Learning the alphabet is always more engaging when you have cute visuals as teaching aides. Try these free alphabet coloring pages as a fun way to add a little fine motor skill work and pencil control, too.
Teach the Alphabet with Free Alphabet Coloring Pages
I’m always talking about how important it is for teachers to have the right resources to do their job.
That’s right.
It’s not so much about the quantity of resources as it is the quality of teaching materials.
One year I inherited a classroom from a teacher who had retired after 36 years of teaching. She was kind and well loved, had a head full of frizzy, amber-colored hair, and had worked in that same classroom since the school had been built 22 years earlier.
She had every resource under the sun in her classroom. Old, outdated issues of curriculum the school district had already replaced (along with the new curriculum), every issue of Mailbox she had ever received, and boxes and boxes and boxes of worksheets stapled together into packets.
To put it politely, she was a pack rat.
At first, my new-ish teaching eyes were in wonder of all the teaching resources that were now mine. Wonder in both a good and a bad way. I was almost horrified by the amount of stuff in the classroom, but I also felt blessed to have been given so much. Surely, I would make a fantastic teacher because I had everything I could ever imagine in a single, messy classroom that was busting at the seams.
Truth be told, most of what I inherited was useless to me. Some materials had to have been outdated even before she had begun teaching, and few materials reflected best practice.
It was time to purge.
Two weeks later I had a clean, organized, and minimal classroom. If I am good at anything, it’s limiting myself to only the things I truly need. I was critical of every resource stacked in that classroom, and if it didn’t have multiple uses or teach multiple skills, I didn’t keep it.
I tell you this because while these alphabet coloring pages may look like just that, alphabet coloring pages, they can be used for so many more things.
Be sure to read for all the activities!
5 Ways to Use Free Alphabet Coloring Pages
These alphabet coloring pages have multiple uses in the classroom and at home. They also target many early literacy and fine motor skills, too!
Use These as Coloring Pages
I know, stating the obvious here, right? But really, coloring pages can have a valuable place in the classroom. These alphabet coloring pages are designed with young children in mind. They feature big, bulky letters and simple beginning sound pictures. I appreciate the pictures on these coloring pages because they don’t have a lot of extra lines to over complicate the design.
At this stage in writing development, preschool children benefit from coloring large spaces rather than getting frustrated by “not being able to color in the lines”. The pictures on these alphabet coloring pages are just right for children who are still developing pencil control.
Use These as Alphabet Posters
Every preschool classroom needs a set of alphabet posters, so why not create an alphabet wall using posters your preschoolers have colored?! Imagine these all lined up on the wall. Your preschoolers would feel so proud.
You can hang these in your child’s bedroom, too!
Use These Alphabet Coloring Pages as Flashcards
The free printable includes two versions of the alphabet coloring pages. In one version, the letters and beginning sounds pictures fill up the entire page. The second version fit four letters to a single page, which means after two quick cuts on the paper cutter you have alphabet flashcards!
Not sure what to do with alphabet flashcards? Check out the post below.
Use Them for Gross Motor Games
Nothing like adding a little literacy and pre-reading skills to some gross motor activities. And there’s nothing like fun gross motor activities to change things up a bit in the classroom. Try some of these ideas:
- Collect a set of items that start with each letter of the alphabet and place them in a basket. Have your child match the items with an alphabet coloring page.
- Select a handful of alphabet coloring pages and place them in a circle on the floor. Tape them down. Then, play musical chairs, but with alphabet letters!
- Set out a handful of alphabet coloring pages and give your child a fly swatter. Say a letter name and have your child swat the letter while saying its beginning sound.
Use Alphabet Coloring Pages as an Alphabet Book
Remember I said these alphabet coloring pages come with two versions, one full page and the other four to a page? Well, you can turn either version into an alphabet book, and it’s extra special because your preschooler has spent the time to color each page. Then, add your homemade alphabet book to your usual bedtime routine, or add them to your circle time routine.
More Free Alphabet Printables
Check out these other free alphabet printable for preschoolers and then grab your own copy of my alphabet coloring pages below.
Like this post, all these alphabet activities have multiple ways to use each free printable.
Just click on the images below to grab your freebies!
Get Your Free Alphabet Coloring Pages Here
I’m sure there are a million other ways to use these alphabet coloring pages. If you have an idea, post it in the comments!
I’m Sarah, an educator turned stay-at-home-mama of five! I’m the owner and creator of Stay At Home Educator, a website about intentional teaching and purposeful learning in the early childhood years. I’ve taught a range of levels, from preschool to college and a little bit of everything in between. Right now my focus is teaching my children and running a preschool from my home. Credentials include: Bachelors in Art, Masters in Curriculum and Instruction.
