Making letters with straws and play dough {101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet}

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If your child enjoys play dough, he or she will love the activity I’m featuring in today’s installment of my 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet Series. With a ball of play dough and some cut up straw pieces, your child will be learning letters and developing fine motor skills while having a lot of fun.

I call today’s activity making letters with straws and play dough.

Making letters with straws and play dough is a great way to teach the alphabet. Kids will love learning letters with this tactile sensory and fine motor experience. Part of the 101 Ways to Teach the Alphabet Series from Gift of Curiosity

For this activity, you need some play dough and a bunch of cut up straw pieces. I cut my straw pieces to about 2″ tall. Then I put the materials on a tray.

My daughter began by flattening out a ball of play dough to a pancake about 1″ thick. The exact thickness of the pancake isn’t important, as long as it is thick enough to stick the straws and keep them standing upright.

I provided my daughter with some sandpaper letters to give her a model for the letter she was to create.

She selected straws and poked them into the play dough in the shape of a ‘v.’

Then I gave her another letter to copy, and she began again.

This time she made a ‘d.’

If the play dough pancake gets too thin or hole-y to support more straws, your child simply needs to gather it into a ball and flatten it again. Then it will be ready for more letters!