What foods has your child tried? Can you think of fruits and veggies beyond the standard apples, oranges, carrots, and broccoli? The colorful foods illustrated in this simple book will have you and your child wanting to “eat the alphabet!”
Before, During and After Reading
Oral Language
Read the title of the book and make a prediction as to what this book might be about. You might ask “How can you eat the alphabet?” or “What do you think will happen in this story?”
Phonological Awareness, Letter Knowledge
As you read the book together, ask your child to identify the food on the page that begins with the same sound as the alphabet letter. You might say, “Touch a food that begins with the same sound as letter “c”, the /k/ sound.” If your child hesitates or touches a food with a different sound, you can start to name the foods and emphasize that beginning sound.
You might say:
I see the /k/ /k/ currant, /k/ /k/ corn, and /k/ /k/cucumber.
Do you hear the /k/ sound in /k/ /k/ cabbage, /k/ /k/ carrots, /k/ /k/cauliflower?
Beginning Writing
Create an “Alphabet Plate” of foods that you and your child like to eat. Provide a paper plate or a piece of paper cut in a circle like a plate. Invite your child to draw pictures of her favorite foods. Make the beginning sound of the foods together and write the letter next to the food. You can even invite your child to trace the letter you wrote with a marker or a crayon.
Find more fun activities and recommended books for three-year-olds.
