Fall ABC Poster to Teach Beginning Sounds in Words

Create your own fall alphabet! Teach your child beginning sounds with a camera and a fall walk to create this fall poster together. Here’s how…

As the crisp autumn air settles in and leaves crunch underfoot, fall becomes the perfect time to engage young children in fun, educational activities. One fantastic way to nurture your child’s early literacy skills is by creating a Fall Alphabet—a hands-on project that introduces beginning sounds while embracing the beauty of the season.

So grab your camera, lace up those walking shoes, and set off on a fall walk to create a personalized Alphabet poster together!

Welcome to Playful Preschool where learning is an adventure. Although I believe that worksheets and flashcards can have a place in early childhood education, I am a strong believer that most of our young children’s “learning” takes place through exploration and interaction with actual “real life” things.

Celebrate Literacy this Fall

As we near the end of fall, I am taking the opportunity to celebrate the last of the leaves, the migration of the animals and the thankfulness of the season before jumping into winter.  This activity combines much of what we have been learning about all month into ONE awesome activity – A Fall ABC.

It combines our work with vocabulary and observational skills as well as our phonics and phonemic awareness of letters. Identifying (the sound /p/ is at the beginning of pumpkin) and isolating the beginning sounds is a skill that we are just beginning to address at age 4.

This activity for most preschoolers (mine included) would require the support of an older child or an adult.

DIY Fall ABC Poster for Kids

Materials:

• Pencil
• Camera
• Editing Software (PicMonkey is Free currently and easy to use in my opinion)

Why Focus on Beginning Sounds?

Recognizing beginning sounds is an essential step in early literacy. When children can hear and identify the first sound in words, it builds the foundation for phonemic awareness, which is crucial for reading success. Creating a Fall Alphabet allows children to pair these sounds with meaningful, real-world objects—making learning engaging and memorable.

Prepare for Your Fall Walk

We started by writing the letters in the alphabet out on a piece of paper.

Then we talked about things that reminded us of the fall. As my preschooler said a word, we sounded it out and I wrote it next to the corresponding letter on our paper.

We researched (aka looked in our fall books) the season to come up with even more words for the season.

Before heading out, explain to your child that you will be on a scavenger hunt to find objects that start with each letter of the alphabet. Bring a camera or use your phone to snap photos, and don’t forget to dress warmly! You can even carry a clipboard and pencil to make a list of letters you’ve found along the way.

If your child is younger or just beginning to learn their letters, you might start with a shorter list (A-M, for instance) or focus on the letters in their name. If they’re more advanced, challenge them to find all 26 letters!

Explore and Snap Photos

As you walk through the park, forest, or even your neighborhood, point out seasonal objects that correspond to each letter. This might include things like:

• A for acorn
• B for bird or branch
• C for cornstalk or cloud
• L for leaf
• P for pumpkin
• S for scarecrow

Encourage your child to listen to the first sound of each word. Ask them to repeat the sound, and then say the word slowly, emphasizing the beginning sound again. For example, “Listen to the /l/ sound in ‘leaf’—Can you say ‘leaf’? What letter makes that /l/ sound?”

I handed him the camera and let him photograph as many of the objects on our list as possible. We didn’t worry if we were missing letters (life is too short to be perfect). I did add a couple of my own pictures of our adventures into the collage later on.

This is a great culminating activity that does take a little more time to complete, but gives you a great published product too.

Create Your Fall Alphabet Poster

Once you’ve gathered photos of your fall treasures, it’s time to bring your project to life. Print the pictures, then work with your child to arrange them on a large piece of poster board in alphabetical order.

Label each photo with the correct letter and the name of the object underneath it. As you do, continue reinforcing those beginning sounds: “P is for pumpkin, and pumpkin starts with the /p/ sound!”

Decorate the poster with fall-themed colors, stickers, or drawings to make it extra special. You can also hang it in a place where your child can easily see it, like the kitchen or their bedroom, so they can revisit the sounds and letters frequently.

You could also make a mini photo book as well!

Play Alphabet Games with Your Poster

Your new Fall Alphabet poster isn’t just a one-time project—it’s a tool you can use for ongoing learning. Here are a few fun games to try:

• Sound Detective: Say a sound, and have your child point to the picture that starts with that sound.
• I Spy: Play “I spy” with the alphabet poster by describing an object, and have your child guess the letter and the picture. “I spy something that starts with /s/—it’s orange and sits in a field!” (Hint: It’s a scarecrow!)
• Matching Game: Write out the letters of the alphabet on index cards. Have your child match each card to the picture on the poster that starts with the same letter.

Why This Activity Works

Children thrive when learning is playful and meaningful. By connecting letter sounds with real objects they discover during a nature walk, they create strong mental associations. Plus, the act of photographing and crafting a poster with you turns learning into an experience, not just a lesson.

This project also embraces the beauty of fall—inviting your child to notice the world around them while building important pre-reading skills. Whether you spot squirrels gathering nuts or bright red apples hanging from trees, there’s no shortage of alphabet inspiration outdoors this season!

Nature Activities for kids

• What Does 10 Look Like?
• Teach Tally Marks
• Chalk Numbers with Leaves
• Sand Art Project
• Fall Leaf STEM Challenge
• Fall Leaf Movement Activity
• Making Natural Playscapes for Kids
• Building Your Child’s Imagination Outside
• Outdoor Music Ideas
• Sidewalk Chalk Activities for Kids
• The Importance of Outside Play
• Solar Energy Science Experiments
• Backyard Activities for Kids
• Exploring Nature Walking Home from School
• Fall Journal and Observation Sheet
• Fall Sensory Play Ideas
• Top Activities for Outdoor Fun
• Marble Paint with Acorns
• Math Game with Acorns 
• Acorn Alphabet Sensory Jar Game

So the next time you’re on a fall walk with your little one, seize the opportunity to create your own Fall Alphabet. It’s a fun, creative way to introduce beginning sounds and inspire a lifelong love of learning—one acorn, leaf, and pumpkin at a time.

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