LETTER ACTIVITIES ~ letter bag
Do you remember the Mystery Bag activity Little M and T.L. enjoyed while we were exploring Sense of Touch? Â 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: Â 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. Â I closed it up tight and asked her to stick her hand in without looking. Â “Can you guess what is in the bag using only your hand?” Â She guessed correctly on the first try. . .we’ve played this game a few times. Â I handed her the bag and gave her one simple instruction. Â “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): Â 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. Â 2. Â If your little one is interested for a while, take turns finding items. Â 3. Â If you are just beginning to work on letter sounds, make the direction even more simple. Â Have them bring back an item that will fit in the bag. Â Talk about what letter sound that items name begins with.
Are you enjoying Letter of the Week. . .Week? Â 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!