I Love Letters

What You Need:

• Red or pink paper 
• Scissors
• Black marker

What You Do:

1. Cut 7 hearts out of the colored paper.
2. On each one, write a large letter. The letter you choose will depend on where your child is in terms of letter recognition. Is he still trying to learn the letters in his name? Perhaps there are several groups of letter that he is having trouble telling apart. Or, he might need to learn to recognize the lowercase letters that go with each capital letter. Tailor the letters you select to fit the needs of your child.
3. Each morning, have one of these pieces of Valentine’s mail waiting for your child at the breakfast table. Can he tell you what letter it is as well as what sound it makes? Where would he expect to find this letter as he goes about his day?
4. Throughout the day, encourage your child to find the letter of the day. He can look for signs that include the letter or things that start with this letter. 

Expand on this activity by encouraging your child to write the words that he finds, including the names of the things that start with this letter, on that piece of mail. Encourage him to make up stories that include these words and share the stories with his family.