Preschool doesn’t have to be filled with workbooks and flash cards. In fact, I would argue that it shouldn’t (unless your child just loves to gobble up workbooks. My oldest did!).
I’m not one of those moms that creates crafts to teach each letter and number. For one, I don’t have time for that, and for two, it just doesn’t interest me at all.
But I love books. I love to surround myself with books, and I love to read them to my kids.
So, I’ve found story books that introduce shapes, colors, numbers, and letters in a fun way! Here are 10 that we use in our home, and some you probably already have in yours!
Secrets of the Vegetable Garden
This is my favorite!! Think of it as your very first introduction to nature study. Depending on where you live, you could choose Secrets of the Apple Tree, Winter, Seashore, or others, to tie it into your local surroundings. When you shine a light on the back of a page, it displays hidden pictures like rabbits sleeping under the ground or monkeys in trees.
Go Dog Go covers a lot, and is one of the few that covers things like over, under, on, and in. It’s a fun read aloud and also happens to be an easy reader, so it may be one of the first books your child reads after you’ve finished your phonics program!
We have both the full book and the board book version. 1 Fish 2 Fish covers colors, shapes, old, and new and is a classic for a reason. Kids love to read this book!
This is a follow up from Put Me in the Zoo, and since the main character is showing new tricks, the story touches on more things like colors and shapes.
Obviously this book covers numbers, and in a cute story form. My kids love all the books in the My Very First Winnie the Pooh set. Most of the books talk about a valuable lesson of some sort, like friendship, visiting a doctor, helping each other, and other morals.
Super cute story that helps kids understand big numbers in a more concrete way. There’s even a fold out page that includes a million stars!
My Very First Steps to Reading
This as an introduction to the letters and the sounds they make, but I don’t see it as a way to teach those sounds, but rather to create a bit of familiarity. Think of it as sowing the seeds of letter familiarity before a phonics program, and reinforcing the lessons while using a phonics program.
Pierrot’s ABC Garden is an adorable way to introduce letters, plus vegetables that your kids may or may not be familiar with.
This is darn near government issued to all kids it seems. If you don’t have it already, then make sure to get a copy! Super fun Dr. Seuss rhyming while introducing letters and sounds.
This is the only story that introduces comparisons like big, bigger, biggest and small, smaller, smallest. See? Who needs a worksheet!
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