Play-Doh Learning | Writing Letters with Play-Doh | Play-Doh Game | English Alphabets | Alphabet
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Learning to write down the English alphabet letters could be a lot fun, but what are these fun methods? Writing down the letters with the play-doh is one of these exciting and fun learning methods; play-doh is most probably found in every home and it is easy to depend on at the same time.
Prepare different play-doh pieces, a pencil that you are not using, and plan the letters that you want your child to try writing them down. The best thing about using the play-doh is that if one is ruined from the writing, you could easily use another and there are actually different ways or games that could be played with it.
Kids could do different letter shapes out of the play-doh and they could actually write on it as if they are writing on a piece of paper, which will also turn out to be interesting for them because they are not writing on paper as they are used to.
Parents will choose a letter and ask the child to write it down on the play-doh, but before doing that, they should first ask them about the sound that the letter produces and at the same time let them trace the letter in the air with their magic finger in order to show how it should be written down.
To make the whole thing challenging for the child, try changing the way you ask them the question. At the beginning ask them what is the letter that produces a specific sound and then let them write it down, you could also make the movement done with the sound in jolly phonics and ask them what is the letter that represents it, and you could also bring it from the side of asking them what is the letter that their name starts with and also let them write it down. There are lots of different ways to choose the letter which the kids will write down and lots of ways to test their knowledge and memory.
Learning the English alphabet usually comes attached to other steps, such as knowing more about phonics and how the letters should sound, as well as learning to write these letters down correctly through following the same way every single time in order not to get lost at some point.
The interesting thing about using these different methods is that they not only educate the child and teach them to write and spell the letters correctly, but it also helps with the fine motor skills of the child and give them the chance to improve their thinking skills; how they are going to use the different colors and sizes of the Lego to write a letter, how they are going to deal with the play-doh to create a letter, etc.
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In this video we're going to look at letter formation and we're going to use play-doh,
a really simple tool that most people have lying around the house and if you don't have your own
play-doh you can always make it. There's loads of really good recipes out there for making salt
dough and you can just use it, make it and store it in a nice little airtight tin. So today we're
going to think about some letters. James has just started letter formation in school and actually
letter formation is really really important that the children get it right at the beginning,
especially when they move on to joining letters. If their formation isn't correct they find it
very difficult to then pick up that joined handwriting. So we're going to practice in play-doh.
It's a really good idea to practice in lots of different modes and using maybe different
materials just to add a wee bit of fun to it and the great thing about play-doh is they can
rub it out and squish it and re-roll it as many times as they like. So James we have been working
in letters in school haven't we and our jarry phonics haven't we and we're going to do some
practicing letter writing today okay. You've been practicing in your books but this is going to be
another fun way of trying to practice to see if you can do it round the right way if that's a good
idea. Okay so you're going to start in this piece here. I've already pre-rolled my play-doh out so
that actually you don't have to keep rolling it over and over again so it's a good idea to have
that. You want to put it in front of me there that's fine that's no problem. Okay so let's
see if you can do the letter S for me first of all. I would encourage your child to really
trace it in the air first and think about it and to discuss with your child what you want to do.
Oh lovely James right tell me again in the air.
Right can we do it together? Round like a C and back again. Let me see you doing it.
Okay lovely and what sound? What sound? Good boy excellent so keep you know that those phonics
sounds going as well at the same time so lovely. Can you do it another a bit bigger this time?
Let's try it again so round like a C and back again beautiful. Want to turn it over and have
another few goes? Right let's see if you can do a big one. Oh don't worry by the way we can just
cover it up can't we it's not a good thing like play-doh. Okay let's see if you can do a really
big one this time. Round like a C or D and maybe you went into the hole you might want to squish
it up and do it again will we get a new piece? Okay here you go all right. Beautiful lovely.
Here we have a lovely S by James. Okay beside that do you think you can do and if you think
your child's ready for the challenge give them the sound and get them to write the letter so
they're actually then you're challenging them that little bit further to actually think about
what letter represents what sound. Okay so I'm going to give you the sound this time James okay?
Okay how do you do T? Oh wait before we never did it in the air first remember?
Okay in the air first with our magic fingers wiggle your magic finger.
Okay put your pencil down.
We want to do a T this time. Start at the top down with a little flick
lift your pencil and across. Do it again for me by yourself.
Right have a go in your play-doh.
Lovely beautiful. You want to try it again on the back? Yeah it's a nice T and it means you can
actually really see how your child is forming these letters and ensure that they're actually
forming them correctly. Okay so start at the top. You're leaning too heavily darling you need to
okay because you want a big hole in your play-doh then you won't be able to write your letter just
lean a wee bit more gently. It's a really good skill for those fine motor skills skills and
that pencil grip as well. Beautiful it's very tiny but it's a nice T. Okay right let's see now
what does your name begin with? And what sound does J make?
Good boy do you think you could do a nice let's see if you can do a nice big one this time.
Okay that's lovely good boy. Can you show us in the air what you did on your play-doh?
Beautiful that's very very nice. Is that a capital J? Is that a big J?
It is. What's a capital J? That's a big letter J. So again he hasn't explored. I'll show you a
small J now. So he hasn't explored the letter J yet but because it's the beginning of his name
he can form the capital letter J but he hasn't explored the idea of capitals and it is nice
just to introduce the concept. They won't understand it straight away but do start to
introduce it and get them thinking. Okay so I'm going to show you the two of them. Okay you ready?
This is a big J that you've got at the beginning of your name that's called a capital J
and this is if it's not for a name.
What letter is it a bit like? I. It's a bit like an I isn't it? Yeah. Okay right and again even
the play-doh is great for doing that capital or that upper and that lowercase. Okay James
ready for this one now? Yeah. Let's see what other letters have you done? Let's do O.
What sound does O make?
Lovely. Oh dear look you've actually cut this one out.
That's a funny one isn't it? Yeah. Okay this is a lovely opportunity as well to just reinforce
those sounds with and you know what I can do a wee bit lighter. Now don't do it in the hole
because the hole is thin partly. Over here. Nice and light. It's a nice activity for pressure
as well so that they get the idea of how to use a pencil and what pressure to put on it.
Beautiful. Lovely. Lots of O's. Okay ready? Now this one's going to be a bit more difficult.
Do you think you can do this one? This is a tough one okay. It is one that makes the same sound as
C. What letter makes, wait wait wait, what letter makes the same sound as C?
What letter is it? Can you remember? Kite. It does. Kite is a word with a beginning. Let me
see it in the air first. Good. Down and out. Down and out. Beautiful. Do you think you could
do another one? Down and out. Lovely. So it just gives your child that opportunity to practice
they are talking through the process of forming that letter and actually they can do it as many
times as they like. They can rub it out, they can start again, you can use it for words,
you can use it for numbers, you can use it really for anything. Okay we're going to do last one.
Okay which one would you like to do last? You tell me a sound that you'd like to do.
I know I'll tell you a word and it's going to begin with a sound and you're going to write
Ant, ant, ant, ant, ant. In the air first. Beautiful. Now nice and big. That's lovely James.
I'm back. Oh dear you're going round and around again. Uh oh stop. We went a bit crazy. Do you
think we can try it again? Yeah. The beauty of play-doh, just get another piece. Okay.
Don't keep going around, we go round like a C, up and down. Round like a C,
up and down. Not bad at all. So we're going to go off and practice some more of these A's just
to get that letter formation really perfect but it's a really nice activity and it doesn't take
any time or really any organization.
