These are by far the best letter recognition videos ever. They are great for teaching letters, letter sounds, and CVC words to pre-K and kindergarten.
Best Alphabet and Letter Recognition Videos
I taught all three of my children preschool at home. This review is motivated by my own personal experience with using Leapfrog educational videos to help teach my own children the alphabet, letter sounds, and beginning reading skills. This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure for more information.
When someone asks me for my top recommendations for teaching the alphabet, letter sounds, and beginning reading (vowel-consonant-vowel words, for example), one of the first things I always say is that we used Leapfrog videos in addition to other curriculum choices.
All three children learned to read using Leapfrog videos in conjunction with other curricula. I used the videos as a supplement to what they normally did. For instance, on days when I couldn’t sit down at the kitchen table to teach them, I would turn on the videos for a bit.
Videos to Teach Letters and Sounds
When my oldest was two, I found a Leapfrog Letter Factory video at a consignment sale, and she watched it all the time. She knew all her letters and letter sounds before we even began a Reading preschool curriculum program formally at age 3.
So, since it worked for her, I did the same thing with my second child, and then my third. We had a more relaxed homeschool style by then, but I still loved the videos as a supplement to worksheets, books, or other curricula.
My second child loved Leapfrog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory from about age 3. Although I didn’t use formal curricula at the time, except a sticker book here or coloring book there, and 24 days of a homeschool co-op which included a “Letter of the Day” lesson, she learned fast. She knew all her letters and letter sounds before she turned 4. I attribute it mostly to repetitive views of Leapfrog videos, especially The Letter Factory and The Talking Words Factory. We watched ALL of the Leapfrog videos available on Netflix. However, my fave is still The Letter Factory, and we own the DVD. In my opinion, it is still the best one out of all of them. It is the one I used the most!
So, I admitted to you that I sat my child in front of videos. However, in conjunction with other methods of instruction, it was not too shameful. It resulted in my kiddo getting a little bit of a head start. Later, we began our “official” preschool year at age 4. I was able to start from letter sounds and reading 3-letter words, rather than purchasing a 3K boxed curriculum. Essentially, I didn’t really need anything else because she already knew the skills. We waited and purchased a 4K curriculum the following year and just did fun FREE printables that year!
Get Your Letter Recognition Videos and CVC Words Videos
You can purchase my two favorite Leapfrog DVDs (Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory) right now on Amazon in a 3-pack along with Let’s Go to School (with FREE shipping if you have Prime). The set is usually priced low enough that it makes them about $5 each – a SUPER deal!
