Wednesday 1 May 2013

Tactile alphabet cards

Today I'm sharing a craft that was inspired by Pinterest and appealed to me as soon as saw it - some tactile alphabet cards which I pinned from Fairy Dust Teaching, the letters of the alphabet created using found objects. I probably don't spend enough time working on letters with Harry at the moment, I tend to think that it is something that he'll pick up easily enough when he starts school. But I loved how bright and colourful these alphabet cards were, and it looked like something that would be a lot of fun for us to make together.

How to make tactile alphabet cards for children

For the cards I cut up an old, sturdy nappy box, it's best to use the strongest cardboard that you can as the paint and glue can warp thinner card. Each alphabet card measures approximately 8cm x 12cm. First we painted the backgrounds in a variety of different colours, then before we started putting letters on I planned the layout in advance so that I was happy with the spread of the colours when they were all displayed together.

To make our letters, I drew the outline in pencil and let Harry glue on the different things. I was a bit worried that I would struggle to think of 26 different things to use, but once I got started I kept thinking of more and more ideas! I loved watching Harry's fine motor skills at work. He's also enjoying patterning at the moment, so some of the letters are made using patterns in the colours like the alternating beads.

I used lowercase letters instead of the uppercase letters in the original pin, because those are the ones that I want him to become familiar with first. Perhaps we'll go on to make an uppercase set next!

How to make tactile alphabet cards for children


Here's what I used for the different letters:

a - star eyelets
b - small beads
c - curtain hooks
d - sequins
e - cord
f - macaroni pasta
g - red lentils
h - gold stars
i - cotton wool
j - small stones
k - ribbon
l - lollipop stick
m - pipecleaner
n - felt
o - scraps of wool
p - large beads
q - pom poms
r - shredded paper
s - glitter
t - washi tape
u - scrap of fabric
v - lace
w - nails
x - sandpaper
y - tin foil
z - paperclips

The cards are still loose at the moment but I'm planning on attaching them to his bedroom wall somehow, perhaps gluing them on to a larger piece of cardboard as a background.

How to make tactile alphabet cards for children

11 comments:

  1. Can you put them on his wall somehow so that the letters can be moved around to make words? I can only think of attaching magnets and using a metal board at the moment, or blue tack, but perhaps you can think of something else.

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    1. I am going to attach them to the wall with blu-tack, that's a good idea to let him move them around!

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  2. I know it's too late now, but had you thought of matching the letter to the thing it is made of, eg p for paperclips? Might get a bit tricky with some of the letters though :)

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    1. I sort of did do that for some of the letters (c for curtain hooks, b for beads, t for tape) but I only really thought about it properly when I was halfway through!

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  3. Good idea, involving more senses when teaching has got to get things to go in better

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  4. These ate fab! I will have to make some! x

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  5. They look really great. I love all the textures you've managed to use!

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  6. Wow, they turned out fab! So neat as well! love this - thanks so much for entering the PinAddicts challenge too! Kerry x

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  7. LOVE this idea.
    Thanks so much for sharing.
    Pinned it to my alphabet board.
    I have a blog and website too.
    1,000's of lessons, arts 'n crafts, tips and more.
    It's all FREE. Hope you can stop by and take a look.
    http://www.teachwithme.com/

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