Z is for Zipper
Hooray! We made it to the last letter of the alphabet! We’re on letter “Z” in our preschool alphabet learning series. This week “Z” is for Zipper. I picked “zipper” because we’ve been working with Peanut on getting dressed. Learning how to zip a jacket or a pair of pants is an important skill to acquire.
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If you’re trying to teach your preschooler how to get dressed I recommend the
Melissa and Doug Basic Skills Board. You can see it pictured above and below (click the image below for more info). It has fabric and synthetic parts that include a button, belt, snap, zipper, and lace-up activities to help your preschooler practice “getting dressed” skills.
Why do I recommend Melissa & Doug and why do I ask family members for their products as gifts? Their products are so well made and they have excellent customer service. If you’d like you can read more about my experience with Melissa and Doug here: Melissa and Doug.
For our preschool alphabet study, we’re following a Montessori method of challenging little ones to learn by using their natural tendencies towards learning. You can read more about it on my Preschool Planning Post. On my planning post you can download a FREE planning chart and organizing chart.
- A “blank” copy of what the plan looks like.
Just so you know, I do not fill out one of these planning charts every week. Nor do I always fill the drawers (for the various learning areas) every week. These planning sheets are tools to help you brainstorm activities but don’t feel like you have to do everything. It’s just a way to help you think of creative ways to make learning fun!
Our set-up for our letter “Z” study included flashcards of a zebra, zipper, zoo and the number zero; and I drew a zoom lens in addition to a zebra, zipper, and zoo sign. We use “Hooked On phonics” flash cards and these “Go Fish” flashcards by School Educational Products for our preschool alphabet study.
Our favorite puzzle for teaching Peanut phonetic sounds is the “Sound Puzzle” by Melissa and Doug, click the image for more info.
I’ve been asked by a few moms how long it takes to do these activities. I’d say it’s anywhere from five to fifteen minutes per activity and I only do two or three a day. Sometimes all our activities may be packed into one or two days – it just depends upon the week. The rest is free play. Sometimes Peanut will take a real interest in something and spend more time at it, if he does, I let him lead. I’m just trying to introduce him to concepts and make it FUN. 😉
Every day starts with character building and this week we’re still focusing on sharing. We truly want our boys to learn how to share with each other so we are placing a real emphasis on this behavior until it becomes a way of life for our boys.
Here is the table set up for this week. It includes the boards I’ve mentioned as well as styrofoam letters of “Z” as well as an alphabet book and a book about words that start with “Z”.
We reviewed the sound the letter “Z” makes and talked about the flashcards and the drawings I completed for this lesson. To download a FREE copy of the PDF slides of the Letter “Z” click here: Letter “Z”.
Letter “Z” Printables
A coloring close-up
Free play includes playing with a new tool-set puzzle
Nugget is walking a few steps every day now!
Thank you for joining us on our journey through the alphabet. I hope you’ve enjoyed our study. In the coming weeks I plan to share what I’ve been learning about the basic required skills a preschooler needs prior to kindergarten as well as some tools to help preschoolers with early reading.
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I have more printables on the way & I think I’ll be updating some of the printables that were created at the beginning of our alphabet study so that I can have a complete “set” for Nugget. I’ll be sure to include those printables as we go so that you can download and have a complete set as well.
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In His Grip,
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