Five simple, meaningful ways to turn children's names into powerful alphabet learning before the first day of preschool.

Name Games in Preschool

More than 100 preschoolers reminded us what is possible when intentional teaching and purposeful play come together.

Many educators know literacy matters. The challenge is knowing what to teach, when to teach it, and how to do it in a way that actually works for young children.

Children deserve classrooms where they can move, explore, create, imagine, and play. They also deserve educators who understand how to intentionally teach the foundational skills that support future reading success.

Many preschool literacy practices have been passed down for years without us stopping to ask whether they truly align with what research tells us about how children learn. In this article, we explore six outdated approaches—from Letter of the Week to one-and-done read-alouds—and share practical, play-based alternatives that better support early literacy development.

These two skills are key for reading success.

We all know that letters are a critical part of early literacy. In fact, studies show that alphabetic knowledge in preschool and kindergarten is one of the strongest predictors of reading success in later elementary years. There is a clear connection between difficulty learning letter names and future challenges with reading. We know this is important, but how are we supposed to tackle teaching letters in the first place? Should we teach a letter a week? Go in ABC order? Star

Choosing a preschool literacy curriculum can feel overwhelming. In this post, we answer the most common questions about the Moving Little Minds Preschool Literacy Curriculum and share how we combine playful learning with research-based literacy instruction.

It is time to let go of allowing our handwriting curriculum to dictate how we use the alphabet. Learn how we can do both skills most effectively!

Check out these 6 key literacy skills for kindergarten readiness, and tips for those students that are still progressing.

Learn about inventive spelling and how to begin using it in your preschool classroom.

Learn why noticing early literacy red flags is vital for our preschoolers.

Explore the real reason why children know letter names. but struggle to apply them.

Let's embrace playful exploration of the alphabet with 2-year-olds!

How Teaching Letter Sounds Impacts Children I didn’t grow up in the South. I was born and raised in a small town in Central Illinois, spent time near Chicago, and then moved to North Carolina for my senior year of high school. It was a big shift, but I loved it! The clothes were a bit different, the popular sports shifted a bit, but one thing truly stuck out. The accent. At UNC-Chapel Hill, I was surrounded by friends from all over the country, each with their own way of

When it comes to teaching the alphabet, the goal is simple: make learning fun, engaging, and EFFECTIVE. In this post, I’m sharing the top 8 preschool alphabet activities and tools that I use regularly in my preschool literacy classes. These tools are the backbone of my teaching and help me build an environment that is both fun and supported by science-back practices. Learn how I both TEACH and PLAY with each tool, helping you transform your alphabet instruction for the bette

If you’ve ever taught a class full of preschoolers, you know firsthand the wide range of skills and developmental stages they bring. Each child enters the classroom with their own set of strengths, challenges, experiences, and background knowledge, creating a rainbow of unique learning profiles. This makes our roles as preschool teachers especially exciting (glass half full?)! Through engagement, observation, and assessment, we can begin to learn to unique learning profile of

Learning the Alphabet Letters How Many Should Preschoolers Know? How Many Letters Should Children Know by the End of Preschool? As a preschool literacy teacher, one question I often get is, “How many letters should children actually know?” It’s an important question, and one we often hear different answers to, especially since we know that children develop at their own unique pace and in various ways. But what does the research actually reveal? Is there a magic number for s

How DO You Teach the Alphabet to Preschoolers? The Alphabet is HARD! One of my favorite quotes to share when training parents and teachers is this: The brain is wired for language, but the alphabet is a human invention. It’s a set of symbols that we have to figure out. When children are born, their brains are naturally wired to learn language, which is why people often say it’s best to learn a second language from birth. However, the same isn’t true for the alphabet. We ha