Uppercase Letter I Craft for Preschool

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If you’ve never lived on an island or even visited one, islands are magical places that fuel the imagination and captivate the minds of young and old alike. In this uppercase letter I craft for preschool, students will transform I into an island while practicing the long vowel sound.

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Introduce the Letter I with the Me, Myself, and I Game

Words that begin with the long vowel sound of I include an island, ice cream, and of course the last little bit of me, myself, and I. Little kids love it when we spend a little bit of time focusing on who they are as a person. Ask your child the following questions, tailoring each section in parenthesis to your child so that they can answer “I am.” or “I do!” to each question.

These are just examples to get you started. Make up your own questions and play this game until your child gets tired of it. If you have more than one child, share the fun.

• Who is wearing (green) today?
• Who in this room has (blond) hair?
• Who ate (cheese sticks) for lunch?
• Who loves (name of a family member or pet)?
• Who wants a snack after we do crafts?

Take the Game to a New Level

If your children are really having fun with it (some kids are going to get really into this.), make a game of picking up the toys. Ask questions like these and watch your children run to be first. If you have an only child, play the game with him or her.

• Who will pick up the red truck?
• Who will pick up the blue lego?
• Who will pick up the baby doll?

Once you’ve finished playing this simple game, show your student the uppercase letter I and tell them what it spells. If you haven’t already, now would be the perfect time to read a couple of the picture books about islands from our list of Letter I books for preschool.

Set up everything for the craft ahead of time and then call your learner(s) to the table. Help your child as necessary but make sure to give the student the reigns on craft projects. As much as we (as adults) like to see a perfect finished product, if we do the project for our kids it has no value for them and can actually harm by implying that they aren’t good enough.

The value of any kid’s craft activity is in the process: fine motor skills, listening skills, scissor skills, and hand-eye coordination are all happening here as your child cuts and pastes. And when your student makes the craft herself, she is going to be so pleased with the final product. She will *want* to remember the name, shape, and sound of the letter because it’s hers.

Materials for the Uppercase Letter I Craft

You will notice this list of materials says “color of choice” for the background. It’s so important to let children make their own choices whenever possible. This is an easy win for you. As long as you have different colors available, let your student decide. When children are first learning to make choices, it can take some time. Help by asking leading questions like “what color is your favorite?” or “what color did you pick last time?” If you are down to your last piece of construction paper, don’t stress. The decision has been taken out of your hands.

• brown construction paper
• blue construction paper
• green construction paper
• construction paper in the color of choice for the background
• glue
• scissors
• alternative – white paper and crayons

Instructions for the Uppercase Letter I Craft

1. Trace the cut pieces as shown in the image above with a thick marker to make it easy for your child to cut close to the lines. Then have your child follow these instructions.
2. Cut out a large uppercase I from the brown paper.
3. Next, cut out some waves from the blue paper.
4. Then, cut out tropical tree leaves from the green paper.
5. Next, fray the tropical tree leaves by cutting along every 2mm.
6. Then, glue down the I in the middle of the paper.
7. Next, glue down the waves along the bottom of the I.
8. Finally, glue down the tropical leaves at the top of the I.