One of the skills that you can never practice too much is writing! But trying to force a 2-3 year old into the correct "pencil posture" and how to form each letter is not so healthy for them and can be incredibly frustrating for both parties! That's where these alternative letter framing activities come in!

You will need:
*Clear imitation ziploc bags- I don't like the brand name for this activity because the word Zploc across the bag can be distracting.
*a variety of liquid and solid materials such as honey, laundry detergent, sugar, corn starch, etc
*Laminated index cards with the letters you're focusing on
*play dough
*sharpie
*copy paper

Fill each bag 1/4-1/3 of the way with a different material. For the solids, use the sharpie to draw the letter directly onto the bag. For the liquids, draw the letter onto a regular sheet of paper and place it under the bag. Place the bags on the table, and have the kids use their fingers to trace the letters- they'll enjoy the variety of textures/degrees of softness in each material.
For the play dough, place it next to the index cards with the letters, and have them roll out pieces of dough and trace the letters on the laminated cards. 

What's great about these activities is that you are strengthening the child's fine motor skills and thus getting him ready for writing, while reinforcing letter recognition at the same time. All without shoving a single writing instrument into his hand!

This is a fun alphabet center that helps reinforce letter recognition, fine motor skills, and pre math skills.

What you'll need:
2 baskets or bowls
alphabet cards- half random letters and half the letter that you're teaching
clothespins
yarn
2 posts or chairs

Attach the yarn to the 2 chairs, stretching it tight so that it resembles a clothesline. Mix the alphabet cards and place them in one of the bowls or baskets. Stick the clothespins on the yarn.

Activity: Have the kids sort out the letter that's being taught and place those cards in the second basket/bowl. Then, have the kids hang the letters on the clothesline.
Have the kids remove the letters and shuffle them for the next child.

This is the first of what I hope will be many different alphabet ideas. These cards are great for stimulating the sense of touch with your kiddos. You can pass them around at circle time, or just keep them on your discovery table.

Instructions are simple. Just create the letter of the week using a different collage material on each card. You can do as many cards as you have patience to create. Use pom poms, glitter glue, popsicle sticks, foam, felt, sandpaper, bordette paper, crumpled tissue paper, tin foil, pipe cleaners, beads, pasta, rice- sky's the limit!