The letter F can appear in the beginning, middle or end of a word. Depending on the letter it is next to, it may have a slightly different pronunciation. In order to introduce preschoolers to this sound, use images of objects that have the letter F in their name. Print out photos of a variety of F words such as fish, feet, fans and forks. Glue these images to cardboard or construction paper to give them a firmer backing. Hold up the image to the preschool child and say the name of the object. Have the child repeat after you a couple of times for each image so that the sound becomes natural and understood.
Use the lyrics from poems and songs to teach a child about the letter F. Print out the lyrics to classic nursery rhymes. Give each child a copy of the lyrics and ask him to circle every capital F and underline every lowercase f. This will help children develop a visual understanding of the letter. Letter recognition is important and can be done efficiently and quickly with rhymes, songs and poems that are already familiar to the children.
Print out words that have the letter F in their beginning, middle or end. Use a font that is large, and rather than printing a typical black word, use a format that leaves the center uncolored. Give the words to the children and have them color in all of the letter Fs. Be sure to include capital and lowercase Fs in the printout so that children can be familiarized with both types. You can also print out coloring-book style images of the words next to the word to be colored in as well. For example, next to the word flower, print out a cartoon version of a flower for the preschooler to color in, thus associating the letter F with a word and with an image.
Start by telling the kids that you are going to do a finger painting activity to learn about the letter F, since finger painting begins with F. Encourage the kids to pick their favorite color, also pointing out that favorite is another F word. With a large piece of paper in front of them, ask the kids to paint capital and lowercase Fs with their fingers. Children will love this tactile learning experience and they will develop a hand-mind connection with the formation of the letter F.