right, they can put the letter back in and try it again on another turn.
Variations
For Scribblers: Even Scribblers who don’t know their letters yet can start learning to tune in to their sense of touch. Start by putting a few simple objects (like a key, a ball, a crayon, a shell, or a spoon) into the bag and see if they can identify the items without looking at them.
For Spellers: Kids who are just learning their letters will love this game, provided you take their novice status into account. Start out by placing only two letters in the bag at a time. Choose letters that they know well and that have dissimilar shapes ( A and O, for example). Follow the instructions as described above. As a variation, make a specific request, such as, “Find the A. ”
For Storytellers: Hide letters in the bag that, when combined, spell a simple word your Storyteller knows well. Have them reach in, feel, and guess each letter. When they have figured out all the letters and taken them out of the bag, encourage them to arrange and rearrange them until they discover the secret word.
For Scholars: Scholars are ready for a challenge. Toss all twenty-six letters into the bag and let them rummage about until they find one they can identify. You can even turn this into a game with several players. Each player reaches into the bag and tries to feel and find a letter. If they get it right, they keep the letter. If they mistake one letter for another, they place it back in the bag. The bag gets passed from one player to the next until there are no more letters left inside. The player who has accumulated the most letters by the end of the game is the winner.
3
Mystery Letters
“W RITING ” letters on kids’ backs is another one of those activities that help them visualize letter formation without the help of their visual sense. (Unless your child is a Cirque du Soleil wannabe, it’s pretty much impossible for them to peek at what you’re writing back there.) It’s therefore an ideal activity for facilitating that internal awareness of letter formation. In my house, we have also found it to be an ideal activity for bedtime, when the lights are turned down anyway and the soft touch and quiet nature of this activity invites both concentration and calm.
M ATERIALS
∗ None! Just a quiet spot.
H OW-TO
Simply trace a letter of the alphabet on your child’s back and wait to see if he or she can guess the letter. If your child can’t identify the letter, try it one or two more times before revealing the mystery letter. Start with capital letters first, because they have simpler shapes. When your child has mastered all the capitals, you can introduce lowercase letters.
Variations
For Scribblers: When you’re first starting out, just alternate between writing two distinctly different letters (like X and O ) and see whether your children can differentiate one from the other.
For Spellers: Try writing a few familiar letters on their backs (such as the letters in their names) and see if they can identify them.
For Storytellers: Work your way up to including all the letters of the alphabet and finally words and little messages, such as “sweet dreams” and “I love you” (using a pat on the back to indicate a space between words).
For Scholars: This is a fun and motivating way for Scholars to review spelling or vocabulary words. It’s especially effective at bedtime, as the mind tends to rehearse and retain the information it processed right before it went to sleep.
4
A-B-Centerpiece
G ROWING UP, during large family meals at Grandma’s house, we kids were not put at a kiddie table (though the idea was mentioned quite a bit). Instead we sat with the grownups, until long after we finished eating and had lost interest in the adult conversation.
What kept us all at the table? And relatively quiet? A magnetic letter board scrounged from Grandma’s half-empty toy box. Although many of the
Variations
For Scribblers: Even Scribblers who don’t know their letters yet can start learning to tune in to their sense of touch. Start by putting a few simple objects (like a key, a ball, a crayon, a shell, or a spoon) into the bag and see if they can identify the items without looking at them.
For Spellers: Kids who are just learning their letters will love this game, provided you take their novice status into account. Start out by placing only two letters in the bag at a time. Choose letters that they know well and that have dissimilar shapes ( A and O, for example). Follow the instructions as described above. As a variation, make a specific request, such as, “Find the A. ”
For Storytellers: Hide letters in the bag that, when combined, spell a simple word your Storyteller knows well. Have them reach in, feel, and guess each letter. When they have figured out all the letters and taken them out of the bag, encourage them to arrange and rearrange them until they discover the secret word.
For Scholars: Scholars are ready for a challenge. Toss all twenty-six letters into the bag and let them rummage about until they find one they can identify. You can even turn this into a game with several players. Each player reaches into the bag and tries to feel and find a letter. If they get it right, they keep the letter. If they mistake one letter for another, they place it back in the bag. The bag gets passed from one player to the next until there are no more letters left inside. The player who has accumulated the most letters by the end of the game is the winner.
3
Mystery Letters
“W RITING ” letters on kids’ backs is another one of those activities that help them visualize letter formation without the help of their visual sense. (Unless your child is a Cirque du Soleil wannabe, it’s pretty much impossible for them to peek at what you’re writing back there.) It’s therefore an ideal activity for facilitating that internal awareness of letter formation. In my house, we have also found it to be an ideal activity for bedtime, when the lights are turned down anyway and the soft touch and quiet nature of this activity invites both concentration and calm.
M ATERIALS
∗ None! Just a quiet spot.
H OW-TO
Simply trace a letter of the alphabet on your child’s back and wait to see if he or she can guess the letter. If your child can’t identify the letter, try it one or two more times before revealing the mystery letter. Start with capital letters first, because they have simpler shapes. When your child has mastered all the capitals, you can introduce lowercase letters.
Variations
For Scribblers: When you’re first starting out, just alternate between writing two distinctly different letters (like X and O ) and see whether your children can differentiate one from the other.
For Spellers: Try writing a few familiar letters on their backs (such as the letters in their names) and see if they can identify them.
For Storytellers: Work your way up to including all the letters of the alphabet and finally words and little messages, such as “sweet dreams” and “I love you” (using a pat on the back to indicate a space between words).
For Scholars: This is a fun and motivating way for Scholars to review spelling or vocabulary words. It’s especially effective at bedtime, as the mind tends to rehearse and retain the information it processed right before it went to sleep.
4
A-B-Centerpiece
G ROWING UP, during large family meals at Grandma’s house, we kids were not put at a kiddie table (though the idea was mentioned quite a bit). Instead we sat with the grownups, until long after we finished eating and had lost interest in the adult conversation.
What kept us all at the table? And relatively quiet? A magnetic letter board scrounged from Grandma’s half-empty toy box. Although many of the
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