Sabin, DaVIS, HETRICK, ANDEREGG, Macalady, walker, darling and Katers

It’s a good idea to pair learning and games anytime since the brain is more open to learning when fun is involved. Here is a hide and seek game with letters.

You will need these materials: A large, shallow plastic container similar to a dishpan, a set of alphabet letters, and either packing peanuts or shredded paper

Identifying Letters

You can help children identify the letters as you place them in a container. It helps to put them in alphabetical order. Have them cover the letters with either packing peanuts or shredded paper.

Now the fun begins! With eyes closed, have your child reach in and remove one hidden letter. With eyes opened, children identify the letter and place it on the table. They then continue to remove the letters with eyes closed. Have your children arrange the letters in alphabetical order as the letters are set down. Be ready to help, if needed. A good exercise is to say, touch, trace and name each letter as it is being arranged correctly. When the alphabetical lineup is complete, children will know that all the letters have been found.

Younger Children

To help younger children, set out a large sheet of paper on which you have written the alphabet. They can then set each found letter on the corresponding written letter, identifying it by name. Make it a little more fun by using magnetic letters and a magnetic fishing pole and go fishing for the hidden letters. For the older child you can use both upper and lower case letters and match the letters when they are found. The older child can give the letter’s sound as it is identified by name.

Another version of this hide and seek game involves using pictures that begin with the sound of the letters. This time your child matches the picture with the letter when it is found. You might need to be creative with pictures, so each letter has a matching picture. Q, X and Z need a little creativity.

End your game with down time and an alphabet book. Enjoy cuddling and reading books such as “Cleo’s Alphabet Book” by CarolineMockford; “A Child’s Day: An Alphabet of Play” by Ida Pearle or “Most Amazing Hide and Seek Alphabet Book” by Robert Crowther.

If it is time to be active again, you can hide letters around a small room or use numbers 1-10 or 1-20. After placing a number on a number line you’ve made, children can hop or jump the number of times indicated by the number. Jumping added to games help get the wiggles out.

For more learning fun see grandparentsteachtoo.blogspot.com; wnmufm.org/Learning Through the Seasons; Facebook and Pinterest.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Grandparents Teach, Too is a non-profit organization of elementary and preschool teachers from Marquette, Michigan. The writers include: Jan Sabin, Mary Davis, Jean Hetrick, Cheryl Anderegg, Esther Macalady, Colleen Walker, Fran Darling, and Iris Katers. Their mission since 2009 is to help parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of young children provide fun activities to help prepare young children for school and a life long love of learning. They are supported by Great Start, Parent Awareness of Michigan, the U.P. Association for the Education of Young Children, Northern Michigan School of Education, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum and the Northern Michigan University Center for Economic Education.