Preschool Acorn Letter Sort

Preschool Acorn Letter Sort

Your Preschool Students will have fun sorting and hiding these acorn letters just the the squirrels do! Fall is one of the best times to bring nature into the classroom whether it be through crafts, science experiments, or turning items into a manipulative. And, it’s no secret that young learners are fascinated by acorns. This acorn letter sort is a great use of nature and recycled materials.

​Take your preschoolers on a nature hunt to collect the acorns for your letter sort activity. or, grab a bag of decorative acorns. Then, bring them inside and turn them into an engaging literacy activity. With preschoolers, turning the most simple items into an activity often has the most significant impact. This activity is easy to make, can be differentiated in many different ways, and it is great to pair with your squirrels and acorn theme, or your favorite squirrel related book. Below we have provided a quick tutorial so you can make a set or even two for your preschoolers! 

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Materials:

Materials:

• Recycled chip cans (we used Pringles)
• Acorns. Decorative or real 
  
• Wood contact paper (found at the dollar tree)
  
• Scissors 
• Permanent marker 

*We covered the can in contact paper and because it's sticky we didn't need to use anything else to adhere the paper. But, you could also use brown construction paper. 

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Let's Get Started:

To begin this activity, you will want to start with creating your tree trunks. Grab your contact paper and empty chip cans. This is a great way to encourage recycling within your classroom by inviting families to donate empty cans. Once you've gathered your materials, you will want to measure the contact paper to fit around your empty chip can. Contact paper is super sticky so it will adhere to the can pretty easily!

After the cans have been covered, cut a hole towards the top or the middle of the can. We suggest poking a hole and cutting around the hole. Remember, it doesn't have to be perfect, it only needs to be large enough for preschoolers to drop acorns in.

Next, label each acorn with a letter, go through the alphabet doing both upper and lowercase letters. You can also make a second set if you have enough acorns, or duplicate letters for name spelling. 

Label one can as uppercase and the other as lowercase. Then, invite preschoolers to sort the acorns into the correct can. 

An acorn letter sort can be differentiated and used in a multitude of ways.​
Here are a few fun ideas:
- an individual student center
- an assessment tool for educators
- partner game 
- use the acorns for a name building activity 
- a group activity. Encourage preschoolers to grab an acorn and say the rhyme to the tune of I'm a Little Teapot "I'm a little acorn, what's my sound, pick me up and take me to my tree!" then preschoolers will say the sound and put the acorn into the correct can. 

The best part about acorn letter sorting is that the materials can be used again and again for different activities. All you have to do is change the manipulative you're using. In addition to sorting uppercase and lowercase letters, student could also sort: letters vs. numbers, shapes vs. letters, Small vs. Large acorns.
It's a simple and interactive way to encourage letter recognition and sorting. 

You May Also Like:

Squirrels and Acorn Activities 
Acorn Painting
Fall Leaves and Trees Activities