We’re starting our week with a fun and easy letter U handprint craft along with loads of ideas for crafts, activities, and songs to reinforce what your child learns. Also, I have more alphabet letter fun on my page How to Homeschool Preschool.
U is the 21st letter of the alphabet and makes two common sounds. It makes the short U sound like in umbrella, under, and up, and the long U sound like in unicorn, uniform, and ukulele.
This week, we’ll explore the letter U through stories, crafts, songs, sensory play, snacks, and movement.
Start with letter U sound and recognition.
Help your preschooler recognize the uppercase and lowercase letter U (Uu) and understand the two main sounds it makes.
This will set the stage for reading and writing success later on.
LETTER U THEMED BOOKS FOR KIDS
Next, look at these fun books.
4 Books for Learning About the Letter U
Reading together is a great way to reinforce sounds and vocabulary. Try some of these Letter U-themed books:
A walk through the Costa Rican cloud forest provides a wonderfully lush setting for Jan Brett's beloved animal illustrations. When Carlos drops his umbrella to climb a tree for a better view of the animals, they all cram into the banana-leaf umbrella as it floats by--from the little tree frog to the baby tapir to the big jaguar and more. It gets so crowded in the umbrella that there isn't even enough room for a little hummingbird! So over the umbrella tumbles, everyone falls out, and poor Carlos comes back wondering why he didn't see any animals all day.In the spirit of Jan Brett's The Mitten and The Hat, this cheerful tale of escalation will have readers poring over every illustration for the world of details Jan packs in. With its classic story, exotic jungle setting, and brilliantly colorful menagerie, The Umbrella is sure to take its place among Jan's many family favorites.
A colorful first information book about life under the sea for children just beginning to read alone. Illustrated with fabulous photographs and with easy to read text and links to carefully selected websites with video clips and activities.
Uni loves playing sparkle ball and is very good at it! But Goldie and Silky want to play soccer. Uni has never played soccer before. It doesn't look fun, and there are unicorns Uni doesn't know. Uni tries but makes mistakes. Uni sees a new friend mess up, too, and encourages him to keep trying and to believe in himself. Trying something new is fun when you work together!Fans of the picture books, as well as new Uni fans, will be excited to join this bighearted unicorn and friends on a new adventure of learning about caring for another and believing in oneself.
Bare bear! Stop right there! Underwear!Under where?So begins the dialogue between a tired bear dad and a rambunctious bear cub who would rather play with his tighty whities than get into bed. Underwear makes great hair. It can even turn one into a superber, or a goggle-wearing swimming bear. But beware of a big scare! Rhymes, homonyms, and conjunctions abound in this book that could be used to teach reading, but its primary purpose is to make bedtime fun.
Next, look at this list of letter u words.
LIST OF SHORT U AND LONG U SOUND WORDS
Introduce and review short U and long U words. Make flashcards or use magnetic letters.
Short U Words:
- Up
- Under
- Umbrella
- Utensil
- Ugly
Long U Words:
- Universe
- Unicorn
- Uniform
- Ukulele
- Useful
In addition, here are some fun crafts and projects with the letter U.
LETTER U CRAFT PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES
- Create this fun and cute Letter U Unicorn craft to reinforce what you are learning.
- U is for U-Turn!: Draw a giant letter U on the driveway or with sidewalk chalk outside. Drive toy cars along the U shape like they’re making a “U-turn.”
- Pour salt or colored sand in a tray and let your child use their finger or a paintbrush to write the uppercase and lowercase U like the one we made here in our R is for Rainbow letter unit.
- Letter U Collage: Cut out pictures from magazines or print images of things that start with U (like unicorn, umbrella, ukulele, utensils) and glue them to a giant U you draw on poster board.
- Up, Up, Up- Play an energy-boosting game where every time you say “Up!” your child jumps or stretches, and “Down!” they sit or squat.
- Sing a song using motions like “Put your arms UP!” and “Go UNDER the table!” Add “U” words into the lyrics and actions.
MORE LETTER U ACTIVITIES
- If you’re keeping an alphabet book or binder, have your child decorate a “U” page with drawings or stickers of U words to add to it.
- Make a magical unicorn headband. Use cardstock to cut a unicorn horn and ears. Let your child decorate with glitter and tape it to a headband.
- Make an underwater ocean scene using blue paper, fish stickers, sandpaper, and seashells. Try this Underwater Papercraft, talk about how “under” begins with U.
- U is for Utensils Snack Time. Let your child explore utensils and practice using a fork, spoon, or child-safe chopsticks. Prepare finger foods like fruit cubes, cheese chunks, yogurt, veggie and bites. Talk about how we use utensils to eat, and that the word “utensil” starts with U!
- Under or Over Game-Use a toy, ball, or stuffed animal and place it under or over different furniture items. Ask “Is it under the table or over the chair?” Let your child move the object and call out the answers.
- Underwater Bin-Create a sensory bin with water, blue gems, plastic sea animals, and cups or scoops. Let your child explore what’s under the water. Add a letter U foam cutout or laminated card to float in the bin. Here is an ocean sensory bin.
Additionally, look at more activities to learn about letters in preschool.
MORE LETTER ACTIVITIES FOR PRESCHOOL
- A is for Apple Craft | Apple Study
- B is for Bird Craft | Bluebird Study
- Quick And Inexpensive Letter C Handprint Craft – Crafty Crab Fun
- E is For Easy Eagle Study
- How to Make a Fun Paper Plate Fish | F is for Fish
- G is for Gorilla Mask | Africa Study
- H Horse Handprint | Horse Study
- Letter I Pre-K Measuring Inches in a Fun Way
- K is for Kangaroo| Australia Theme
- M is for Monkey Handprint | Monkey Study
- N Is For Nest Handprint | Nests Study
- O is for Owl | Great Horned Owl Study
- P Is For Pineapple Craft | How To Make A Fun Handprint Pineapple
- R is for Rainbow | Rain Mobile
- How To Create A Sweet Strawberry Letter S Handprint Craft
Finally, look at this easy craft for the Letter U.
UMBRELLA EASY LETTER U CRAFT
You will need:
- Construction paper/patterned cardstock
- Pipe cleaner
- Glue stick
- scissors
- A little hand
First, demonstrate for your child how to bend the pipe cleaner into an umbrella handle shape.
Trace both hands on construction paper using one or as many colors as you like, let your child cut out the traced handprints.
Arrange the paper handprints in an umbrella shape on the top half of the paper.
Let your child glue them into place.
Tuck the pipe cleaner handle under the umbrella and glue it into place as well.
Write an upper and lowercase U in pencil for your child to trace over in marker for practice.
Hang it up and enjoy their masterpiece.
