D is for Doghouse: Preschool Letter of the Week Craft

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Are you working on the letter D with your young learner?

We love letter of the week crafts around here! You will adore this d is for doghouse craft!

I like this craft because it reinforces the “D” sound a number of ways: Along the letter the kids made dots.  Inside the doghouse is a picture of a dog.  A door covers it.

Your kids will like it because the opening door makes it an interactive craft that they could have fun with even after they are done creating it.

Let me show you how easy this is to make.

Here is everything you will need.

SCROLL TO THE BOTTOM TO DOWNLOAD.

You will need:

• a blank piece of white paper
• letter D printed onto construction paper (scroll to the bottom to download)
• the inside of the letter D – don’t throw it away!
• construction paper heart (see printable) OR a printed picture of a dog (also on printable)
• Do-a-Dot marker
• glue stick
• tape
• black marker (and other colors if desired)
• fun doggy stickers for decorating

Letter of the Week Step By Step Tutorial:

1. Glue the letter D onto the center of your piece of white paper.

2. Use your Do-a-Dot marker to fill in the dog footprints along the D.  If you’re not familiar with Do-a-Dot markers, you can get them at your local craft store or online.  Using them in this way gives your preschooler some great fine motor practice.

3.  Glue down the dog picture from the printable — he’s in the letter D doghouse!  OR, if your child is capable of simple drawing, follow the instructions below.

4. Your child will probably do best if you model this for him.  Be as clear as you can.  My daughter (just finishing kindergarten) was the guinea pig, and my instructions were not as clear as they were for her brother (age 4), as you might notice in the final pictures.

5. Tape the inside of the D over the picture so that it serves as a door.

6. Open the door to find the dog in the doghouse!

7. And here are our finished projects!

This was a simple craft, but my kids really had fun with it afterward. They all carried theirs around, opening and closing the doghouse doors to show anyone who was interested (and even those who weren’t :)).

ACTION RHYME FOR LETTER D:

Dinosaur, dinosaur, turn around
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch the ground
Dinosaur, dinosaur, reach up high
Dinosaur, dinosaur, wink one eye
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your nose
Dinosaur, dinosaur, touch your toes
Dinosaur, dinosaur, slap your knees
Dinosaur, dinosaur, sit down please

NURSERY RHYME FOR LETTER D:

Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John
Went to bed with his trousers on,
One shoe off, and one shoe on;
Diddle diddle dumpling, my son John.

BOOKS TO READ FOR LETTER D:

Go, Dog, Go, by P.D. Eastman

This classic story (1961) is still a favorite of kids today.  The dogs in cars are all in a hurry — where are they going?  At the end of the story they are having a giant dog party on the top of a tree. If you read this to your child enough, he’ll memorize it – and as he starts to read, it will be one of the first he can read by himself.

Duck in the Truck, by Jez Alborough

This is my two-year-old’s favorite book which he pleads for every time we drive by the library (he doesn’t know he’s getting it for his birthday next month!).  This is a rhyming story about a duck whose truck is stuck in the muck.  All sorts of animals stop by to help him out.  Rhyming books are so important for children.  As your child gets to know a rhyming book, leave out the rhyming words and let him fill them in.

Press Here, by Herve Tullet

If you’ve never read this book, you’re in for a treat.  Each page instructs the reader to press a dot, turn the page, or shake the book — turn the page and the dots have changed!  This is a unique book that makes for a wonderfully cozy read-aloud.