When it comes to learning, a child thrives if the activity is fun. It doesn’t matter so much what the subject is, if the method involves having a good time, their little brains soak it right up! So I do believe that as homeschooling parents, it is our responsibility to create as fun and engaging a learning environment as possible. (Why don’t adults get such treatment in the real world?!?)
Several months ago, Rudy and I began a “Letter of the Week” plan for learning the ABC’s. I homeschool three days a week, so there is one day of introducing the new letter and two days of reviewing.
I discovered right away that learning the alphabet can be tedious for a 3-year-old if not handled properly. If I expected my Rudy to sit down for three days a week and quietly memorize his ABC’s, then I would be setting him up for failure and frustration. He needed FUN!! He needed to learn his letters in an enjoyable, hands-on setting!!
It became, then, my joy and my duty to do whatever it takes, to plan as many silly games and crafts as needed in order to make his alphabet-learning successful. And really, anything other than my best when it comes to planning out our homeschool curriculum can be chalked up to laziness on my part. If my child’s homeschooling experience is a failure, that’s on me.
If you are in the middle of teaching your preschooler their ABC’s (or are about to start), here is a really fun game for reviewing their letters! The great thing about fun and silly games is that they are having such a good time that they don’t even realize they are memorizing something.
Funny Letters
Keep in mind that for this game, your preschooler will need to be able to recognize at least the first three letters of the alphabet. The more letters they know, the more fun they will have with this game.
Supplies Needed:
- 26 sheets of white paper
- Crayons/markers
Set Up
- On each sheet of paper, use a crayon or marker to write the upper and lower case of one letter. Write it in very legible, large font. Rudy knows up to the letter “O,” so I have 15 pieces of paper to work with.
- Lay out the papers, letters facing up, on the floor, and don’t put them in alphabetical order. I scatter them around on my den floor.
Game
- Have your child come in and tell him that you both are going to play a really fun letters game called “Funny Letters.” Use your best super-excited voice and clap a lot. 🙂
- You will then tell your child to find letter “A.” The whole point of this game is for the child to be able to pick out the letter that you choose, and when he finds it, to do something silly “on” that letter. These are the silly things that I have Rudy do:
- Letter A: put your ear on it
- Letter B: kiss it
- Letter C: smell it
- Letter D: pet it like a kitty
- Letter E: hug it
- Letter F: put your foot on it
- Letter G: roll over it
- Letter H: blow on it
- Letter I: poke it with your nose
- Letter J: spank it (Rudy’s favorite!! :))
- Letter K: whisper “Hi” to it
- Letter L: rock it like a baby
- Letter M: put your bellybutton on it
- Letter N: sneeze on it
- Letter O: blink your eyes on it
- Letter P: have a stuffed animal sniff it
- Letter Q: tickle it
- Letter R: put your hiney on it
- Letter S: wave bye-bye to it
- Letter T: use it like a pillow
- Letter U: cough on it
- Letter V: wiggle your toes on it
- Letter W: knock on it 3 times
- Letter X: tuck it in
- Letter Y: make a stuffed animal kiss it
- Letter Z: make a stuffed animal go night-night on it
I have set out 6 letters, and now we’re about to start playing! Look how excited he is!
Obviously, you can change the variety to be more or less ridiculous. This has been really fun for Rudy to play, and maybe even more fun for me to watch! 🙂
For Letter “I”, he had to poke it with his nose!!
I love being a homeschooling parent and being the sole person in charge of Rudy’s learning and development. I can cater games and activities to his personality and can challenge him as I see fit. I know that my Rudy won’t be catered to forever, that is not real life, but for now he can be. 🙂
I’m always looking for fun learning games. Do you have any that you’d like to share?
“ABC blocks” photo: Valerie Everett
