Why Use Alphabet Coloring Pages

Alphabet coloring pages can be a fantastic way to review letters and their sounds in preschool and kindergarten.  While I prefer hands-on activities to actually introduce and teach letters, worksheets like alphabet coloring pages are great practice activities.

In Kindergarten, children are expected to sit for longer periods of time and to do more written work.  We often send them from preschool or pre-k with very little experience completing worksheets.  Giving them an occasional alphabet printable, like a coloring page, will help them build stamina for all the written seat-work assigned in kindergarten.

When to Use Alphabet Coloring Pages

Preschool alphabet coloring pages are quick and easy to print and use.  They’re great for morning work or to add to your writing center or art center.  Some teachers even send them home as “homework.”

In my pre-k classroom, I only use coloring pages for children who already have good fine motor skills and know how to hold a crayon and pencil properly.  If those skills aren’t in place, I wait a bit before using them..

For those children who do have good fine motor abilities, I use alphabet worksheets sparingly—no more than one or two sheets per week.  I never want worksheets to replace our hands-on alphabet activities.  Rather, they supplement our other learning experiences and help prepare them for all the “paperwork” of Kindergarten.

TEACHER TIP #1

Let children work on their coloring page over the course of several days.  Little hands get tired easily, and I’d rather them take their time and color neatly than to scribble all over the page simply because they got tired (or bored).  These pages are meant to be a fun alphabet review—not something that’s overwhelming or overly tiring.

Fun Ideas for Using Alphabet Coloring Pages

Looking for fun ways to use these letter printables?  Keep a folder for each student to hold all of their alphabet coloring sheets.  Once they’ve completed each letter, bind them into an alphabet book for students and parents to keep.  These booklets offer a great way to review the work and are a fun keepsake from Pre-K.

Another fun idea is to print each letter out and bind the pages to create an alphabet coloring book. Add a pack of crayons, and these alphabet coloring pages make a great Christmas gift or end of school gift for children.

Finally, you could use preschool alphabet coloring pages to make each child a name book.  The very first letters preschoolers should learn are those in their own name.  A coloring book that focuses on the letters in their names will help them learn to spell and write their names.  Plus, it’s less overwhelming than coloring 26 letters!

What to Look for in Alphabet Coloring Pages

No matter how you use alphabet worksheets like these coloring pages, children will get great practice with letter identification and letter sounds.  The objects they color on each page represent that letter’s sound,  so children build letter-sound associations as they color.

For example, the letter B page may have pictures of a ball, bat, baby, and banana.  As children color the pictures on the giant letter B, they notice the shape and structure of the letter.  They also learn words that begin with B and begin to recognize the sound of B.

As a word of caution, be sure the alphabet coloring pages you use have true representations of the letter sounds. For instance, children should not be coloring pictures of an orange or an owl to represent the letter O and its sound(s).  Older children will learn phonetic rules and understand that the letter o can make different sounds in different contexts.  However, preschool children should only be taught the traditional short and long sounds of O.

LIkewise, when working on the letter S coloring page, I would never present pictures like Shark since the /s/ sound isn’t obvious on some digraphs and blends.  However, spider would work because there is a definite /s/ sound that can be isolated at the beginning.  In other words, be choosy on which picture cues you use to represent each letter.

TEACHER TIP #2

Make any alphabet worksheets you use fun! Instead of plain crayons, let children use glitter crayons or twistable crayons.  Children love using scented markers like Mr. Sketch, too.  You could even print the alphabet coloring pages on watercolor paper and let them paint the pictures instead of coloring them.  Be creative in how you use any printables and they’ll feel less like a worksheet!

More Alphabet Printables and Ways to Use Them

Ready to move on to more advanced alphabet worksheets than just coloring pages?  Be sure to check out these Alphabet Intervention Activities that can be used as traditional worksheets or as dry erase activities.  Some of the alphabet pages can even be used with Bingo dabbers, mini erasers, or bingo chips.  No matter which alphabet worksheets you choose to use, you can always find ways to make them fun and age-appropriate!

 

Alphabet Printables and Worksheets to Check Out:

⭐ Alphabet Coloring Pages

⭐ Alphabet Anchor Charts

⭐Alphabet Intervention Activities

What’s your favorite alphabet activity to do with your little learners?