Games to Play With Kids for Learning Letters
Letters are the building blocks of language. Teaching kids to be able to recognize and identify their letters at an early age will help prepare them for reading readiness. Teaching them letters does not have to take the form of boring lessons at the table with paper and pencils, however. There are a lot of games you can play to help your kids learn their letters, and are a fun way to spend quality time with your child.
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Bingo
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Alphabet bingo is just like regular bingo, only letters are used rather than numbers. You can draw or print a simple bingo sheet by making a grid with five spaces across and six spaces down. Write B-I-N-G-O in the spaces across the top, and fill in letters at random in the grid. Shuffle a deck of alphabet flash cards and pick them at random, using pennies as markers.
Fishing
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Cut out simple fish shapes, about 3 inches wide. Write a letter on each fish. Put a paper clip on each fish. Glue a magnet to the end of a 3-foot piece of yarn, and tie the other end to a stick. Lay the fish on the floor and have the child go "fishing" for the right letters.
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Matching
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Play a version of the old memory game "concentration" by turning flash cards over. Have the child search for letters by turning over the letters, trying to find the upper case and the lower case to make a match.
Board Games
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Use some old board games, such as Scrabble or Word Boggle, to make up new games with your child. Instead of worrying about playing by the rules, instead try to put letters in sequence, or put a few in sequence with one letter missing and let the child figure out which one it is.
Computer
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Sit with your child at the computer and play some fun, free alphabet games available online. Games for kids this age are colorful and interactive, with interesting things happening when children choose correctly (see Resources).
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