Engage preschoolers in an edible craft activity that also teaches them to recognize letters of the alphabet. Write the outline of a letter onto Styrofoam, then have the children poke toothpicks into the outline. Insert a marshmallow onto each toothpick so that the letter is formed with marshmallows. To increase the complexity of the task, outline basic sight words for preschoolers to spell with marshmallows.
Provide children with small boxes and a selection of images already cut out. Assign each child a letter of the alphabet and have the child write the letter on one side of the box with marker. Students must then sort through the pictures to find images beginning with that letter, and stick them on the remaining sides of the box.
Instruct students to close their eyes while you read a familiar passage. Change one of the words in the sentence to a nonsense word, or a word that the children are not expecting. You might substitute a word -- "patty cake, patty cake, baker's dog" -- or switch the order of events in a nursery rhyme -- "hickory, dickory dock, the mouse ran down the clock" -- and challenge the children to identify what was changed.
Introduce the concept of syllables by asking the class to clap along with their names. Count the number of syllables in each name, and discuss which students have the longest and shortest names.
Challenge preschoolers to identify sounds. Provide a bag full of different letters or letter combinations such as "sh" and "ing." Have the children take turns reaching into the bag and selecting a letter. The student must then try to sound out the letter or combination.
Play a game of rhyming or sight word memory. Create a set of 12 cards using six pairs of sight words. Students take turns flipping the cards over two at a time. If the words match, the student keeps the pair. If not, the game continues until all the matching pairs have been found. The winner is the student with the most pairs at the end of the game. Alternatively, use rhyming word pairs -- such as "rat" and "cat" -- but keep in mind that preschoolers will probably need to see pictures as well as words on the rhyme cards.
Provide children with two sets of laminated cards. One set of cards should have each student's name on them. The other set of cards should have each student's name on the front and his picture on the back. Challenge children to match the names. Once the student has matched the word, he can turn over the card to see whose name it is.
Provide children with a worksheet and a selection of newspapers and magazines. The worksheet should have a common sight word -- such as "the," "on" or "it" -- at the top. Students must sort through the newspaper to identify more of the selected sight word. Each time the student finds the word, he should cut it out and paste it on the worksheet.