Letter U Activities, Books, and Crafts for Preschoolers (2024)

Keep reading for Letter U activities for home preschool!

Did you know before the 1500s, u and v were used interchangeably as a vowel or a consonant?! I’m a huge book nerd, and I’m not really a language buff but I found this fascinating! It wasn’t until the 1620s that the letter U was an accepted letter of the alphabet. Crazy!

One of the best things about homeschooling is you can go off on these little tangents and find out WHY things are the way they are. Why did the alphabet used to be only 23 letters? Why is the sky blue? Why are the robins in my neighbors yard deliberately flying into windows? Endless answers to endless questions.

Of course this can get aggravating at times, but it is still fun to sit down with your kids and learn something new together. And for kids, pretty much everything is new information!

Which is why I loved the relaxed Letter of the Week method we used during our preschool years. It was super simple and was filled with lots of books and lots of play. At ages 3 and 5, we spent about 30 minutes to an hour each day doing a few sit-down activities and crafts. The rest of the day they spent playing. A little bit of structure and then a little bit of free range.

Dig Deeper:

• Unschooling Curriculum
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Home Preschool

If you are looking for some simple and rich ways to spend time with your preschooler, I have 3 books and activities you can do together. You get some “schooling” done but it only takes you three days a week!

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Letter U Activities

Day One – ABC Book and Great Day for Up

“The meanings of “up” are conveyed with merry verse and illustrations in a happy book that celebrates the joy of life.”

For each letter we added to our ABC, phonics, and transportation book. But my total favorite was our ABC book. All I did was print off letters and found stuff around my house that started with that letter to draw, glue, or color on the paper. Click below to learn more!

Day Two – Printables and The Umbrella

“When Carlos drops his umbrella to climb a tree for a better view of the animals, they all cram into the banana-leaf umbrella as it floats by. From the little tree frog to the baby tapir to the big jaguar and more. It gets so crowded in the umbrella that there isn’t even enough room for a little hummingbird! So over the umbrella tumbles, everyone falls out, and poor Carlos comes back wondering why he didn’t see any animals all day. With its classic story, exotic jungle setting, and brilliantly colorful menagerie, The Umbrella is sure to take its place among Jan’s many family favorites.”

One thing I always tried to incorporate during our Letter of the Week word was some sort of writing practice and letter recognition worksheets. Carisa from 1+1+1=1 and Cassie from 3Dinosaurs make the best worksheets when it comes to the alphabet. Make sure you click below for the FREE printables!

Day Three – Sensory play and UnderGROUND

“What young child doesn’t love playing in the dirt? And who hasn’t wondered what goes on in the lives of all the creatures who live underground? Celebrated Caldecott Honor medalist Denise Fleming applies her signature bold and bright pulp-paper-collage style to a universal childhood topic in this dynamic, rhythmic book that’s just right for reading aloud—and comes complete with a detailed glossary.”

Sensory play was a big hit in our homeschool as was playing in the dirt. Why not combine the two with some underground sensory play!

Letter U Books

Some additional letter U books you can read with your kiddos!

The Umbrella Queen by Shirin Bridges

“When Noot is finally allowed to paint umbrellas like the other women and girls in her village, she secretly hopes that she might be chosen as this year’s Umbrella Queen. Carefully, she creates serene flowers and butterflies exactly as she has seen her mother and grandmother do for years. But soon her imagination takes over, and Noot finds herself straying from the old patterns, to the dismay of her family, who depend on the traditionally painted umbrellas for their livelihood.”

Up Above and Down Below by Sue Redding

“Up above, the ants are taking over a picnic. But down below is another story. Look closely and you’ll find very different worlds living side by side, at a picnic, in the ocean, in the blazing desert, even inside the same two-story home. Sue Redding’s bold, wonderfully detailed illustrations hide lots of fun and mischief. Keep an eye out for the red ant and green worm who have snuck into every picture!”

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

“Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.”

Whether you are learning about animals underground or looking at animals up in the sky, I hope you found something you can use in your homeschool!

Additional Recourses

• All our Letter of the Week Work
• Home Preschool Curriculum

Thanks for reading!