Tactile alphabet cards

Today I'm sharing a craft that was inspired by Pinterest and appealed to me as soon as saw it - some tactile alphabet cards which I pinned from Fairy Dust Teaching, the letters of the alphabet created using found objects. I probably don't spend enough time working on letters with Harry at the moment, I tend to think that it is something that he'll pick up easily enough when he starts school. But I loved how bright and colourful these alphabet cards were, and it looked like something that would be a lot of fun for us to make together.

For the cards I cut up an old, sturdy nappy box, it's best to use the strongest cardboard that you can as the paint and glue can warp thinner card. Each alphabet card measures approximately 8cm x 12cm. First we painted the backgrounds in a variety of different colours, then before we started putting letters on I planned the layout in advance so that I was happy with the spread of the colours when they were all displayed together.

To make our letters, I drew the outline in pencil and let Harry glue on the different things. I was a bit worried that I would struggle to think of 26 different things to use, but once I got started I kept thinking of more and more ideas! I loved watching Harry's fine motor skills at work. He's also enjoying patterning at the moment, so some of the letters are made using patterns in the colours like the alternating beads.

I used lowercase letters instead of the uppercase letters in the original pin, because those are the ones that I want him to become familiar with first. Perhaps we'll go on to make an uppercase set next!

Here's what I used for the different letters:

a - star eyelets
b - small beads
c - curtain hooks
d - sequins
e - cord
f - macaroni pasta
g - red lentils
h - gold stars
i - cotton wool
j - small stones
k - ribbon
l - lollipop stick
m - pipecleaner
n - felt
o - scraps of wool
p - large beads
q - pom poms
r - shredded paper
s - glitter
t - washi tape
u - scrap of fabric
v - lace
w - nails
x - sandpaper
y - tin foil
z - paperclips

The cards are still loose at the moment but I'm planning on attaching them to his bedroom wall somehow, perhaps gluing them on to a larger piece of cardboard as a background.