Summer Theme Beginning Sound Activities
Looking for fun summer beginning sound activities that also double as letter recognition games? You’re in the right place! Help your kindergarten-bound little one be prepared for this fall with these summer themed beginning sound activities that will pair perfectly with your preschool phonics lesson plans!
This printable features 26 alphabet clip cards to help teach your preschoolers letter-sound correspondence with a sun-loving, summer theme!
Children who are learning to read require a lot of exposure to the alphabet, and if your little one is working on beginning sounds or letter recognition, you’ll love these summer-themed clip cards. Since these are clip cards, preschoolers also get extra practice in hand strength and fine motor skills, so you gotta love that!
These clip cards are completely free, but if your preschooler is really loving them, then they are really going to love our Beginning Sound Clip Cards Bundle. This set of clip cards feature eight different cards for each letter, which means preschoolers can get all that important exposure. Add them to your summer preschool lesson plans!
Read this: Engaging Ways to Teach the Alphabet to Preschoolers
What Kids Learn with Clip Cards
There’s more than one reason to add these clip cards to your summer lesson plans. Here’s a few:
SKILL #1: Phonemic Awareness
Kids build phonemic awareness by identifying the beginning sound of each picture, helps them hear individual sounds in words and strengthening their auditory discrimination skills.
SKILL #2: Letter Recognition
Matching pictures to letters reinforces letter recognition in a meaningful way. And we know how important it is for meaningful phonics instruction.
SKILL #3: Fine Motor Strength
Clipping clothespins onto cards helps build small muscle control which is important for writing and self-care tasks.
Summer Initial Sounds Activities
These beginning sound clip cards can be used all over your preschool classroom. Keep them in a basket in your literacy preschool center, or put them in a pencil box for a quick on-the-go activity.
What’s Included
- 26 full-color picture cards
- Three letter choices per card
- Summer-themed images (e.g., crab, ice cream, kite)
Additional Materials Needed
- Laminator and scissors (optional for durability)
- Clothespins or mini clips
- Durable & Waterproof Plastic Clothespins – Made from high-quality, weather-resistant…
- Efficient Laundry Drying -Heavy-duty spring style clothes pins with sturdy rust-proof…
- Versatile & Multi-Purpose Design – Use as bag clips, towel clips for beach chairs,…
The Set Up
Print the cards on cardstock for sturdiness. Then, cut them apart along the lines. For longer use, laminate them before cutting. Set out a handful of cards in a small tray or container. Pair with clothespins and invite your child to clip the correct beginning sound.
Read this: Fun Games to Teach Letter Recognition
How to Teach Phonemic Awareness Using Summer Beginning Sounds Clip Cards
Step 1: Introduce the Activity
Gather your cards and sit down with your child or group. Say, “We’re going to play a summer game with sounds!” Pick up a card and point to the image. Say the name of the picture out loud slowly, emphasizing the first sound. Ask your child to repeat it with you.
Step 2: Model Sound Matching
Next, read the three letter choices at the bottom of the card, saying each one out loud. Then, model how to match the correct letter to the beginning sound of the picture, and clip the clothespin onto the correct letter.
Step 3: Guided Practice
Give your child a turn to try. Let them say the name of the picture and stretch the sound. If they need help, guide them by saying, “What sound do you hear at the beginning?” Encourage them to try and clip the correct letter.
Step 4: Independent Work
Once they’re comfortable, let them explore the cards independently at the literacy center.
Preschoolers may need help hearing all the sounds in words, and for this activity they really need to hear the beginning sound. This is a skill that requires practice for most children. Sometimes, small groups are necessary to review center activities and allow supervision for practice.
Each card has the name of the picture in the upper left hand corner. It’s written in small, light gray print, so most children won’t even notice it. The words are there to help guide the teacher. For example, on the letter x card, there is a picture of a box, since the /ks/ sound is only found at the end of a word.
The box is drawn on, which is a very summer-y thing to do, though. My kids are always keeping out boxes during summer vacation to make spaceships and tanks out of them. Right now, my son has a pool noodle duct taped to a box he has painted.
Read this: Summer Themes for Preschool
Get our Summer Alphabet Activities Printables
Support literacy growth all summer long with our printable activities—and get those kiddos ready for kindergarten!
Summer Printables for Preschoolers
I like to add these beginning sound clip cards to our summer preschool lesson plans. But, try some of these other summer printables for preschoolers.
- Summer Alphabet Beginning Sounds Activities
- Summer Number Recognition Worksheets for Preschoolers
- FREE Summer Pattern Blocks Printable Mats
- Summer Letter Formation Activities
- Summer Letter Recognition Activities
- Sunglasses Summer Alphabet Activities
- Ice Cream Counting Printable Activities
Beginning Sound Activities for Preschoolers
Or, are you looking for more beginning sound activities that are appropriate for preschoolers? I have a huge list of resources for you!
- Alphabet Worksheets with Beginning Sounds
- Beginning Sound Tracing Cards
- Camping Alphabet Activity – Building S’mores Beginning Sounds
- 3 Summer Theme Beginning Sound Activities for Preschoolers
- Beginning Sounds Tracing Cards
- Beginning Sounds Roadway Letter Tracing Mats
- Beginning Sounds Picture Seek
- Beginning Sound Puzzles
- Beginning Sound Coloring Pages
- Paint Stick Beginning Sound Activity
- Watermelon Beginning Sound Puzzles
Get Your Free Beginning Sound Clip Cards Here
Think you need to add these cards to your favorite summer activities for kids? No need to conduct a science experiment! Your little one will love them!
Just fill out the form below and they will be sent to your inbox. Then keep reading for more summer activities for preschoolers.
Teaching Beginning Sounds to Preschoolers
Initial sounds are the first sound in a word. They are also referred to as beginning sounds. When students understand that words are made up of sounds, they’re able to transfer this knowledge into their reading and writing and even learning sight words.
Sounds are not all learned at once, and it is easiest to teach beginning sounds because those come in the very first session. They are particularly important because they are the first step in teaching children how to listen for sounds in a word.
Teaching beginning sounds to preschoolers requires offering a lot of practice and hands-on activities. Activities for teaching beginning sounds should be highly visual. Be consistent when teaching the sounds, so students can take learned skills and quickly move from one sound to another.
Letters of the alphabet have varying degrees to difficulty in both listening and speaking. When introducing my preschoolers to beginning sounds, the Daily Lessons In Phonics Curriculum start with the letters and sounds that occur most frequently in the English language. These are easiest for children to learn due to their frequency, but also allow children to behind basic decoding drills if ready.
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.