Preschool Letter O

It was time for Preschool Letter O! We had taken a little break from our preschool work, but we were ready to begin again for the final school term in Australia.

This turned out to be a week filled with stickers. Filip used them for letter formation, number formation and fine motor practice, so prepare yourself for a little sticker overload!

Over three preschool days, we practiced recognizing and forming uppercase and lowercase O, listened for the short /o/ sound, explored CVC words and completed several early writing activities. Our focus number for the week was number 7.

Throughout this post, you can click the linked resource names to find the complete packets in my Teachers Pay Teachers or Kinder Resources stores. Many of the photographs also link to free Letter O printable pages.

Day 1: Introducing Preschool Letter O and Number 7

Preschool Letter O Formation and Sound Activities

As we had done with our previous preschool letters, we began Day 1 with our (TpT) Alphabet Play Dough Mats (K-R link here).

We talked about the simple curved movement needed to form uppercase and lowercase O. Filip finger traced each letter first while following the formation arrows. Once he was familiar with the movement, he traced the letters again using a whiteboard marker.

Although O looked simple, it was still important to begin at the correct point and move around the letter in the right direction. Finger tracing helped him concentrate on that movement before he needed to control the marker.

We continued with our (TpT) Letter O Sound Hound Game.

We said each picture word slowly and listened for the short /o/ sound. Filip sorted the pictures according to whether the sound could be heard at the beginning, in the middle or at the end of the word.

Much to his dismay, he discovered that there were no cards for words ending with the short /o/ sound. He insisted that I should have made some for him, even after I explained that we did not have any suitable words to add to that section. Apparently, an empty sorting space was simply unacceptable!

Click on the picture to get the Letter O Sound Hound activity.

Moving on!

Filip then completed the Letter O page from our (TpT) Beginning Sounds Color It unit (K-R link here).

He named each picture, said the word slowly and listened for the sound at the beginning. Here he is pointing to the hand picture and sounding it out. It looks as though he is saying “five” in the photograph!

Click on the picture to get the Letter O beginning sounds page.

Letter O Recognition and Handwriting

Next, we searched for uppercase and lowercase O using the Letter O page from our (TpT) Alphabet Letter Find unit (K-R link here).

This activity did not go quite as planned because Filip had trouble recognizing the difference between the uppercase and lowercase forms. Since both looked like circles, he decided to dot all of them with his orange bingo dabber.

It gave us a useful opportunity to compare the relative size of the letters, although the finished page was certainly very orange! Click on the picture to get the Letter O practice page.

We finished the letter part of Day 1 with a lowercase o handwriting page from The Measured Mom.

This gave Filip an opportunity to move from the large reusable formation mat to smaller letters on handwriting lines. We worked slowly and concentrated on keeping each letter rounded and correctly positioned.

Introducing Number 7

We then moved on to our focus number for the week, which was number 7. We used our (TpT) Number Play Dough Mats (K-R link here).

Filip finger traced the number 7 before following the formation path with a whiteboard marker. He also worked with the ten frame so that the written numeral was connected to a quantity of seven.

We finished our first day of structured table work with a free number 7 cut and paste activity.

Filip matched the numeral, number word and picture representation before cutting and gluing the pieces into place. These pages also gave him some extra scissor practice while reinforcing number recognition.

Day 2: Sticker Letter Formation and Number 7 Activities

Sticker Letter Formation

We started Day 2 with the borderless pages from our Alphabet Play Dough Mats. Instead of using play dough, Filip covered uppercase and lowercase O with small stickers.

He followed the formation arrows as he placed the stickers around each letter. Peeling and positioning the tiny stickers gave his fingers plenty of fine motor practice while also reinforcing the circular letter movement.

Letter O Recognition and Early Writing

Filip then completed our (TpT) Letter O Maze (K-R link here).

He searched for uppercase and lowercase O among the other letters and followed the correct path through the page. The maze gave him more recognition practice while making the activity feel different from the Letter Find worksheet.

Click on the picture to get the Letter O maze.

Now that he “knew how to read,” Filip worked on Mariela Santillana’s Letter O Cut and Paste Page.

He looked at the sentence strips and tried to read the words before gluing the pictures into place. To be completely honest, he usually sounded out the first two letters and then guessed the rest of the word. It was still a great effort in my opinion!

I then helped Filip complete a prewriting page created by Mel at From the Pond.

He followed the different tracing paths carefully. These early pencil-control movements helped prepare him for handwriting without requiring him to form complete letters on every line.

Number 7 Recognition and Counting

As we had done with our Letter O mats, we covered the number 7 formation path with stickers. Filip followed the arrows and placed the stickers along the numeral before adding seven stickers to the ten frame.

This activity combined number formation and counting with plenty of pincer-grip practice.

We then completed a (TpT) Number 7 Maze (K-R link here).

Using the maze, Filip searched for number 7 among the other numerals and followed the correct path across the page. Click on the picture to get the Number 7 maze.

Next, Filip completed a (TpT) Number 7 Concepts Worksheet (K-R link here).

The worksheet gave him practice recognizing, tracing and writing the numeral while also working with quantities and number order. Click on the picture to get the Number 7 page.

We finished Day 2 with our (TpT) Number 7 Flip Book.

As he turned the pages, Filip counted each group of seven and practiced reading the repeated sentence pattern. The completed booklet gave us something small that we could read and count together after the activity was finished.

Click on the picture to get the Number 7 flip book.

Day 3: Fine Motor Work, a Letter O Booklet and an Alphabet Craft

Sticker Fine Motor Practice

We started Day 3 with a Q-tip printable from 1plus1plus1equals1.

Although the page was designed for cotton-swab painting, Filip continued our sticker theme and covered the small circles with stickers instead. Peeling and positioning each one gave him another opportunity to strengthen his fingers.

A Foldable Letter O Activity Book

For our next activity, Filip completed a foldable Letter O booklet from our (TpT) Letter Activity Booklets (K-R link here).

He wrote his name, traced uppercase and lowercase O, colored the beginning sound pictures and dotted the focus letters. His lowercase i letters in his name were looking rather impressive too!

The booklet allowed us to revisit several Letter O skills in one small activity that Filip could keep and look through again. Click on the picture to get the Letter O booklet.

Reading OP Word Family Words

We also made an (TpT) OP Word Family Flip-Flap Book (K-R link here).

My little man loved these booklets. He read this one to me over and over and over again. Then he read it to the other family members and to any unsuspecting guest who dared to enter our house on the day we completed it!

Filip turned the beginning-letter flaps to build new OP words, blended the sounds and matched each word with the correct picture. Repeating the little book helped build his confidence as a beginning reader.

Click on the picture to get the OP word family flip-flap booklet.

Finishing with a Preschool Letter O Craft

We finished our Preschool Letter O week with our (TpT) Uppercase and Lowercase Letter Craft Templates.

Filip made an uppercase O owl and a lowercase o octopus. I know, I know. Why did I choose an owl when it did not begin with the short /o/ sound we had been practicing? I am not quite sure what I was thinking at the time!

The octopus gave us a much better short O connection, while both crafts provided extra cutting, arranging and gluing practice.

Click on the picture to get the Letter O craft templates.

And there you have it, Preschool Letter O all completed!

Over the three days, Filip practiced recognizing and forming uppercase and lowercase O, listening for the short /o/ sound and using the letter pattern to read simple OP word family words. He also explored number 7 through tracing, counting, matching, a number maze, a concepts worksheet and a flip book.

The stickers certainly became the theme of our Preschool Letter O week. They kept the repeated formation practice interesting while also providing plenty of fine motor work. The foldable Letter O booklet and OP flip-flap book were especially successful because Filip loved having small books of his own to read.

Most of all, I loved watching him proudly share his little reader with anyone who came near him. Those enthusiastic moments were such a special part of our preschool learning journey.

My Online Stores

I have included links throughout this post so you can easily find the complete resources in my Kinder Resources and Teachers Pay Teachers stores.

To check out more resources, click either store link below.

Happy Teaching!

View Other Preschool Letters