We are coming close to the end of our alphabet lessons with the amazing letter "Y". This letter is versatile and useful in many words and contexts, so it is important for your students to understand how it's pronounced, placed, and its purpose. Like learning any other letter, we need to expose our students to it many times in multiple scenarios and instances. Here are 20 activity ideas that are hands-on, utilize motor skills, sensory learning, and of course tons of creative arts and crafts supplies to make the letter "Y" say "YES"!
1. Snap the Yarn Painting
This fun toddler craft uses pieces of yarn wrapped around a tray to splash paint onto a printable ABC worksheet. Get some white paper with the letter "Y" on it and place it on the tray. Have your preschoolers paint the yarn and then pull and release it so it snaps the piece of paper and splashes paint.
Learn more: Pre-K Pages
2. Yummy and Yucky
This super cute edible activity will take your students' mouths on an adventure! Get some small food items/snacks to put on a paper plate and make two simple signs, one that says "yummy" and another that says "yucky". Have your kids try each food and hold the sign they feel describes the food.
Learn more: The MeGown Family
3. "Y" is for Yellow Collage
Learning the alphabet and colors happens around the same age, so it makes sense to talk about yellow when learning the letter "Y". Have your preschoolers help you make a list of yellow things on the whiteboard. Then have them bring something small and yellow to class the next day, and combine it all to make a class collage.
Learn more: K4 Craft
4. "Y" is for YOU!
Time for a show and tell activity, something that describes YOU to the class. You can make this activity more "Y" focused by asking students to bring in things that have the letter "Y" in the name, like a Yankees cap, a stuffed puppy, money, their diary, or a lily.
Learn more: Mary Matha Mama
5. Yo-yo Craft
This craft will turn an awesome letter outline, into a fun letter alphabet craft featuring yo-yos! Cut out some uppercase letter "Y"s on yellow construction paper and then some circles in other colors. Use some glue, or yarn/string to decorate your capital "Y".
Learn more: Pinterest
6. Magnetic Alphabet Word Building
Magnetic letters are a cheap and practical learning tool to have in your classroom. One way you can use them is to give groups of students a set of letters and ask them to build as many words as they can. Make it more challenging by asking them to spell words using "Y".
Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards
7. Play Dough Letter Impressions
Preschoolers love to mess with play dough, and creating alphabet letter impressions is a fun visual and sensory pre-writing skill for letter recognition. Get some letter cards or block letter imprints and help your students create words in their play-dough.
Learn more: The Imagination Tree
8. Egg Yolk Painting
Did you know you can use egg yolks as paint? Give each student an egg and let them crack it and separate the whites from the yolk as best as they can. They can break and mix up the yolk and use it to create a unique art piece.
Learn more: Pinterest
9. Color Coding Letters
This is an easy activity to use for color sorting practice and letter learning. Put a collection of letters on the table and have your students sort them into groups by color. You can continue the activity by having them create words using their color-coding skills and the collection of letter tiles.
Learn more: No Time for Flash Cards
10. Dot Painting a Yacht
This preschool craft uses q-tips and paints or dot markers to fill in pieces of paper with the outline of a yacht.
Learn more: The Educators' Spin on It
11. "Y" is for Year
This preschool activity uses salt painting to create the numbers for the year 2022! You'll need a bunch of salt, a glue stick, and some paints. Have your students write out 2022 with their glue sticks on yellow construction paper, and then they can sprinkle the salt and drip the paint.
Learn more: Powerful Mothering
12. Learning Letters with Legos
Legos are a useful learning tool when it comes to the alphabet. You can use them for building letters, imprinting your letter shape in play dough, or dipping them in the paint for letter-building skills.
Learn more: Pinterest
13. Books All About "Y"
There are lots of books out there that teach readers about all the most basic words with the letter "Y". From read-alongs about yellow school buses to a stunning picture book about a family of yak.
Learn more: Home with Hollie
14. "Y" is for Yoga
Yoga is a fun and helpful activity to get your preschoolers up and moving at the beginning or end of class. Some simple poses and breathwork is great to stimulate blood flow to the brain and can help center your students and get them ready to study.
Learn more: Insider
15. No Time to Yawn
This simple paper craft has students cut out a basic shape from construction paper to make ahead, then follow the instructions to give the face a big mouth that is yawning. Your students can then practice letter writing "Y" is for yawn on the big tongue.
Learn more: Pinterest
16. Secret Letters
This secret letter activity is a printable worksheet you can give your students. They must look at the letter sheet and try to find the correct letter "Y" and dot it with their dot paint markers.
Learn more: All Kids Network
17. "Y" is for Yoda
I am sure there is room to add a Star Wars-themed activity in your letter "Y week curriculum. Help your preschoolers paint their own Yoda, or find some traceable printables to pass out for them to color and get creative.
Learn more: Pinterest
18. Yummy Yogurt Parfaits
Yogurt is a delicious and healthy snack that starts the letter "Y". There are plenty of varieties of yogurt and recipes for tasty snacks you can make in the classroom or at home.
Learn more: All About Learning Press
19. "Y" is for Yak
There are tons of cute letter "Y" designs for making a yak, but this one is my favorite. It uses your students' handprints to make the shape of a yak they can add a face to with markers.
Learn more: Crystal and Comp
20. Bring "Y" Letter to Life
Using different colors of yarn, and punching holes into the outline of the uppercase letter "Y", show your students how to thread the yarn through the holes to sew a "Y"!
Learn more: My Teaching Station
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