While taking a long car ride as a family, my six-year-old came up with a game that we now play almost anytime we are in the car for more than fifteen minutes. It is a simple guessing game, but it helps children learn and reinforce beginning letter sounds. It also gets them concentrating on a topic for a long period of time (Much more than the usual five minute attention span), and gets the creative juices flowing. It can be played anywhere, involve children across a large age span, and there are no materials involved other than a sharp thinking cap.
Whomever is designated to go first, thinks of an animal. This person then announces, “I am thinking of an animal that starts with the letter___”, and then he or she fills in the blank with the beginning letter of the animal of which they are thinking. For example, if it were my turn and I was thinking of a panda bear, I would say, “I am thinking of an animal that starts with the letter “p”.”
Players then take turns guessing the animal of which the person is thinking. Whomever guesses correctly is the winner and now has the honor of thinking of the next animal. The game begins again when the new animals has been selected and the person announces, “I am thinking of an animal that starts with the letter___”.
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Written by Laura on December 21, 2011
This alphabet game is extremely simple and requires only a set of letters to represent the alphabet (and even those materials are optional), but you may be surprised at the learning that can occur while completing this activity. You may be even more surprised to see how much your child enjoys doing it.
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Written by BRWI Staff on December 19, 2011
Here is an easy, long term activity you can do with your child to practice identifying letters and the sounds they make all while strengthening fine motor skills. My own son is very tactile and this has proven to be the best method for him to learn his letters. He enjoys working on this project a little bit at a time and seeing his work displayed when he is finished.
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Written by Laura on December 9, 2011
My preschooler does not yet know all of his letters. He can write his first name, but his last name is still a bit illusive to him. In an effort to help him recognize these letters, I came up with this simple activity that he enjoys. I am excited that he likes the activity because I already have an idea of how to make it more difficult once he masters this beginning stage.
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Written by Laura on October 26, 2011
Here is a great game to play with your child to practice identifying words that have a specific letter sound at the beginning. You may be familiar with the classic nursery rhyme song, “A Tisket, A Tasket”. I have changed the words a little in order to make a game that is appropriate for preschool children who are ready for letter sounds. All you need is a basket large enough to hold
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Written by Laura on September 1, 2011
When you say, “The word ‘dog’ begins with the letter ‘d’”, a preschool child must be able to picture the letter “d” in his head while thinking of the sound it makes. However, in this game, you can help your child identify beginning letter sounds while physically holding onto the letter.
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Written by Laura on May 27, 2011
My now three-year-old son has his older brother to play with, and is much more interested in the types of toys with which older children play, such as pirate costumes and any type of sports equipment. He has not had the same amount of letter practice his older brother had simply because he is not interested in the same learning toys.
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Written by Laura on April 11, 2011
As children are learning the sounds that letters make, it is always a good idea to make a connection between letter sounds and how they are used in forming words. The easiest place for youngsters to identify letters sounds is at the beginning. Here is an easy game you can play with your child that doesn’t require any materials and can be played almost anywhere.
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Written by BRWI Staff on March 23, 2011
The next time you are searching for an activity you can use to teach or reinforce letter sounds, try this one out with your youngster. Gather a set of letters, one for each letter of the alphabet, and place them in a bag or pillowcase. (You can use magnetic letters, those included with a board game, or letters written on strips of paper.) Then have your child draw one out of the bag. If needed,
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Written by BRWI Staff on February 21, 2011
A friend of mine told me about this wonderful web site that is utilized by a school district in our area. I loved the reading activities on it that were perfect for my older son who is a beginning reader. However, I also found a great section of the site that is just for kids who are learning their letter sounds. I can’t wait to get my preschooler started!
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Written by Laura on February 7, 2011
Our goal is to give you the tools and confidence to teach your preschooler the joy of reading and writing.
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