Write the letters in the alphabet, a letter per sheet, on the bottom half of individual sheets of paper -- preferably in bold colors. Fold the papers in half so you can hang them on a clothesline with the letters visible. Begin teaching a child the letters in his first name. Once you explain the name of each letter and how it sounds, play a memory game. Say the name of a letter out loud and have the child point to the correct letter on the clothesline. You can mix up the order of the letters to make it more difficult, then have the child help you put them back in the correct order. Once a child recognizes the letters in his own name, move on to teaching the other letters of the alphabet in order, a few at a time. Play the memory game with new sets of letters, such as A, B, C and D, as your student learns them.
Use patterns to cut out 26 felt, paper or cardboard animals, whose names each begin with a different letter of the alphabet. If kids have already memorized the letters of the alphabet, challenge them to put all the animals in alphabetical order. If you are still working with a child on learning the alphabet, have kids play a matching game. Cut out felt, paper or cardboard letters and help kids match animals with the correct letter. For example; a dog cut-out figure should be matched with the letter "D." Work with a few letters and animals at a time until kids master the whole alphabet.
When you're traveling or running an errand with kids, play a letter-finding game to engage their creativity and help them remember their letters. Pick a letter of the alphabet and have the child look for objects or places whose names begin with that letter. If your child can identify letters on sight, have her look for the letter in advertisements, road signs and other posted text as you drive. Every few minutes, pick a different letter for the child to identify.
Many educational websites offer free interactive tools to help children master their ABCs. PBS Kids has several alphabet games, like "ABCD Watermelon," a game in which kids have to identify missing letters in the alphabet. Older children working on the skill of alphabetization can practice with "Alphabet Whack-A-Mole" on PlayKidsGames.com. In this game, moles pop up on screen holding different letters. To win, kids need to "whack" the letters in alphabetical order.