'Mommy, Mommy, Play With Me!' Letter-A Activities for Young Children

What mother has not heard the words, “Mommy, Mommy, play with me!” one too many times? Ellen Mongan’s solution is committing an hour a day to quality learning and play.

If you are the mother of a toddler or an elementary school-age child, this article is for you. No matter how many toys you buy for your child, you will always remain their best toy. They want your time, your attention, and your presence. When my children were young, I wrote a book of simple, inexpensive activities that we could do together each day, titled Mommy, Mommy, Play With Me. 

Then I committed one hour of quality time. Learning together from A to Z would become a practice I committed to daily with all seven of my children. The things we learned and the places we would go were accompanied by squeals of joy and lots of laughter. It has also been used as a syllabus for teachers. 

Let’s Look at a Week: Applaud! Awesome “A” Has Arrived 

Begin each day with prayer. Sometimes it's fun to let children compose their own prayer. 

Have the children trace the letter “A.” Make a large printed “A” with dotted lines on lined paper, then let your child trace the letter “A.” When your child is ready, have them write the small letter “a” under each tracing. 

Teach your child the sound of “A.” (short ă for Apple, long ā for Ape). 

Think of words that begin with “A” and make a word list to be added to your scrapbook. 

Cut out pictures from magazines of things that begin with the letter “A” and place them in your scrapbook. 

Let your child do most of the work with your loving guidance. 

Arts and Crafts 

Draw a picture of a favorite “A” animal (aardvark, alligator, ape, asp). 

Paint red and green apples on white construction paper. 

Make paper airplanes.  Decorate them and then fly them. 

Draw Noah’s Ark and all the animals aboard the Ark. 

Artist starts with the letter “a,” so paint a picture of any “A” word or object. 

Draw a picture of what autumn means to you.  Use crayons or paints and paintbrushes to draw on paper of your choice. Use autumn colors. 

 

Make Believe and Games  

Who am I? Imitate an animal and have everyone guess the animal.  

Act out your favorite Bible story. You may want to read your favorite Bible story before you begin to act it out. Dressing up in “Bible times” costume is fun for children and easy to do with plain fabric. Be creative. 

Pretend you are an airplane, then fly, land, and take off. Be creative. 

Pretend you are sitting in an airplane flying from Alaska to Arizona or Alabama. 
 

Some Places to Go 

Visit an airport and watch the planes take off and land. 

Call one of the major airlines in your area and ask for a tour of an airplane. 

Visit your favorite aunt or a friend’s aunt. 

Go to an art museum.  

Note: Before you go anywhere, plan and discuss your destination. After the visit, review where you went and the things you liked and disliked most about your trip. 

Things to Do and Learn

Discuss how important the arm and ankle are to us. 

Show things that are alike, such as apes and monkeys. How are they alike? Conversations teach, especially to preschoolers who soak in everything. 

Draw a diagram with rows and columns. In each block created, draw letters, shapes, or happy/sad faces. Draw two pictures per block and ask your child to pick out the blocks that contain the same item. Have them circle objects that are alike. 

Sing the alphabet song together. 

Learn your address. 

What is your age? 

Who and what is an aunt? Do you have a favorite aunt? 

Autumn is the third season of the year. What do you like most and least about autumn?
         

Things to Read About 

Animals
Airplanes or Airports
Art or Artists
Apples
Acting
Alphabet
Aunts 

Things to Eat and Drink

Apples         
Avocado
Apple Juice
Asparagus         
Apple Carrot Raisin Bread (recipe below)  


APPLE CARROT RAISIN BREAD

Ingredients 

2/3 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
2 cups sifted flour
1 tsp soda 
½ tsp. grated lemon peel
1 ½ cups of grated apple
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs – beat well
½ cup grated carrot
1 tsp. salt
 
Directions

Cream together Crisco, sugar, and lemon peel.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.
Pour into a greased pan, then bake at 325℉ for 1 hour.
Cool before slicing. 
 

Words from the Bible to Discuss

Apple: We are the apple of God’s eye (Psalm 17:8). That’s a real compliment. God loves us very much. 

Adam: Read the story of Adam and Eve from the Children’s Bible (Genesis 2-5). Talk about God’s creation and love. 

Abraham: Read the story of Abraham from the Children’s Bible (Genesis 11-24). Talk about Abraham and his faith in God.  

Ark: Read the story of Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-9). Talk about how Noah, his family, and the animals were safe aboard the Ark. Ask what Animals came from the Ark. 

Angel: Talk about God’s protection (Hebrews 1:14). Tell how angels are God’s messengers sent to protect us. Can you think of times when angels helped you? 

Acceptance: God teaches us to love all (Matthew 7:12). We must accept everyone, even ourselves.  Is there anything you don’t like about yourself? 

Anger: Talk about how anger is a real feeling that can be sinful at times (Ephesians 4:26). Jesus commands us to forgive others (Matthew 6:9-13). We need to ask God for help forgiving someone when we are angry. Can you think of someone? 

Ask: God says, “Ask and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). If you have a need, ask and receive. Lift your needs to God in prayer. 

Wrapping Up the Letter A

Can you think of any other “A” projects? Add them to the list. 

When Daddy comes home, share with him what you made today. 

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Copyright 2026 Ellen Mongan
Images: Canva