You can play all kinds of language and phonics games with Alphabet Dots! They are so useful for teaching the letters of the alphabet, letter recognition, letter sounds, reading, and spelling that I would even say they are a must-have if you are trying to teach a really active kiddo. They are a fun way to let young children move their bodies while learning, which research shows is a great way to improve concentration, focus, memory, and more! The Alphabet Dots are an educational resource that is great for homeschool (that’s how I use them!) and also appropriate for school use. There are so many ways to learn with these – no sitting still required! Read on for instructions an d a free pattern for making Rainbow Alphabet Dots!
NOTE: I included a printable Alphabet Dots option if you don’t want to cut out the fabric. You will find it at the bottom of the post.
Materials Needed for Making Alphabet Dots:
- 18″ width of felt from a bolt in each of these colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple (if you can’t find felt on the bolt, you can use the 18″x12″ precut sheets – you will need 6 of each color
- Scissors
- Dot Template (below) – print 2
- Letters for Dots Template (below)
- Sewing Machine and thread in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple OR hot glue for no sew
Instructions for Making Rainbow Alphabet Dots:
- Print and cut out the dot template (you will need two) and the letters for dots template
- Assemble the dot template by cutting the overlap off of one half of the dot, then taping or glueing the overlap of the other half underneath the straight edge of the first side in order to complete the dot
- Using the dot template as a pattern, cut 26 dots out of the felt pieces. You will need: 5 red dots, 5 orange dots, and 4 each of the yellow, green, blue, and purple
- Using the letter template as a pattern, cut the letters out of the felt. Cut the centers out of the letters that have an interior shape by first cutting a small slit, then inserting the scissors to cut out the shape.
- Cut the following alphabet letters out of the colors listed:
- red: F, L, R, X
- orange: A, G, M, S, Y
- yellow: B, H, N, T, Z
- green: C, I, O, U
- blue: D, J, P, V
- purple: E, K, Q, W
- Now, sew or glue the letters to the dots. The red letters will go on the purple dots, the orange letters will go on the red dots, the yellow letters will go on the green dots, the green letters will go on the blue dots and the purple letters will go on the red dots.
- To sew the letters onto the Alphabet Dots, lay the letter on the middle of the dot and sew around the letter at about 1/8th inch.
Now your Alphabet Dots are ready to use! There are so many ways you can use these dots for active, multi- sensory learning.
Now that your Alphabet Dots are finished, check out my post for lots of fun learning activities that you can do with them!
If you want to use the Alphabet Dots, but you don’t want to make the felt ones, I’ve created some printable options for you. The clear Alphabet Dots are for printing on colored cardstock, and the colored Alphabet Dots can be printed on white cardstock. I recommend laminating them for durability. If you are printing the Alphabet Dots on colored cardstock, I recommend loading the cardstock in your printer in a specific way because I have ordered the letters on the printable so that the alphabet is in rainbow order. To keep the rainbow order, load 5 red, 5 orange, and 4 each of yellow, green, blue, and purple cardstock sheets in that order.
Print the Alphabet Dots, laminate them, cut them out, and they are ready to go!
Note: You might want to attach some adhesive-backed felt to the back of the Alphabet Dots to keep them from sliding while your child is doing activities with them.
Thank you for visiting! I hope the Alphabet Dots are a useful tool in helping you and your children have joyful learning together! Please see my post on Alphabet Dot activities for my favorite ideas on how to use them.
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