A fun but time-intensive project is building a photo book through a print-on-demand publisher. Using simple templates and uploading your own photographs, you use objects in your child's life and people in his family to illustrate the letter sounds. Not only will a child be delighted when he experiences seeing his brother's face in a glossy alphabet book, he will also begin to connect words, sounds and letters with familiar objects as he goes through his day.
Books can also be printed using a photo printer or a POD publisher using stock photos available through Internet sites. Make sure you use only photos that are free of copyright restrictions, even for a personal project. Plenty of beautiful artwork is available and can make for an artful book that will be appreciated by your child as she grows older. You can even use an alphabet format to create a topical book for an older child; for example, an alphabet book with botanical, astronomical or fine art images.
You can use card stock and scrapbooking supplies to create three-dimensional alphabet books for little hands. Pop-up books are fun and easy to make with craft-store tools.
Lap books can be as complicated or straightforward as you'd like. Begin with a file folder, and build your lap book with activities, envelope pockets, flaps and coloring squares.
Kids can create their own alphabet books. Cut magazine photos, and help your child create collage pages, or print coloring pages with letters and pictures. Purchase school composition notebooks with lines for writing under a blank space on each page for drawing; have your child draw and color a letter on the top and then list words that begin with that letter below over the course of the year.