S.S.
I agree with Stacey with the shaving cream, you can also use playdough, pudding, applesauce, cheerios, etc. My son had to have a reason why he needed to learn something. For instance when we were trying to teach him our phone number when he was 3-4 he could/would not remember it. Finally, one day he was at my parents house and my mom picked up the phone and told him to call your mom at home. She told him the number, he dialed it, and had it memorized from then on. Play games in the car like find the letter A, and that will show her the "reason" behind knowing your alphabet.