beyond the playroom

purposeful play

letter hunt

letter recognition activity for kids

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purposeful play

letter hunt

Letter recognition is really simple and fun with this hands on activity. Letter Hunt will strengthen your child’s letter and sound recognition all while using their hands!
Hide letters in a tub of sand.  Give your child sand tools to dig, sift and find the letters.  When your child finds a letter talk to them about the name of the letter, its shape and the sound it makes.
You can extend this activity by hiding letters to the child’s name or other high frequency words. Write a name or word on a dry erase board or a note card for the child to reference while searching for the correct letters needed to spell the name/word. 
I absolutely LOVE Kinetic Sand– you can find the link to it here.  This sand is so incredibly soft, like wet beach sand but it’s totally dry! It lasts forever and can be molded and remolded over and over again. It’s a perfect rainy day activity. I also really like to bring this out when my son is feeling stir crazy or stressed out-this sand is so calming and relaxing! 

materials

  • sand 
  • letters
  • dry erase board or note cards               

Purpose

  • Reinforces letter recognition 
  • Teaches letter sounds
  • Supports learning of high frequency words and name recognition
  • Strengthens fine motor skills   
  • Sensory experience                                               

tips

  • Place sand in a large shallow plastic bin so kids have plenty of space to play.
  • When your child wants to play with the sand, put a vinyl tablecloth or large towel on the floor and place the bin of sand on top. That way when the sand falls out of the bin (which not matter how careful your child is-it will happen) all you have to do when they are done is lift up the tablecloth and pour it back into the bin!                                     

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