Young children need to learn the letters of the alphabet. Knowing the letter n’s name, its form, and its sound will help children read words later. Teaching letters does not need to be boring and predictable.
Check out these ten crafts and activities that will make preschoolers learn the letter N with a lot of fun and excitement.
This letter printable provides children with three ways to learn the Letter N. It is a great way to recognize what the letter looks like and how to form it as they trace, write, or copy the uppercase and lowercase forms.
As they do these tasks, their fine motor skills will improve. As children write more, they can control the pencils or markers better. Their eye-hand coordination will also improve, allowing them to write on lines legibly.
Download and print the letter N mat from the site. Make this printable reusable and durable by laminating it. All it needs is a good wiping once the children are finished working.
Provide enough playdough for each child. Instruct children to fill the bubble letters with the clay. Show children how to form clay letters by rolling a small lump into logs. Connect the logs to fill in the letters.
Next, have children trace the dotted letters using a pencil or their favorite marker. Once finished, let them write or copy the letters on the line.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed Letter N playdough mat
- Playdough
- Pencil or marker
For more information on this activity, go to EducationOutside.org.
This craft is a great way to teach children that the word nest begins with the letter N. The addition of cute little birds will also be a suitable anchor for a science lesson about birds to help children understand the habitat of these animals.
Their cutting skills will improve as they cut out the letter, birds, and yarn. Teach children the concept of pair and single with this craft. This is a terrific foundation for teaching odd and even numbers later on.
Point out that the birds in the nest are a pair because it has a partner, while the bird on top of the letter is single since it has no partner.
Download and print the free letter N template from the site. Cut out and trace onto construction paper. Cut this out and set it aside. Next, outline the mama and baby birds on different colors of construction paper.
Cut out small triangles for the baby birds’ beaks and short pieces of yarn for the nest. Glue the googly eyes and beaks on the baby birds.
Glue the yarn on the letter N. Add the baby birds in the nest and the mama bird on top of the letter.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed letter template
- Construction papers
- Googly eyes
- Yarn
- Glue
- Scissors
For more information on this activity, go to KidsActivitiesBlog.com.
Children will love making this craft while learning more about the animals. Teach children that the letter N is the first letter of the word nest.
The site suggests using the books “Birds’ Nests” by Eileen Curran and “Mama Built a Little Nest” by Jennifer Ward to go with the craft.
Reading these bird books will significantly increase the children’s awareness of how birds make their nests, which is perfect for a Science lesson.
Start by cutting the paper plate in half. Flip one of the two and trim it to make an arch shape. Paint this brown. Paint the front part of the other half as well. Once dry, glue the feathers and some scrap tissue paper on the half-moon part.
Glue the moss on the arch-shaped part. Attach this to the other half of the paper plate to form a pocket. While letting this dry, make the birds by gluing the googly eyes on the pompoms.
Fold a yellow paper and cut out several triangles to form the beaks. Attach these to the pompoms. Place these in the pocket part of the nest.
For this activity, you will need:
- Spanish moss
- Sticks
- Tissue paper
- Craft feathers
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Glue
- Scissors
- Paper plate
- Pompoms
- Googly eyes
For more information on this activity, go to ALittlePinchOfPerfect.com.
Help children learn the letter N by providing manipulatives in centers, such as this sensory bag inspired by nature. It is a great activity after a nature walk where children get to collect different items that will go into the bag.
Let children collect different colors of flowers to teach colors and matching skills. Have children take different leaves to learn about shapes and for them to match. This fantastic activity provides a sensory experience that children will enjoy.
Fill the bag with the collected flowers and leaves. Ensure not to overcrowd the bag by adding a lot of these. It will make it difficult for children to move around the items inside the bag.
Next, add enough hair gel to cover the flowers and leaves. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. The site recommends doubling the Ziploc bag to ensure it will not spill just in case it breaks.
Have children move the flowers and leaves, find identical objects, name the colors, and count the number of things inside the bag.
For this activity, you will need:
- Hair gel
- Ziploc bag
- Flowers and leaves
For more information on this activity, go to HandsOnAsWeGrow.com.
If this ninja seems familiar, it was inspired by Leonardo, a character from the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Make this craft and help children make the connection between the letter N and the word ninja.
It is a great way to teach about the country of Japan and its culture. Talk about these brave warriors from a long time ago. Once they complete their craft, let the children name their ninjas.
Help them to think of a name that begins with N. For example, Nina the ninja or Ninja Nathan. This will help them associate the letter with the names.
Download and print the free letter template from the site. Cut this out and trace it onto a colored cardstock. The example from the site is green based on the turtle, but other colors may be used.
Next, cut out a strip of blue cardstock and glue it onto the letter N. Trim off the excess and attach the googly eyes. Cut out two leaf shapes from the leftover blue cardstock. Attach these on the end of the paper strip to resemble a knot.
Finally, use the black marker to add a smile. This step can be omitted if not making a ninja turtle.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed letter template
- Cardstock
- Googly eyes
- Glue
- Scissors
- Marker
For more information on this activity, go to TheSimpleParent.com.
This activity sheet requires no preparation but provides four different tasks to help children recognize the lowercase letter n. This activity is perfect after reading a book or finishing a letter n craft.
Children will improve their fine motor skills as they color and write the letter n. Their visual discrimination skills will be challenged as they find the correct letter in a group of circles.
Download and print the activity sheet from the site. Point the letter to the child and say its name. Have the child repeat its name. Let them copy the letter on the line using a pencil or a marker.
Next, instruct the child to find the same letter from a bunch of circles with letters. Let the child color the circle with the letter n using a marker or crayon. A bingo marker may also be used for this task.
Finally, have the child identify the picture of the nurse. Point out that the word nurse begins with the letter n. Ask the child to color the picture.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed activity sheet
- Pencil or marker
- Crayon or bingo marker
For more information on this activity, go to EducationOutside.org.
Combine process art with letter learning through this letter N craft. Children will feel fantastic as they spread the paint with their fingers. This activity will provide a great sensory experience for children.
Add a good number of stars on the craft for children to count. They may also find identical stars while learning that the word night begins with the letter N.
Extend this activity by having a Science lesson about nighttime. Ask children what they see in the sky at night. Talk about the sounds they hear and the fun things they do at night. Mention some animals that are awake at night.
Go to the site and download the free letter N template. Cut this out and trace it onto a colored cardstock. Cut out and set aside.
Next, lay the white cardstock on top of the newspapers. This step will keep the mess to a minimum and prevent the wet paint from bleeding through the paper.
Next, have the children spread paint on a white cardstock. Make sure to add enough color to cover the white background fully. Add a second layer if necessary. Let this dry.
Glue the letter N in the middle of the paper. Let the children add the star stickers. For this activity, you will need:
- Printed letter template
- Cardstock
- Finger paints
- Glitter paints
- Star stickers
- Newspapers
- Scissors
- Glue
For more information on this activity, go to CrystalAndComp.com.
This letter collage is a superb activity to teach the uppercase and lowercase letter N. Children will need to fill the letter bubble with cut-out strips of newspaper. Their fine motor skills will improve as they cut and glue these papers.
Extend this activity by exploring the newspaper. Let children observe and differentiate it from their storybooks. Explain that the newspaper tells of recent events that happened.
Download and print the letter N collage sheet from the site. Take some old newspapers and allow the children to cut them into small strips that fit inside the letter bubble. Allow children to choose which part of the paper they will use for the collage.
Next, have the children glue the strips one at a time, overlapping until the letter is filled. Repeat the process for the lowercase letter n. Explain that the word newspaper starts with the letter N.
For this activity, you will need:
- Strips of newspaper
- Printed letter N collage sheet
For more information on this activity, go to EarlyLearningIdeas.com.
9. Letter N Beginning Sound Coloring
Teach children the words that begin with the letter N as they work on this activity sheet. As they work on this task, they will learn to make the correct letter N shape, sound, and identify it.
They will also learn to discriminate the different letter sounds based on the beginning sounds of the pictures. This task will help improve their auditory discrimination skills and phonemic awareness skills.
Download and print the activity sheet from the site. Ask the children to name the pictures on the page. Focus on emphasizing the beginning sound by exaggerating and making it longer as the word is mentioned.
Tell children the sound of the letter N. Ask them to find pictures with the same beginning sound. Once they can identify the correct picture, have them color these.
Extend the activity by asking children what other things they can think of with the letter N sounds. Play an “I Spy” game by asking them to find a letter N object inside the room.
For this activity, you will need:
- Printed activity sheet
- Crayons or markers
For more information on this activity, go to EducationOutside.org.
Create these colorful wearables by painting the noodles and turning them into necklaces. As children learn that noodles and necklaces start with the letter N, they will have a lot of fun turning these pasta shapes into something they can proudly wear.
This craft helps improve hand-eye coordination skills as they thread the noodles. Use different colors of noodles to teach color recognition and patterns.
Use noodles that are on hand. However, consider using those that have bigger holes to make it easier for children to thread. Penne and rigatoni are perfect for this craft. Odd-shaped pasta with holes like rotelle can also be used.
Have children paint the noodles using glitter tempera paint. If available, lay the noodles on a sheet of newspapers or paint tray to prevent mess. Ensure that all sides are covered with color. Let these dry.
Next, cut out a piece of yarn depending on how long the necklace is. Provide a few inches to tie at the end. Have children insert the yarn through the hole in each noodle. Do this until the desired length is achieved.
Secure the necklace by tying the ends well to prevent it from unraveling.
For this activity, you will need:
- Noodles
- Glitter tempera paint
- Paintbrush
- Yarn
For more information on this activity, go to TheMeasuredMom.com.
Conclusion
Learning the letter N need not be boring through these ten crafts and activities that make the lessons fun and exciting. Allow children to be creative as they learn the letter form, sound, and the pictures that begin with it.
These activities will provide enough practice for mastery. They will also create wonderful crafts that showcase their artistic abilities as they learn the letter.
Thank you for reading!
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