Children love animals, and that presents a wonderful teaching opportunity! The animal kingdom offers a wonderful way to help youngsters learn their alphabet (just like the name of our site suggests!).
And there are a lot of great learning tools that capitalize on this. Books, fridge magnets, stickers, puzzles, and more depict animals in bright colors along with their first letter.
The great thing is that children are learning their alphabet without even realizing it. They think they’re just having fun looking at wonderful pictures! But the cute creatures are helping them learn as they grow.
We’ve found an assortment of awesome aids to help children learn. They’re safe, high-quality materials for preschoolers to get them started learning the basics. And they might even learn about some animals that you never heard of! Can you name two animals that start with X? We only came up with one until we checked these resources out!
So if you have a youngster and want to give them a leg up, any or all of these materials are great. Some even help with numbers.
JCREN Jumbo Magnetic Animal Letters
These awesome magnets will let your child work out their ABC’s on the refrigerator door, file cabinet, or any other metal surface. They’re brightly colored and durable, suitable for children 3-5 years old.
The magnets are shaped like the letter, and the animal’s image is imposed on that shape. It makes for some creative designs, but most are pretty identifiable. The name of the animal is also printed on the surface, so your youngster will also start to pick up spelling and read while they’re at it.
The letters measure between 3 and 3.6 inches tall – really huge! That makes them so much easier for little hands to manage them.
They’re made with a kind of plastic magnet and so don’t wear out easily. You can also easily clean them with a damp sponge or cloth.
The magnet isn’t extremely strong, and some people say they wouldn’t stick right. And they definitely aren’t designed for holding paper to the fridge. But even if you have trouble with the strength of the magnet, they’re still great for teaching the alphabet and animal names!
DECOWALL Animal ABC Wall Stickers
Looking to decorate the nursery or toddler’s room? These stickers are fantastic! They make a great, longer-term ornament for the wall that’s an incredible teaching tool.
These are easy to apply and don’t leave a sticky mess when you want to move or remove them. They probably won’t last through more than 3 or 4 repositionings, but that should be enough for most people.
Each letter is a bit over two inches tall. There are actually three stickers for each letter: the letter itself, the animal, and the animal name.
They’re made of vinyl and stick well to almost any smooth indoor surface. including metal, wallpaper, and painted drywall. They don’t damage the surface at all, either.
They’re easy to put up. If you want them to be straight, though, we suggest using painters’ tape as a guide!
BeginAgain Animal Parade A to Z Puzzle and Playset
This is a fun, colorful puzzle that shows off the letters and the animals in a wonderful toy that will engage your youngster on so many levels!
The puzzle actually fits inside its wooden box when assembled. And it presents a parade of animals in alphabetical order.
We love the artwork on these, although the letters aren’t as prominent as in other sets. Here, they’re simply stamped on the animal.
Also, since the pieces are designed something like a jigsaw puzzle, it can take some getting used to the order. Instead of being in a simple straight line, they kind of go up and down through the set.
When put together, the puzzle is 22 3/4 inches long and 5 inches tall. The pieces vary in size so that they fit together and somewhat represent a general “bigger” and “smaller” progression among the animals. So the elephant is bigger than the vulture or X-ray fish, but not proportionally so.
The pieces are about an inch thick, and can stand up on their own. They’re great fun for ages 4 and up!
Coogam Numbers and Alphabet Flash Cards Set
Flash cards may traditionally be a learning tool, but these are so much fun – and interactive, too!
Each card features an animal along with its printed name. But the shape of the respective letter is carved into the card. The accompanying letters fit into the right cards, creating a 3D activity!
This set includes both letters AND numbers. The number cards show multiple animals. Altogether there are 37 cards plus their matching letter or number.
For the letters, the name of the animal is printed on the card. The numbers show the word form of the number.
The back of the cards have images, too! The letter cards show arrows indicating how to print the letter. The number cards feature the same animals as the front, just more spread out so they’re easier to count.
The letter cards are 4.25 inches by 3.25. The number cards are slightly bigger, at 5.5 inches across. All cards are 0.15 inches thich. The letters and numbers are 1.6 by 1.9 and .25 inches thick.
The pieces are made of sturdy cardboard and wood. All the piece have smooth edges to help prevent any boo-boos.
Animal Alphabet: Slide and Seek the ABCs Board book
This board book will keep children engaged as they try to remember which animal comes next! They’ll be able to follow the ABC’s as they turn the pages and pull out the slider to see so many beautifully illustrated creatures.
Put together by acclaimed children’s author Alex A. Lluch, it’s a great way to get children used to reading at the earliest age.
Of course, there are 26 total sliding panels, one for each letter.
The book is made of a durable cardboard with a softer paper binding. Note that the spine isn’t too strong, and the book is probably best for children 18 months and above. Younger ones might pull it apart accidentally.
The book’s also available as a Kindle e-book. Both used and new versions of the print book are available, as well.
Wrapping It Up
Young children learn so well when it’s fun – well, we all do, really! To get your preschoolers started on their letters, it’s wonderful to combine the experience with animals. These materials are some of the nicest we’ve found. Whether you want flashcards, magnets, books, or something else, we hope you love our recommendations here!
