Alphabet Letter Reading Lessons from A-Z

Need some fun summer games to help children practice the alphabet, letters, reading, and phonics? We want children retain what they've, but let's do it the fun way. Here are reading recipes and games using alphabet and letter foods. Here's what you will need:
- Alphabet pasta (available in pasta section)
- Chicken soup broth
- Alpha-Bits cereal
- Letter pretzels
- Letter Cheez-its crackers
- Variety of fruits and vegetables (whole and fresh)
Alpha-veggie (Initial Letter practice) Preschool to kindergarten
Set out a tray of fresh fruits and vegetables
Give each child a bag of letter pretzels, letter Cheez-its or Alpha-Bits
Hold up one fruit or vegetable at a time. If the child has the letter in his bag that matches the first letter of the fruit, he may eat the letter.
Cut each fruit and vegetable into bite sized pieces with letter pretzel or cracker near it. Or make salad from fruit pieces.
Fruit and Vegetable letter list
A-apple, apricot, avocado
B-banana, blueberry, bean, broccoli
C-cucumber, celery, cherry, cabbage, carrot
D-date
E-eggplant, endive
F-fig
G-grape, grapefruit
H-head of lettuce
I-iceberg lettuce
J-(juice from fruit)
K-kiwi, kale
L-lemon, lime, lettuce
M-mango, muskmelon, mushroom
N-nectarine
O-orange, onion
P-pear, pineapple,peach, pepper, potato, pea
Q-quince
R-radish, raspberry, raisin
S-strawberry, star fruit
T-tangerine, tomato
U-ugli fruit
V-vegetable
W-watermelon, wax bean
X-(Hershey's kiss!)
Y-yellow bean
Z-zucchini
Word Wizards (grades 1-5)
Give each child a bag mixed with letter pretzels, letter crackers and Alpha-Bits breakfast cereal.
Set the timer for three minutes.
Child makes as many words as possible with his bag of letters. When finished the Word Wizard makes the treat disappear!
Alphabet Souper (all ages)
Cook alphabet pasta in chicken broth. Add vegetables from Alpha-Veggie game if desired or just let children enjoy the pasta. As they eat the soup children name the letters or make words with the letters in the bowl. You can substitute Campbell's Alphabet Soup if desired.
For more great educational games for family, homeschool and classroom, visit me at www.diyhomeschool.blogspot.com and www.freelessonplans4u.blogspot.com.

Gutentag! Teacher mama coming to you live. I've just started another blog (yes, manic blogger alert). This one is education-centered. Well, so are most of my 55 (blushes) blogs. I've several on lesson plans, one on crafts, one on games, one on preschool, one on special needs. But I decided to create one blog that was a general education collective--like a digital teachers' lounge, or an internet cafe for educators. Plus I had a cool name that was begging to be used. Thus, teacher Apple Bytes was born.

Why should you care what I have to say about education? Well, you certainly don't have to. But I've made a career of it over the last 32ish years. And you might find some interesting tidbits to help. I worked as a Sunday school and VBS teacher starting at age 14. I was a camp counselor in high school. I was a YMCA day camp director. I majored in education, starting in 1982. I earned a teaching certificate in K-8 and special education endorsements in 1986. I taught Montessori, adult education, alternative education, correctional facility classes, ESL, GED, ABE, remedial reading, senior citizens, high school completion, psychology, history and science.

I homeschooled my four kids for 10 years, beginning in 1995. I taught for our homeschool cooperative. I subbed for several years. I wrote and directed four student plays. I volunteer in family theatre, at our local museum and at church. I teach a 1760s dame school for a French voyageur encampment each year. I've written over 1,000 lesson plans, developed curriculum for just about every subject and have been writing about it online since 2004. I've got over 2,000 education-specific pieces of content published.

So stop by and visit. I'll be posting information for parents, teachers, homeschoolers, university education majors, teachers seeking jobs, anyone interested in learning.