Online Alphabet and Science Activities for Preschool

Children are using technology at a very early age, so it’s no wonder that there are many preschool games which can be found online. One site which offers preschool curriculum and educational online activities is Time4Learning. In our last article, we looked at the math activities which they provide for preschoolers as well as extensions you can do with your child.

In this article, we will look at online activities which can help your child grasp general knowledge of the alphabet and science concepts. These educational resources provided by Time4Learning will help to not only introduce your preschooler to concepts but to also help assess that they comprehend the material.

• Show Time: This interactive video presents the child with a visual and verbal introduction of the alphabet. As the alphabet song is sung, letters appear on-screen. The video also allows for the child to choose any letter using the mouse. As the child chooses a letter, the narrator speaks the letter and also states a word which starts with that letter. For instance: “W is for Watch.”
• Which: This game is presented in a game show form as a penguin with a cute toupee is the host and the child is the game show contestant. The child is shown two letters at a time while the narrator asks for the child to choose the correct letter. For instance: Letters ‘B’ and ‘D’ are shown and the child is asked which one is letter 'D?' By using the mouse, the child is working on motor gross skills as he or she is learning the alphabet.
• Memory Match: This old game has a new age twist. The child is given eight cards which they must “flip” using their mouse. As they turn over the card they see a letter and the letter is spoken. This method not only helps them with visual memory of the letter but also helps them recognize the letter using verbal clues.
• Match It: This game matches a letter to a picture which starts with a specific letter. For instance: the letter “K” would be matched up with the picture of a “kiss” which also has the word “kiss” below the picture. This game not only helps with recognition of letters but also helps introduce the child to phonics.

Alphabet Extensions:

There is really so much you can do around your own house to help your child learn the alphabet. Here are a few ideas:

• Draw one letter per index card and use these index cards to drill your child. Make this fun, though, by going to each room of the house and asking your child to find five items which start with__________(show the letter of your choice); just make sure there are items in the room which start with the letter you are working with.

• Using the ideas from memory match, make your own memory cards again using index cards. This time make pairs for each letter (use one uppercase and one lowercase letter for each pair of cards). Try to make them visually stimulating and allow for each set of letters to have their own color. This can help not only with recognizing uppercase to lower case letters but also assess for color matching.

• During snack time, allow the child to play with their food! Use sliced carrots, celery, cheese, etc. Ask the child to make an “A” with his carrot sticks or a “T” with his celery. This child will love playing with his food while learning!

Science themes which are covered in the preschool curriculum on Time4Learning include weather, the human body, the human face, and space. The sections are basically the same for the alphabet and for math (which we read about in the previous article). They have storybook or videos where the children are introduced to the science topics. The child is then assessed using interactive games such as Match It, Find It, or Memory Match.

My three year old actually found these sections to be the most interesting. This may be because, when we are “teaching” our preschoolers about what they need to know such as math and the alphabet, we sometimes overlook the science topics. While my daughter knew beforehand about the human body and the human face, she really enjoyed playing along with the head, shoulders, knees, and toes song.

Science Extensions:

• Weather: Use an everyday calendar for this daily activity. Cut out small “weather” signs such as sun (sunny), cloud (cloudy), rain (rainy), etc. You can draw these weather symbols or you and your child can try to find pictures in magazines which represent them. Each day ask your child to state what the weather is like then have him tape a weather symbol on the calendar for that day. To make it even more fun, have the child color the weather symbol instead of using cut outs.
• Space: On Time4Learning, your child will learn read a story about being an astronaut. This story tells about a boy who makes his own rocketship using everyday items such as a cardboard box. Take tips from this story and help your child become an astronaut for the day. Use an old cardboard box and materials to decorate the “rocketship.” Remember to count down to blast off using the counting methods your child learned: “5,4,3,2,1!”
• Human Body: Ask your child to think about all the amazing things the human body can do. Go over the five sense with your child. Now ask your child these questions:

“Use your senses…”

• What do you hear?
• What do you smell?
• What do you touch?
• What do you see?
• What do you taste?

Your child’s answers will vary such as “I hear birds” or “I taste ice cream.”

These science activities will help extend upon all of the material which was introduced through Time4Learning’s preschool curriculum and online activities.

Overall, my child preschooler really liked how the interactive lessons were set up. The one thing she was disappointed about was that every time she went back to a lesson, it seemed to be repetitive. For instance, for each section only, one story or video will show up, it never changes. This would be one suggestion I would make to Time4Learning: to have several stories and videos for the child in each section.

Our last article in the series will look at everyday items and objects such as transportation, food, and animals.