Do you have a book from childhood that you remember word for word? The text or the illustrations jumped out at you, or you have a fond memory attached to it. Some of these books stick with us until we are parents ourselves, and then we get to share them with our own children. Today’s post is one of those books that stuck with me.

Standard Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission from purchases you make through the links in this post.

One of my favorite stories growing up was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr and John Archambault, with illustrations by Lois Ehlert. This book is a fantastic read aloud, with a great rhyming text and bright and colorful illustrations. Children love the rhythm that this story provides, as well as the fun characters created out of the letters of the alphabet. It is a great story for teaching letter recognition, as well as upper and lower case letters. There are a variety of activities that you can do with children to engage various learning styles while increasing their interest in this beloved story.

Using Manipulatives to Follow the Story

Active Retelling – You can also use a cookie sheet and magnetic letters to act out the story, and when the letters fall out of the tree, let your child tip over the tray and watch the letters scatter. What kid doesn’t love dumping things? As you finish the story and the letters get up one by one, let her find the corresponding letter and pick them up.

You can also do this on a larger scale by using a green blanket or felt draped over a large box or chair to create a “tree”. Have your child walk the letters up the tree as you tell the story. They can then knock them back off the blanket when they all fall down. My daughter had a lot of fun acting out the story, and the larger tree and letters offered her an opportunity to stretch and move around while participating.

Fine Motor Alphabet – Another activity that uses manipulatives to reinforce the letter recognition that this story provides, is creating letters out of pipe cleaners. Provide students with an array of brightly colored pipe cleaners and have them create each letter in the story.

Sensory Fun

Alphabet Sensory Bin – Bring the story to life by filling a tub or bin with sand and small letters made of foam or plastic. Use pipe cleaners to make a tree and let children find the letters in the sand and reenact the story by loading the top of the tree with letters and watching them fall.

Sensory Play Illustrations – Using a drawing of a coconut tree covered in plastic wrap, spray some shaving cream on the picture and spread it out to create a thin layer. While you read the story out loud, let the kids illustrate the story in the shaving cream. Have them create each letter that you are reading about.

Bring the Story to Life with a Delicious Treat

Chicka Chicka Snack Time – For a yummy snack to go with this story, you could make alphabet soup together for dinner! There are several brands available in a can, or there are a variety of alphabet pasta products that you can use to make your own!

More Posts You May Enjoy: