Inventive Letter I Crafts & Activities for Preschoolers
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Ignite a love for learning the alphabet with letter I crafts and activities designed for young children.
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Mastering the alphabet is an essential step in your child’s reading journey. Incorporate some hands-on letter practice to keep young learners actively engaged as they work to learn all 26 letters. These letter I crafts and activities use everyday items to help preschoolers explore the shape and sounds of this important letter.
Please note that while these crafts are designed for young children, they do require some adult guidance.
Some of these letter I crafts and activities require the outline of a letter I. You can draw one yourself or find one in our free printable collection of letter I worksheets.
1. I is for Igloo
Creating an icy igloo is an ideal way to explore the sound of the letter I.
Required Materials
- sponge
- white paint
- construction paper
- scissors
How To
For this craft, begin by cutting a square or rectangle from a sponge. Add some white paint to a paper plate. Have your child dip their sponge into the white paint and gently stamp it onto a dark piece of construction paper, like blue or black.
Dip and stamp the sponge repeatedly to form snowy brick patterns in the shape of an igloo. Allow the paint to dry, and cut out and glue on a piece of paper cut into the shape of a door. Alternatively, you can leave a spot in the igloo without paint to serve as its entrance.
2. I is for Ice Painting
Painting with ice cubes is an incredible way to explore the sound of the letter I while creating a unique piece of art.
Required Materials
- ice cube tray
- water
- food coloring
- craft sticks
- thick paper or card stock
How To
You’ll need to do some preparation in advance for this craft. The night before, gather several colors of food coloring and mix a few drops of each one into small bowls filled with water. Pour the colored water into the compartments of an ice cube tray and add a craft stick to each one. Place in the freezer overnight.
Your ice cube paints should be ready the next day. Set your child up with a thick piece of paper or card stock. The craft sticks act as a handle for your child to pick up and “paint” with the colored ice cubes. As the ice cubes slowly melt, they’ll create unique watercolor effects as your child paints. Encourage them to paint an uppercase and lowercase letter I or images of items that start with the letter I.
Tip: You may want to line your table with newspaper as an added layer of protection from any melting ice cubes.
3. I is for Iguana
Assembling a letter I iguana takes just a few snips and some glue!
Required Materials
- construction paper
- scissors
- googly eye
- glue
- pencil
How To
Use a pencil to draw the outline of an uppercase letter I onto a green piece of construction paper. Depending on your child’s scissors skills, invite them to cut out the letter I using a pair of safety scissors. Then, cut out several small triangles for the iguana’s back, a semi-circle for its face, and a long strip for its tail.
Work with your child to use the pieces of construction paper to transform the letter I into an iguana. Glue the pieces into place. Add a googly eye and a red tongue to put the finishing touches on your letter I iguana.
4. Letter I Glue Painting
Use the outline of a letter I as an invitation to try an interesting new way to paint.
Required Materials
- watercolor paints
- thick paper or card stock
- white liquid glue
- paint brush
- marker
How To
Print out or draw an outline of the letter I onto white card stock or thick paper. Help your child use the white liquid glue to “draw” lines inside the letter I, creating a pattern. You and your child can draw lines, dots, or any other design of your choice. Let the glue dry for about an hour. Then, have your child paint over the glue using watercolor paints to fill in the letter I outline. The dried glue will repel the paint, and you’ll see a cool pattern show through!
5. I is for Ice Cream
Early math skills intersect with letter learning in this letter-I themed counting activity.
Required Materials
- brown paper bags
- colored construction paper
- scissors
- marker
- glue
How To
Cut out the shape of several ice cream cones from brown paper bags. Use a marker or pen to write a number (no higher than 5) on each ice cream cone.
Next, cut out shapes so they resemble ice cream scoops. Cut enough to match the numbers you’ve written onto each ice cream cone. Then, invite your child to match the number of ice cream scoops to the number they see on each ice cream cone. Glue them into place or keep them loose so you can repeat the activity.
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6. Letter I Sticker Match
This simple letter I activity integrates working on fine motor skills and learning the shape of an uppercase and lowercase letter I.
Required Materials
- marker
- paper
- stickers
How To
Print out or draw the outline of an uppercase letter I. Then, fill it with the letter I, written in both uppercase and lowercase. Set your child up with their I-filled letter I and a sheet of stickers. Then ask them to cover every lowercase letter I with one type of sticker and each uppercase I with another type of sticker.
Tip: You can also try filling the letter I with all different letters from the alphabet and task your child with picking out the letter I from all of the letters they see.
7. Letter I Scrape Painting
Indulge in yet another unique approach to painting by creating a paint-scrape version of the letter I.
Required Materials
- thick white paper or card stock
- paint
- marker
- small square of cardboard
How To
Draw or print out the outline of a lowercase or uppercase letter I. Then cut out a small square of cardboard from an old box. Next, have your child select a few different colors of craft paint.
Squeeze small drops of each paint color onto the top of your letter I. Have your child use the cardboard square to slowly drag or scrape the paint down to fill in the letter. Marvel at the unique lines the paint scrape created, as well as any new colors that formed where the paints mixed together.
8. I is for Island
Bring an imaginary island to life with this letter I paper craft.
Required Materials
- various colors of construction paper
- scissors
- glue
How To
Similar to our other paper crafts, this activity invites your child to use the paper pieces you cut out to create a letter-I inspired scene. If your child has the skills, ask them to help cut out the sun, island, and water from the construction paper. You’ll also need green palm fronds and a trunk to create a palm tree for the island. Work together to assemble the imaginary island and then glue the pieces into place.
Tip: Create a larger scale island and fill the sea around it with cut outs from our ocean creatures coloring pages. Adorn the island’s sand with sea shells and even a mermaid.
9. Letter I Pom Poms
This interesting letter I craft appeals to children’s sense of touch, provides practice with fine motor skills, and can even be used to practice beginning math skills.
Required Materials
- letter I outline
- pom poms
- glue
How To
Draw or print out the outline of a letter I and fill a small bowl with pom poms. Ask your child to fill in the letter with the pom poms and glue them into place. Then, count how many pom poms it took to fill in the letter I. If you’re using pom poms of different sizes, discuss which ones are bigger or smaller or which your child used more or less of.
Tip: Don’t have pom poms? Try beads, dried pasta or beans, plastic gems, stickers, or even small scraps of paper.
10. Letter I Squish Painting
This tactile craft lets children get involved with squishing paint around while keeping their hands nice and clean!
Required Materials
- paper
- paint
- plastic bag
How To
Draw or print out the outline of a letter I. Have your child pick a few paint colors and squirt a few drops onto the letter I. Then help them carefully slide the letter I outline (with the drops of paint on it) into a large resealable plastic bag and seal it tightly shut. Here comes the most fun part–ask your child to fill in the letter I with paint by sliding the paint into place with their fingers. They’ll get to watch the different paint colors swirl together to form fun new shades.
More Letter I Fun
Delight your child with more fun ways to explore the letter I, including:
The ideas, pictures, and copy for this post were provided by Smitha Katti from smilingcolors.com
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