Letter tiles are a necessary tool for teaching spelling in a hands-on way. We start using letter tiles when my kids are in preschool. They each learned to spell their names with homemade letter tiles.

These are two ideas for making your own letter tiles. I originally shared this idea after seeing a similar idea in an old magazine for preschool teachers called The Mailbox. This was one of the first activities I shared on my Preschool Activities page when I started the blog over 15 years ago.

But, internet world does not last forever I guess and some of those photos got deleted when Google Plus died. So, to refresh, and share again, here are 2 ideas for making your own letter tiles at home.

DIY Letter Tiles

Supplies:

• Milk Caps
• Ziploc bag
• Unifix Cubes or small blocks like Lego or wood (optional)

Cheap Letter Tiles for Spelling Practice

Idea Number 1

The first idea is to use cleaned milk bottle caps to create simple letter tiles. Use a permanent marker to write letters on one side of the bottle cap. You can do upper case on one side and lower case on the other.

I write my child’s name on a strip of paper and tape it to a Ziploc bag. Then my child uses the milk cap letters to match the letters of their name. This is a fantastic name spelling activity for kids as young as 2 and 3 years old.

Another idea we used the milk cap letter tiles for was matching letters on animal flash cards. The Dollar Store has many options for flash cards and learning to match letters to spell words teaches children big skills in small ways.

I store the milk caps that spell my child’s name in the bag. That way it is an easy center activity to pull out when the kids need quiet learning time at the table. (So I can load the dishwasher or fold some laundry!)

Idea Number 2

Idea number two is to use small blocks or Unifix cubes normally used for math practice. I write one letter on each cube and use them as spelling blocks. We actually found a set with printed letters on them already which made things easier. Letter stickers would work too.

We did not have a set of Unifix cubes until we started homeschooling and doing math following a curriculum. They are great for addition practice and subtraction learning.

But they can be multipurpose when you use them as letter tiles too. We made a little sight word spelling game with a DVD case. Spin the DVD, read the word and then use the DIY letter tiles to spell it. So much learning!

Any words can be written on a piece of paper or use your child’s spelling list form school. One way to practice their spelling is to spell out a word with the letter tiles and then they write it on a paper. You can then check how they spelled it to verify it is correct or identify which words they still need to work on.

I find a spelling activity that is hands-on help break up the monotony of regular spelling practice.  

We have activities for spelling your name, and practicing sight words that are all hands-on and made to be more fun than writing the words all the time.