My First Letters (EYFS)

Inside My First Letters (EYFS)

curly caterpillar letters like c, a and o, ladder letters like l and t, one-armed robot letters like r, m and n, writing my own name, and a first look at big capital letters and small letters. Bring a chunky pencil or crayon. About 20 gentle minutes with a grown-up.

Learning objectives

• form the curly caterpillar letters — c, a, o, d, g — all starting with the same backwards curl;
• form the ladder letters — l, i, t — starting at the top and travelling straight down;
• form the one-armed robot letters — r, n, m, h — down, back up and over;
• trace and then write their own name, starting with a capital letter;
• take a first look at capital letters and match big capitals to their small letters.

Activities in this book

1. Play 1 — Curly Caterpillar Letters

   curly caterpillar letters all start the same way — at the caterpillar's head near the top, curling backwards round like a letter c. Say "curl round" as you trace!

2. Play 2 — Ladder Letters

   ladder letters start at the top and slide straight down, like sliding down a ladder. Say "down the ladder!" as you trace each one.

3. Play 3 — One-Armed Robot Letters

   one-armed robot letters go down, back up, and over — like a robot arm reaching out. Say "down, up, over!" in your best robot voice.

4. Play 4 — Writing My Own Name

   ask a grown-up to write your name first in soft pencil so you can trace over it. Names start with one big capital letter — the rest are small letters.

5. Play 5 — Big Capitals & Little Letters

   capital letters are the tall, important versions of letters. Go on a letter hunt at home — cereal boxes, books and door signs are full of capitals and little letters!

Suggestions for teaching

• Air-write first. Big arm movements in the air (or on a steamy window!) build the motor pattern before pencil meets paper.
• Say the patter. "Curl round" for caterpillar letters, "down the ladder" for ladder letters, "down, up, over" for robot letters — the words guide the pencil.
• Start position matters most. Gently check every letter starts at the top; correct starts now make joined handwriting easy later.
• Name writing. Write the name large and light for tracing before independent tries, and name each letter family as you go.
• Keep pencils chunky and sessions short. Triangular or chunky pencils suit small hands; stop while it is still fun.