Do you remember the Mystery Bag activity Little M and T.L. enjoyed while we were exploring Sense of Touch? I changed the rules just a bit to make it work for our letter of the week M Bag and “WOW” was it fun.
what you need: a bag ~ M stuff (but leave it where it is)
I found one M item, magnets, and put them inside one of Little M’s many purses. I closed it up tight and asked her to stick her hand in without looking. “Can you guess what is in the bag using only your hand?” She guessed correctly on the first try. . .we’ve played this game a few times. I handed her the bag and gave her one simple instruction. “Hide something that starts with an M inside your bag, I want a turn!”
Little M ran off and returned with a . . .tea cup. Yep it is pink, cute, fun and of course a T word. I applauded her effort, and guessed what she was holding. Then I sent her off again. “Try to find something that starts with the letter M.” This time she took a little longer. When she returned, I felt inside the bag. . . a bracelet. “Wonderful item. This bracelet is purple, round and starts with a B.”
I started to think maybe this game was little beyond her letter sound knowledge, but I was still thrilled with the game. We had already practiced two new letter sounds! When Little M rounded the corner I could see the pride shining in her eyes. My hand hit her Music box and my heart skipped a beat. I tried very hard not to get more excited than before, remember her other attempts were worth recognition as well, but it was tough. I was so darn happy! She decided to listen to music after that so I still don’t know if the music box was fluke or if she really knew the sound. I guess we’ll have to play again tomorrow.
Tips (to maximize learning): 1. Emphasize the letter sound when you send your little one off to search for a letter and when you name the item they bring back. 2. If your little one is interested for a while, take turns finding items. 3. If you are just beginning to work on letter sounds, make the direction even more simple. Have them bring back an item that will fit in the bag. Talk about what letter sound that items name begins with.
Are you enjoying Letter of the Week. . .Week? Trust me you are not going to want to miss the next couple of days!!!
I LOVE it! I am going to try games like this with my 4 year old. I think he will get pretty good at it. He loves to point out letters when we see them, and when he points them out, I try to say the word and emphasize the letter that he sees. The other day he pointed out the letter “A” the word “Train” and so I said, “That’s right, tr-AY-n has an A!” He seemed to like that. I also do it when he points out a letter he knows on a sign somewhere. I need to do it more often.
This is a great game!
I love how you found a way for him to be correct with sounding out “Train”! I think being excited about learning is the MOST important thing.
Great game! I need to start doing this with my 4 year old who I’m sure would love it.
Let me know how it goes!