How to Make Activity Folders for Preschoolers

A great inexpensive way to help your preschooler learn about shapes, letters, and numbers, is by making activity folders or "fun folders" for them to play with. Fun folders are versatile and can be varied in many ways to accommodate any child's interests. The materials you will need are: file folders -- preferably bright colored ones, clear contact paper, Velcro -- strips or dots, and pictures of cartoon characters, letters, or numbers -- easily found on-line.

Begin by choosing a theme for your fun folder. Think about your child's interests and abilities. If you want a fun folder that is primarily educational, then choose to use letters or numbers, but if you want something more fun, then choose your child's favorite TV show characters. For these instructions, I will use letters; this fun folder will help your child learn to match uppercase and lowercase letters. So, begin by typing the alphabet using 20 pt. font. Type it once using capital letters, and once using lowercase letters, both in the same font. If you want to print the letters in different colors, that's fine, but black will also work.