A is for Apples is the very first week of my Toddler Curriculum, which I worked on for almost six months. It is packed with apple-themed printables, tray ideas, a craft, and more for teaching the letter A.
I worked on this curriculum for almost six months and I am so happy with how it turned out. Each letter has toddler-friendly printables, tray ideas, a craft, and more, so you can pick and choose what works for your child. You can get the full Toddler Curriculum here, or scroll down to grab the free letter A packet.
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The curriculum is very comprehensive and hopefully has more than you need for each letter so that you can pick and choose what to use with your toddler. For more information about the Toddler Curriculum, please check out my Toddler Curriculum and Schedule post. Your child will generally spend 2 weeks on each letter, but some letters they only do for 1 week. The first few letters we’ll only do one week so that we can introduce the curriculum to you more quickly. To help you get an idea of what the curriculum includes, we’ve not only included a bunch of photos below, but you can also download the letter A packet for free! Simply click here to start the download.
You might be wondering if your child is the right age for this curriculum, you can find out if they are by checking out this post.
Make the Letter
For the letter A we made the letter with a sand tray.
Learning Notebook
We did at least one page every day with these dry erase crayons. Some days we did two pages and some days we went back and re-did a favorite page. These pages are all included in the Toddler Curriculum.
Toddler Trays
Theme
Draw an apple on white Styrofoam. Push golf tees into Styrofoam to cover the apple drawing.
Matching
Have 6 ping pong balls (2 red, 2 yellow, and 2 green) in a bowl. Match “apples” (ping pong balls) in same colored silicone cupcake liners.
Stickers/Stamps
Clip a cotton ball with a clothespin and use it as a paintbrush to paint “apples” on a paper tree.
Fine Motor
Print tree (included in curriculum) and tape to a pencil. Put in a cup filled with glass gems so it stands up. Have a small bowl with water and a water dropper. Use dropper to “water” tree.
Transferring
Use tongs to transfer red math cubes onto printed tree (included in curriculum). One math cube goes on each dot.
Tray Printables
We did at least one of these printables every day and some days we did two or went back and did their favorites.
Letter Activities
The curriculum includes 5 letter activity ideas for each letter. You can do one a day for one week or throughout two weeks as desired. My kids really enjoyed the letter collage for our apple theme, especially the apple jacks!
Teach the whole alphabet, one letter at a time
Our Toddler Alphabet Curriculum helps you teach your child with a unique theme for each letter — printables, toddler tray ideas, a craft, a book list, and simple ways to teach the letter. It makes learning the alphabet easy and fun for you and your child!
Books
The curriculum includes 5 book ideas for each letter. Our family favorite is The Apple Pie Tree. We even found a cute video of the book on youtube.
Craft
Sew an Apple
This craft is really fun. Your child will have a fun time sewing, although they might need some help from you. As always, they are super proud of their craft.
Sensory Bin
Our Letter A sensory bin was a huge hit with the dried beans base. Read more about it here.
I will try really hard to get pictures of all the different parts of the curriculum for each letter so that you can see them. However, this curriculum has a LOT of activities for each letter. I might not get to everything and if I do, I might only get a picture of it, but my kids might not really do it. If you feel like the curriculum has too much for your toddler or for you, don’t get overwhelmed, just take some of it out. 🙂 Go to the store page if you’d like to purchase the curriculum or click on the link below.
Curious where this fits in? Our how to teach letters guide walks through it step by step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I teach uppercase or lowercase letters first?
Start with uppercase. Capital letters are easier to tell apart, so they are less confusing for toddlers. Add lowercase once the uppercase letters feel familiar.
How long should a letter lesson be?
Keep it short, just 5 to 10 minutes of playful practice, and stop while your toddler is still having fun. Several short sessions beat one long one.
What age should I start teaching my toddler letters?
Around age 3 is typical, but there is a wide range of normal. Some kids show interest earlier, and plenty learn their letters closer to 4. Please don’t pressure your little one before they are ready.