Alphabet Star Chart

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When I made a multiplication star chart for my 8 year old and a sight word star chart for my 6 year old, I didn’t want my 3 year old to feel left out. I decided to make him this uppercase and lowercase alphabet star chart so that he could learn his letters and be rewarded for his hard work as well.

As I mentioned in my multiplication star chart post, I have mixed feelings about star charts. I’ve never used them in the past. I’m especially wary of them when it comes to behavioral issues. I don’t want my toddler to think he’s going to be rewarded every time he behaves! However, I really feel like there is a place for them when it comes to the tedium of memorization.

I know my toddler is capable of learning his letters just through repeated exposure over a couple of years. If he loses interest in this star chart, we’ll definitely go that route, as it’s worked for my previous 2 kids. The most important thing for me is that he retains his love of learning. However, if he wants to spend a little focused effort to earn a reward just like the big kids in our house, I’m not going to stop him!

The way this chart works is that my son earns a star for every letter he can remember as I point to them. Once he can remember all the letters in a given row, he earns the reward for that row. One he completes the whole page, there is bonus reward for reaching that goal as well.

Occasionally, he might forget a letter he’s already earned the star for. To deal with this potential problem, I created a “probation” zone. Before he can redeem the reward for a given row, he has to show me that he still remembers all the letters that have stars. If he forgets one, I write it on a post it note and put it in the probation section. We wait about 15 minutes and then review those letters again.

So far he’s memorized about two thirds of his uppercase letters. Whenever we find a letter that’s particularly tricky for him, like G, I like to go the Measured Mom’s website and download some of her free printables. I’m especially fond of these free printable letter books. That way, when the bigger kids are taking turns reading aloud to me, he can have a turn “reading” to me too. “G is for grapes. G is for gumballs…” So far, it’s worked like a charm.

Once we go through the charts and he recognizes all the letters, we might go through them again and focus on the sounds each letter makes.

Recommended Age Range: Preschool, Kindergarten
Time Required: ~5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Free printable. Optional: A couple dollars for foil stars (with a bunch left over)

Materials:

Paper for printing alphabet star charts.
Foil Stars (optional: could also just put checks or draw happy faces)

Instructions:

First, print the alphabet star charts.
Next fill out the rewards. You could use the same reward for each row or choose something different. For mine, I used a combination of food treats (such as candy and ice cream), media usage (like watching tv and playing on my tablet), and activities with a parent (like playing a board game or cooking). When my son completes the entire chart, I plan to give her $5 to spend on a toy. Do whatever you feel comfortable with!

In case you’re interested, be sure to check out the sight word star charts and multiplication star charts I made for my older kids.