Ok, what are some easy ways to embed ABCs into your everyday? I like to recommend fun and easy activities that our children will remember to do. This way, it’s more likely we will get a chance to work on alphabet names and the sounds they make!
We always have painter’s tape at my house. First of all, because I don’t like residue or paint chips scuffing my walls. Secondly, we have lots of things to hang up all the time! With artwork, reminder notes, and new learning material. Painter’s tape is super convenient and doesn’t leave a mark.
Top 3 ABC Games that’ll stick!
- ABC Password
- ABC Flashlight Game
- ABC On-The-Spot
Ok, so let’s review the games that I like to recommend:
1.ABC PASSWORD
Use masking tape, a post-it note, or tape a piece of paper up to a high-traffic area. Think fridge, bathroom, or front door. Pick one letter / matching sound to display in this location. After the password is up, the rule is that anyone who passes that entry must announce the letter/sound out loud! For anyone who forgets to do this (and is caught by another), the individual who forgets must do something silly as directed by the identifier. So, let’s say the letter “A” is on the fridge, and little Suzie catches Dad forgetting to say “A” or “aaaa” when he opens the fridge door, Suzie can choose what silly action dad has to complete (e.g., act like a monkey). Kids love catching our mistakes, so if we *conveniently* forget a few passwords, they get a bit more practice identifying their letters/sounds!
2. ABC FLASHLIGHT GAME
For this game, you need to stick up some letters. Again, I like to go with 1-2 letters, and slowly add to it as my child masters the letters/sounds. I used half a letter page and stuck it up with painter’s tape. Secondly, you will need a flashlight. When it’s dark enough (or just close the door, curtains and turn off the light), we take turns aiming the flashlight at the wall. This is great because you can practice:
- Practice – During practice, both the adult and child, player 1 and 2, can jointly labeling or identifying letters and their sounds together. Identifying the letter names or sounds they make may be the easier task at first.
- Identifying sounds – This is when player 1 says a sound out loud, and player 2 must use the flashlight to find it
- Labeling sounds – After a few turns practicing, player 1 can aim the light at a letter while player 2 makes the sound.
3. ABC ON-THE-SPOT
This idea could be adapted many ways. Basically, stick your letters somewhere convenient so that you will see them, practice and play. Some ideas might include:
- Mark the Spot For Your Shoes
- Mark the Spot for your Coat
- Letter Hopscotch
- Mark Your Seat
- Adapt Twister
For the shoes, coat and seat, it’s really nice that we can begin with letters that are meaningful to your family. By starting with the first letters of your child’s name or his family’s names’, he or she will begin to realize there are differences in the first sounds of our names and also the fact that different sounds have different written counterparts.
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
You really just need some coloured masking tape, preferably painter’s tape. And, with a little creativity, you’re set to go with Alphabets or taped-down roads or hopscotch!
I like to use painter’s tape and tape a letter to the ground. You can use it for hop scotch, or just simply make letters for where their shoes go. We actually use painter’s tape to make roads and parking spaces for our cars. It works well on the carpet too, if you want to make a pretend “start/finish” line.
I have always had the normal green painter’s tape lying around. It doesn’t damage my floors or wall! Some basic painter’s tapes that I order are Amazon USA – Brixwell Pro Blue Painters Masking Tape 3/4 Inch x 60 Yard
I known there’s this whole Washi tape craze, but I was looking for a few more colours other than green and blue. My daughter was super excited to find out that they had masking tape in RAINBOW! We can tape ABCs for my son who is learning his sounds/letters, and even make parking spaces and tracks for his dinky toy cars. I’ve just got to test it out to see if it is safe for carpets and walls!
Amazon USA – XFasten Multi Colored Painters Masking Tape Kids Craft Set, 1-Inch x 30 Yards, 6 Pack
The contents of this blog post are of my own opinion. The content and information contained are not meant to substitute professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your speech-language pathologist, physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding your child’s condition.
*FULL DISCLOSURE: This post contains affiliate marketing links. If you make a purchase via the links I’ve provided, I receive a small commission as an Amazon associate. This costs you nothing, but does help to support playTOK design, website and maintenance. Thank you for your support! You can read my full disclosure statement here.
Leave A Comment