Letter A (Alligator)

Books

Zack's Alligator by Shirley Mozelle

There's an Alligator Under my Bed by Mercer Mayer

Alligator Baby by Michael Martchenko

Craft/Art

Clothespin Alligators 

You can spray paint a clothespin or if you are like me just color it with a marker then glue eyes and paper spikes on the back.

Totally Tots shared this cute craft idea too.

Fun Facts

Alligators are cold blooded animals which means their bodies stay about the same temperature as the air or water around them. They like to lay in swaps to stay cool or sit in the sun to warm up.

Alligators eat anything they can catch in the water, mostly turtles and fish.

Alligators have a U shaped snout, Crocodiles have a V shaped snout.

You can't see an alligators teeth from the side but you can see a Crocodiles.

Read more about the difference between the two here.

Game/Activity

Make a Swamp

We filled a Tupperware up with equal amounts of dirt and water and talked about where alligators live...in swaps.  This was a super easy activity and the kids loved getting dirty. I let them find some rocks and grass and add it to the swamp too.

Printables

Letter A Coloring page (8x10)

 Letter A Flash Card (4x6)

 Letter A Tracing Page (8x10)

Snacks

Animal Crackers

Aquarium (blue jello with fish) 

Pickle Alligator

Ants on a log (Celery with cheese or peanut butter topped with raisins)

Apples with caramel dip

Songs

Download 2 pages of alligator songs here.

Tips to Teaching Letter A

Big A=a mountain with a line

Little a=a circle with a tail

Sing the song...(to the tune Farmer and the Dell)

the A says ah

the A says ah

ah ah ah ah ah ah

the A says ah

Our kids LOVE the letter wall. At the beginning of each week we hang the animal with it's letter on this wall, throughout the week we review the letter and the sound it makes. 

Puppet Fun with "A" Alligator 

We got all of the materials below from our local library.  I realize that each library is different in what they carry, but check it out...you might be surprised.  To switch things up a little bit my son would "review" what he had learned with his friend the alligator puppet. ; )

Teaching ABC's Idea for the Week

My little boy LOVED this little game.  Throughout the week I would place the letter "A" fridge magnet throughout the house.  (Front door, Dish washer, Magnet Board, Fridge, Fan, etc.)  He loved finding it, and each time it was found it gave me the opportunity to review the letter and sound with him.

Theme of the Week

We focus a lot on the letter of the week and the animal that goes with it but we like to throw in a side theme too to help teach something extra to prepare our kiddos for kindergarten. This week the theme was: "What is school?"  This was our first week of preschool and so we talked about our plan of teaching preschool from home and how in a couple years they will go to Kindergarten.