Many pre-K students are aware of the letters that make up their names. For this activity, children are required to recognize and search for every letter in each of their names. Print off the letters for each student in the class. Hide each letter in different places around the classroom. Provide students with two envelopes. Ask each student to walk around the room placing the letters in their name in one envelope and letters they don't recognize in the other.
Place four random letters on the desk in front of each pre-K student. Give each kid one minute to visualize each of the letters. After the minute is up, go around the class one by one, turning each letter onto its blank side while removing one. Once one letter is removed, turn the other two over immediately and ask the children to identify the missing letter using his memory. This activity will help the kids associate letters to sounds and will sharpen their memory skills.
Using play dough in any pre-K classroom ensures that the children will want to get involved. Place a variety of different letters in front of each student. These could be an assortment of random letters or name-specific letters. Have the kids mold the dough into letter shapes. Use different play dough tools such as cookie-cutters and rolling pins to increase the enjoyment in this activity.
Make copies of hand-made, printable cards to bring into class. Each day bring in a different card to show the kids. Each card should consist of a large letter next to an illustration of an animal whose name begins with the letter. For example, D is for dog, with a simple illustration of a dog beside the D. Students tend to respond well to fun and colorful illustrations that make learning more visual.