A great "O" snack is octopusses made out of hot dogs.  You slice each hot dog
from about a third of the way down the long way.  Make four long cuts all the
way through so you end up with 8 "legs".  When you boil the hot dogs the legs
curl up and they look just like octopusses.  Add a little ketchup or mustard
and you have a delicious snack for "O"!
***********************************************************************
A - Cardboard apples with apple prints (cut apple in 1/2 and use paint to
print)
B - Cut bear shapes or bear faces out of paper bags (make 2) and stuff with
newspaper. Staple or tape closed and add a ribbon or yarn for hanging
C - Cloud shapes decorated with cotton balls or castle shapes decorated with
collage supplies. With cloud shapes you can also cut out 2 shapes for each
child and stuff with newspaper and hang up for a cloudy day in the playroom.
D - Decorate dinosaur shapes with glitter to make Dazzling Dinosaurs
E - Make a simple mask and add a strip of crepe paper for an elephant nose
and
pretend to be elephants
F - Make flowers out of construction paper or tissue paper
G - Make cardboard ghosts
H - Decorate heart shapes
I - Make cardboard ice cream cones. Have children decorate with their
favorite
collage "toppings"
J - Make a jack in the box. Fold a piece of construction paper in half. Open
up and glue a face cut from another piece of paper on the top half. Only
glue
on top half of head. Fold a strip of paper accordion style and glue one end
to
bottom half of head and other end to bottom half of folded paper. Shut
carefully to set folds. Now when you open a jack in the box will pop up!
K - Make paper kites and let the children run in the wind with them
L - Make lion faces on paper plates and add fringe manes
M - Can't remember this one so, make muffins!
N - Make necklaces out of noodles, and numbers cut out of paper
O - Paint an ocean scene and add cut out fish shapes
P - Make puppets
Q - Decorate construction paper queen and king crowns
R - make tissue paper rainbows. Cut a rainbow shape out of cardboard. Let
children color or paint and glue corresponding colors of tissue paper in the
arcs.
S - Make a star mobile with star shapes and coat hangers
T - Cut tree shapes out of paper or cardboard and sponge paint. Add collage
flowers
U - Cut umbrella shapes out of cardboard and let children decorate
V - Vegetable prints. Use paint and various vegetables to do printing. Try
all
sorts of veggies, not just the traditional potato.
W - Make witch shapes and let children decorate. Tie on string or yarn to
hang
and let the witches fly1
X - X-ray pictures, trace hands, arms, etc. onto black paper and children
fill
in "bones" with white chalk
Y - Make yarn pictures - glue yarn into a design or scene on paper
Z - Make zoo pictures - cut out pictures of animals from magazines, glue
them
onto construction paper, and add black strips of paper for "bars" on the cage.
***********************************************************************
I started an ABC book with the kids.  We are making them 
out of the "Bare books".  I put a Capital letter and a 
small case letter at the top of each page.  Then the kids 
were given a sticker that began with A.  I gave them 
6 apple stickers to put on the A page.  These were just 
some stickers that I had available this morning.  Needless 
to say, I will be investing in stickers big time!  We 
will be filling up each page with stickers.  Whether is 
be S is for Shamrock or E is for Easter.  The kids REALLY 
enjoyed this morning and it gave us an opportunity to talk 
about all the letters and what 'clown' started with.  These 
are NICE books, that they will be able to keep for ever 
(maybe)  LOL!

I found the "bare books" at an educational store.  They were
pretty inexpensive.  I bought the "bare books" at an educational store for
teachers.
They were about $2.25 a piece.  They are Blank covers with blank
sheets of paper in the inside of the book.  Some "bare books"
have drawing on the covers in black and white.  That's all
I can tell you about them.  Locate an educational store near you!
***********************************************************************
>  Here's an Idea for a ABC scrapbook for the children..... 
>
>ABC's For A Great Day
>A     Always know that you are special
>B     Before you give up, try one more time
>C     Can- You can do it!  Yes, You can!
>D     Do your best and feel good about it.
>E     Expect a wonderful and exciting day!
>F     Finishing what you start is always a great thing to do.
>G     Giving, sharing and playing fair
>H     Helping someone else makes you feel good.
>I      Imagination-you have a great one!  Use it!
>J     Just because you've never done it, don't be afraid to try it.
>K     Know that you are loved
>L     Laugh. It makes you happy!
>M     Mistakes- It's okay to make them, but learning from them is even
better.
>N     New ways of doing things can be fun
>O    Offering to do something extra is extra special of you
>P     Perfectly wonderful- That's YOU!
>Q     Questions- Be sure to ask them
>R     Read and learn all you can
>S     Show others how much you like them
>T     Talk to someone about your feelings
>U     Understand?  If you don't tell someone. 
>V     Vote "No" if you don't think it's right.
>W     Wear your beautiful smile!
>X      "Xtra" hugs and kisses to you!
>Y     You are the only person in the world like you and that makes you
>important.
>Z      Zillions of great ways a loveable person like you can have a great
day! 
***********************************************************************
A is for alligator
B is for bear
C is for caterpillar, crawling everywhere.
D is for dog
E is for eel
F is for frog, he's leaping for his meal.
G is for giraffe
H is for hare
I is for insects, flying everywhere.
J is for jaguar
K for kangaroo
L is for lion, he's roaring at the zoo.
M is for monkey, oo-oo-oo-oo
N for nanny goat
O is for octopus, he's swimming like a boat.
P is for pig
Q is for quail
R is for rabbit, he shakes his bushy tail
S is for snake
T is for tiger
u for unicorn
v is for vulture
w for whale
x is the x-ray of the animals tail
y is for yak
and z for zebra stripes
and now you know the animals of all the different types! 
***********************************************************************

HI, this idea comes from the book ABC BOX GAMES by l. lieberman...
~36 popsicle sticks
3 egg cartons

WIth a permanent pen write the upper-case letters on the upper half of each
popsicle stick.  REPEAT the vowels AEIOU and the consonants BDGQ and P.  Turn
egg cartons over and with a sharp knife make a small slit for a popsicle stick
to fit in it.  Write lower-case letters on the flat part of the egg cartons in
random order.  Repeat wiht the vowels and consonants.  Store the sticks in egg
carton.

Children can work individually or in a group and match the upper-case to the
lower-case.  
Give each child a lower-case carton.  Mix sticks up and place them face down.
Have each child in turn pick up a stick.  If the letter on the stiuck matches
one in the carton, the child slips the stick into the slot of the matching
letter and names it.  If there is no match the stick must be placed face down.
The first child to fill all the slots is the winner.
***********************************************************************

It's Easy to Sing the Alphabet
(sung to the tune of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game")

Take some time with your letters;

Sing them with me right now!

A B C D E F G H I

J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X--

Y and Z and that's all.

For it's easy to sing the alphabet; it's a ball!
***********************************************************************

The ABC's of Teaching

Always wear a friendly smile,
Because the attitude
Created in your classroom
Depends so much on you.

Enthusiastic teaching
Fuels eager, willing spirits.
Give out praise abundantly;
Hard workers need to hear it!

Individual differences
Jump out from all young souls.
Keep in mind that everyone
Learns best through personal goals.

Maintaining classroom discipline
Needs top consideration.
Organized lessons, thoroughly planned,
Precede calm participation.

Quality time that is spent
Reviewing basic information
Sets the needed cornerstones
To build a firm foundation.

Using many creative ideas
Varied in teaching approach
Will help your kids be winners -
eXcelling with you as their coach.

Yes, teachers who make lasting impressions
Zealously teach with true dedication!
***********************************************************************
      This idea is not original and I am sure that many of you do some
version of it but our alphabet book is coming out so nice that I wanted to
share our way.  We started back at the beginning of the school year doing
an alphabet letter a week.  We have gone in alphabetical order.  We are up
to the letter x for this week.  Each week we have made a page for our
Alphabet Big Book.  On light weight cardboard we have glued pictures from
magazines that begin with the letter of the week.  On the page we have also
glued the upper and lower case letters.  Each page has been laminated and
we punch holes in the pages and use the book rings to hold it together.
The children have really enjoyed watching our book grow throughout the
school year and it is a wonderful addition to our book corner.
                                                      In addition to our
alphabet book we have also been sending home a picture of something that
begins with the letter of the week.  We have been cutting the picture
objects out of construction paper-writing the word of the object on it
underlining the first letter (Letter of the week) and writing the upper and
lower case letter of the week on it too.  And that's not all... we've also
been adding the picture symbol of the letter when it is signed.  The
children have really picked up the signing as well as letter recognition.
The signing seems to help them remember their letters.
***********************************************************************
I saw this at a Preschool room that I visited yesterday.

They took a container, labeled it "Aa" and put only "A"
items in the container.  Then on the lid of the container
they listed the items that were inside.  It was so cool.
They had the whole alphabet lined up on a window sill.
They were small circular containers with only about
6 or 7 small items in the container.
***********************************************************************
As our 4-yr olds grow older they are beginning to identify letters of the 
alphabet.  The following game can be found in the April Building Blocks 
magazine:
Alphabet Toss

1.  On an old white sheet, use a permanent marker to draw 26 equal sections.
2.  Write a letter in each section.
3.  Have several beanbags.

Play:
Have the children sit around the sheet.  Give the beanbags to several 
children.  Everyone call out, "Toss."  The children toss their beanbags 
onto the sheet.  Pick up each beanbag.  AS you do, have everyone call out 
the ltter it landed on.  Give the beanbags to different children and play 
the Alphabet Toss games again and again.  This can be adapted to lower 
case letters, as well.  If you don't have a sheet, bulletin board paper 
can be used, also, and laminated to ensure durability.
***********************************************************************
A - Cardboard apples with apple prints (cut apple in 1/2 and use paint to
print)
B - Cut bear shapes or bear faces out of paper bags (make 2) and stuff with
newspaper. Staple or tape closed and add a ribbon or yarn for hanging
C - Cloud shapes decorated with cotton balls or castle shapes decorated with
collage supplies. With cloud shapes you can also cut out 2 shapes for each
child and stuff with newspaper and hang up for a cloudy day in the playroom.
D - Decorate dinosaur shapes with glitter to make Dazzling Dinosaurs
E - Make a simple mask and add a strip of crepe paper for an elephant nose and
pretend to be elephants
F - Make flowers out of construction paper or tissue paper
G - Make cardboard ghosts
H - Decorate heart shapes
I - Make cardboard ice cream cones. Have children decorate with their favorite
collage "toppings"
J - Make a jack in the box. Fold a piece of construction paper in half. Open
up and glue a face cut from another piece of paper on the top half. Only glue
on top half of head. Fold a strip of paper accordion style and glue one end to
bottom half of head and other end to bottom half of folded paper. Shut
carefully to set folds. Now when you open a jack in the box will pop up!
K - Make paper kites and let the children run in the wind with them
L - Make lion faces on paper plates and add fringe manes
M - Can't remember this one so, make muffins! 
N - Make necklaces out of noodles, and numbers cut out of paper
O - Paint an ocean scene and add cut out fish shapes
P - Make puppets
Q - Decorate construction paper queen and king crowns
R - make tissue paper rainbows. Cut a rainbow shape out of cardboard. Let
children color or paint and glue corresponding colors of tissue paper in the
arcs.
S - Make a star mobile with star shapes and coat hangers
T - Cut tree shapes out of paper or cardboard and sponge paint. Add collage
flowers
U - Cut umbrella shapes out of cardboard and let children decorate
V - Vegetable prints. Use paint and various vegetables to do printing. Try all
sorts of veggies, not just the traditional potato.
W - Make witch shapes and let children decorate. Tie on string or yarn to hang
and let the witches fly1 
X - X-ray pictures, trace hands, arms, etc. onto black paper and children fill
in "bones" with white chalk
Y - Make yarn pictures - glue yarn into a design or scene on paper
Z - Make zoo pictures - cut out pictures of animals from magazines, glue them
onto construction paper, and add black strips of paper for "bars" on the cage.