Practice letter recognition and letter sounds with a fun game that gets kids moving.
Letter Sounds Race
Clear some open floor space – the more space, the better. Place letter magnets on one side of the room. Place a magnet board or a magnetic pan on the other side of the room. {Our easel has a magnetic dry erase board, so we used that.}
Place letters on the floor.
Have your child stand next to the magnet board {opposite side of the room from all of the letters}. Explain to your child that you will call out a letter sound and he should run and find the letter. Then, pick up the letter and place it on the magnet board.
Tell your child to run and pick up the letter that says ___. {For example, in a really excited voice say: Ready… set… go pick up the letter that says /b/.}
If your child is just starting to learn letter sounds, try one of these suggestions:
- Call out letters instead of letter sounds. Say: Run and get the letter B. B says /b/. Repeat the sound a few times.
- Ask your child the letter sounds: What sound does the letter B make? Your child answers. Then say: B says /b/. Go get the letter B.
- Mix it up. Ask the letter sounds of letters you know your child knows. Tell her the letter sounds of the ones she doesn’t know yet. Have her repeat the letter sounds to you.
Variations with the Magnet Board
You could also add another learning element with the magnetic white board. Instead of just placing the letter magnets on the board at random {which my son really enjoyed}, write letters or words on the board.
Write uppercase letters on the magnetic board. You could write them in alphabetical order or mix them up. Have your child match the letter magnets to the letters on the board.
Write lowercase letters on the magnetic board. Again, you could write them in alphabetical order or mix them up. Have your child match the letter magnets to the letters on the board.
Write words on the board. Make sure you have enough letter magnets to cover the words you choose. I wrote the word ball, but we only had one l. You could have your child run to get each letter individually. For example, say: Let’s spell the word dog. Go get the letter D. Or you could have him get all of the letters at once. Say: Let’s spell the word dog. D-O-G. Go get letters D, O, and G.
Make this about moving as much as possible. Encourage running to get the letters. My son thought this was great fun. He eventually became more interested in matching the letter magnets with the letters in the words and stopped running, but that’s okay, too.
More Ideas for Learning Letters
- Pair the colorful magnetic letters with the book, Freight Train, for some color matching and letter practice.
- Make letters with objects in nature.
- Use a train set to help practice letters.
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My son would really enjoy this…he’s decided to work on sounding out words recently, and he also discovered the concept of “winning” which makes any kind of race sound more exciting to him.
Jessica recently posted..DIY Engineer Heart Pendants and Ornaments
My son just loves anything that lets him run around the house, and playing with the magnetic letters is a bonus.
This is a terrific activity! I have been trying to incorporate more movement activities in combo with math & literacy learning for my busy son. Thanks for this & I look forward to more of your great ideas
!
Thanks, Amanda! My son likes anything that gets him moving.
What a fun way to use magnet letters which so many people have at home. Kids always learn best through play and experience. Pinning now!
Vicky @ Mess For Less recently posted..Crescent Roll Recipes: Fruit Filled Crescent Cups – Food Fun Friday
This is great! I am going to do this with my older boys. I love any game that keeps kids moving while learning.
Allison recently posted..Gluppity Glup and Schloppity Slopp Inspired by Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax {February Virtual Book Club for Kids}
Thanks, Allison! Moving and learning activities are the best, aren’t they?
I adore this idea! And I absolutely love your blog. Thank you so much for sharing!
Joyce @Childhood Beckons recently posted..President’s Day Coin Bingo
You are so sweet! Thank you!
Oh my goodness! My 3 year old LOVES alphabets and he would just LOVE to do these activities. Thank you! I need some great ideas to stay up with this self-learning a-b-c lover of mine.
I blog at Teachers of Good Things and this is the kind of ideas my readers would love! Please come and linkup on the Tender Moments with Toddlers & Preschoolers with this idea. Here is the link for the current one: http://teachersofgoodthings.com/bowling-pins-for-toddlers-and-preschoolers/
It is EVERY Thursday and your posts would be very welcomed in our link ups.
I’m heading to share this pin in our Toddlers & Preschoolers board.
Sounds like your 3 year old is a lot like mine with regards to the self-learning of ABCs.
Thanks for stopping by. I’ll have to check out your link party!
This is a fantastic idea! We are playing this ‘game’ today! I am always looking for ideas to get away from the dreaded worksheets.
Thanks, Shannon! Yes, I much prefer games and activities to worksheets.