dot-to-dot was one inviting activity. It was easy to make and fun to play with – exactly the kind of hands on learning that I’m always looking for.
Will you make an alphabet dot-to-dot?