Children who do not have basic literacy skills when they start school are 3 to 4 times more likely to drop out. That means in homes and preschools, kids need access to games, toys, and books to help them learn the alphabet. Your family can help.

Here’s what you’re doing:

Make alphabet flashcards to donate to a preschool or daycare.

Here’s what you need:

• Plain, white paper plates (at least 26)
• Crayons or markers
• White paper
• Nontoxic glue
• Old magazines
• Scissors
• Alphabet stencils (optional)

Here’s how you do it!

1. Contact a preschool or daycare in a low-income area and ask if they would accept homemade alphabet flashcards.
2. You can also ask doctor’s offices or social services offices in low-income areas if they would like them for their waiting rooms.
3. Go through old magazines and cut out kid-friendly images of things that begin with each letter of the alphabet. For example, an apple for “A.”
4. Cut out 26 paper circles that will fill the center of your paper plates.
5. On each circle, toward the top, draw (using stencils if you have them) the upper case and lower case of a letter of the alphabet. In the end you should have 26 circles, each with “Aa,” or “Bb,” etc.
6. In the middle of each circle, under the letters you drew, glue the magazine picture that matches the letter. For example, under “Aa” paste a picture of an apple.
7. Under the picture, write the name of the object in the picture. For example, under the picture of the apple write “apple”.
8. Glue each circle to the center of a paper plate.
9. Bring your finished flashcards to the preschool or daycare that is accepting your donation.

Interesting Fact:

80% of preschools for low-income children do not have books.

Reflection Questions:

1. How did our project help people?
2. What did our family learn?
3. What worked well about our project?
4. What can we do better next time?
5. What is our next service project?