I was cleaning out my basement storage center today, dare I say it has been twelve years since going down there! But I am so glad that I did because I found and thankfully kept all of the twins first learning games for letters and letter sounds! I actually forgot how much stuff I had and how much I did with the girls when they were little.

It wasn’t easy to have two little ones at the same time, but when I would work with them in their playroom, it was as if I had my own little classroom….and I LOVED it!

The alphabet activity I am going to share with you today will also have a link on where to purchase it. The following games are best suited for children who are just beginning to learn to recognize their letters and practice their letter sounds. There are so many ways to enjoy these alphabet bean bags, I am sure you can determine your own way…but here is how I enjoyed them in my house. I hope they help you along your road to reading!

Alphabet Bean Bags

These are soft beanbags with both the capital and lowercase letter presented on each side. Here are my favorite games to play with them.

1. Letter Race-When learning to recognize the letters….scatter them on the floor with lots of space, in either lowercase or uppercase form. (This is best to play with other little ones) Draw a line on the floor with blue painters tape or red tape. The children can stand on the line. Call out a letter and have the students race to pick up the letter you called. The child with the most letters collected wins. At the end of the game, as you collect the bean bags, have the students tell you the letter as they place them back in the bag. This game can be adapted to use with letter sounds as well!

2. Hot Potato-This was my favorite game. Gather some friends and family and sit in a circle on the floor. Leave all the bean bags in the bag. As the music plays, pass the yellow bag around the circle. When the music stops…whomever has the bag in hand has to reach in, pull out a bean bag and tell you the letter name and sound! Play until the letters are gone.

3. Order It-Scatter all the letters on the floor. Have the students decide if they want to play with the uppercase or lowercase letters. Set a timer and have your child or a team of children place all of them in alphabetic order. The goal is to complete the activity with accuracy and also have fun trying to beat their time…you can even make this a competition as well! After they arrange the letters in order, sing the alphabet while touching and pointing to each bean bag. You can even recite all the sounds of the letters as well.

4. I Spy- Have the students choose a bean bag from the bag. Whichever letter they choose, they must say the letter, sound, and find something around the house or classroom that starts with that letter.

5. Making Words-Depending on where your child is at…you can use these bean bags to spell out simple vowel/consonant words or consonant/vowel/consonant words. Write them on a piece of paper and guide children with this process.

   *These are just a few games with directions, but there are so many more you can play. The most fun is to have your children invent a game using these. You can play hopscotch…toss the bags to each other while saying the letter and sound…play a bean bag hunt (much like an egg hunt)…among other creative games. The point is teach, learn, and have fun!
   You can purchase these alphabet bean bags from Educational Insights.