Letters are a hot topic at our house these days. Noah (3.5) has taken a real interest in letters, pointing them out, asking about their names and sounds and making connections between letters and other people or things in his life. Now is the perfect time for me to build upon this interest and offer opportunities for him to practice reading, writing, tracing, sounding-out, recognising, playing with and experiencing letters. 

At this age especially, I believe learning should be enjoyable and not forced. You can read more about my thoughts on learning letters with younger children here and how best to go about it here.

Today's activity works specifically on letter recognition, letter formation, fine motor skills and name recognition.

Ages: 2+

See the bottom of the post for handy tips for getting the most out of this activity for your child/ren

Continue reading...

2012 was a fabulous year full of Fun and Learning. 

We have already shared with you our Top 10 favourite Activities from 2012

but now, in collaboration with the Kid Blogger Network

we're happy to share with you 

our #1 and most Popular post of 2012

click the picture to go to the post

In The A-Z of Learning Letters I share with you:
- My views on teaching the letters to young children 

- When's the best time to start  &

- How to go about it.

As well as over 90 fun, interactive, hands-on activities and ideas to help your child learn everything there is to know about letters!

This is a post that I actually wrote as much for myself as for you. :)

It is an invaluable resource for me that I will be referring to countless times when I return to Teaching.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Below is a list of ALL the amazing Kid Bloggers that are contributing their top post of 2012.
How many of these blogs do you read?

52 Brand New ~ Adventures in Mommydom ~ angeliquefelix.com - The Magic Of Play ~ At home with Ali B-Inspired Mama ~ Blog Me Mom ~Boy Mama Teacher Mama ~ Busy Kids = Happy Mom Carrots Are Orange ~ Caution! Twins at Play ~ Coffee Cups and Crayons ~ Confessions of a Montessori Mom Craft To Art ~ Creative Family Fun ~ Creative Kid Snacks ~ Creative Learning Fun ~ Creative Playhouse Creative with Kids ~ Cute and Peculiar ~ De tout et de rien: Activités pour le Préscolaire ~ Dirt And Boogers Edventures with Kids ~ Enchanted Homeschooling Mom ~ The Good Long Road ~ Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails Glittering Muffins ~ Go Kid Yourself ~ Growing A Jeweled Rose ~ hands on : as we grow ~ Here Come the Girls Home Learning Journey ~ Housing A Forest ~ Mama Smiles ~ In Lieu of Preschool ~ Inspiration Laboratories Inspired by Family ~ It's A Long Story ~ JDaniel4's Mom ~ Kids Creative Chaos ~ Kid World Citizen Kindergarten & Preschool for Parents & Teachers ~ Kitchen Counter Chronicles ~ Laughing Kids Learn ~ Learn with Play at home Lessons Learnt Journal ~ Life At The Zoo ~ Little Artists ~ Living Life Intentionally ~ Living Montessori Now ~ Love, Play, Learn Loving My Nest ~ Mama Pea Pod ~ mama miss ~ Mamas Like Me ~ Mess For Less ~ Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas ~ Momma's Fun World Montessori Tidbits ~ My Buddies and I ~ My Little Bookcase ~ My Nearest and Dearest ~ No Twiddle Twaddle ~ Nurturestore Octavia and Vicky ~ One Perfect Day ~ ourfeminist{play}school ~ Picklebums ~ Play Activities ~ Playdough to Plato PlayDrMom ~ playful learners ~ playing with words 365 ~ PragmaticMom ~ Putti'sWorld ~ RainbowsWithinReach Rainy Day Mum ~ Raising Playful Tots ~ Reading Confetti ~ Red Ted Art ~ Royal Baloo ~ Science Sparks ~ Scribble Doodle and Draw Small Potatoes ~ Smiling like Sunshine ~ Sun Hats & Wellie Boots ~ Sun Scholars ~ Teach Preschool ~ The Educators' Spin On It The Fairy and The Frog ~ The Freckled Homeschooler ~ The Golden Gleam ~ The Imagination Tree ~ The Iowa Farmer's Wife The Outlaw Mom Blog ~ The Pleasantest Thing ~ This Reading Mama ~ Toddler Approved ~ Train Up a Child ~ True Aim Two Big Two Little ~ What Do We Do All Day? ~ Connecting Family and Seoul

Below, see the whole link up of the TOP ACTIVITIES for 2012

Happy playing,
Debs :)

New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Continue reading...

Play dough is a wonderful sensory experience for children and one that most will thoroughly enjoy.

Today we're combining a couple of our favourite tactile materials 

with an easy way to practice Name Recognition, Letters and Spelling. 

This activity is also great for promoting fine motor skills and can also be used to focus

on colours and patterns.

Ages: 2-6+

(Maddie is currently 3.5. See the Handy Tips at the bottom of the post to either Simplify or Extend this activity)

Materials: Playdough, Pompoms, Rolling Pin and Pencil

Roll out the playdough and using the pencil, write in your child's name

Start covering the lines with pompoms to show your child what to do. We used mini pompoms here.

Children place the pompoms to cover the lines to spell out their name using their pincer grip. 

Add tweezers for an added challenge.

Pom-pom name. Discuss the letters and order. 

Use to practice single letters

Using larger pompoms

Handy Tips:

- To simplify this activity, start with single letters, such as the first letter of your child's name. Using larger pompoms will be easier for less advanced fine motor skills as they are easier to grab. When teaching single letters try to start with letters that have meaning to them (like the first letter of their name) and letters that generally have only 1 sound (eg S, M, F etc)

- To extend this activity, have your child do the writing in the play dough with the pencil. You could always do a very faint outline and have your child trace over the top to make the lines themselves if they're not confident at letter formation

- To begin again, simply scrunch the dough back into a ball and re-roll out.

- Use this same idea for teaching sight words or numbers

- Mix it up by providing different materials to cover the lines with such as beans or beads etc.

- Include further areas of learning by talking about and focusing on covering each letter with a particular colour or by encouraging simple patterns.

Want more ideas for Learning Letters?

Try our most popular and comprehensive post ever on the subject: The A-Z of Learning Letters. 90+ Activities

or, try making some fun Alphabet Goo!

How about some different fun Learning with Playdough?

Our Playdough Imprints. Texture and Pattern Exploration activity was really fun

or, how about this fun Invitation to Play with playdough and some other materials?

Happy playing,
Debs :)

New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Are you on Facebook? We are and we'd love to see you there. You can also find us on Pinterest, Twitter  and G+ too. :) 

Continue reading...

One of the best ways to consolidate learning in children is to have them share their understanding with others. Peer learning is an extremely valuable tool in the classroom but often at home, especially with your eldest, there is no one else for them to 'teach.'

This is where a Pretend School for Imaginative Play can come in and it's so easy to set up.

Kids love pretending to be adults and getting to turn the tables and be in charge. Imaginative play gives children a chance to practice language skills, develop their imagination, look outside their immediate role and explore other options and possibilities. (Amongst other things)


You will need. Soft toys for students, chairs/tables for them to sit at and a chalkboard/whiteboard for the "teacher" with appropriate writing tools. (If you don't have a chalkboard/whiteboard, try taping a large piece of paper to a wall or window to use instead)

For maximum impact set up a Pretend Classroom for your child before they get up or while they are otherwise occupied. 

Talk to your child about what they are teaching all their "students" today.  

Offer them some props to help teach like some button magnets for counting, numbers, grouping etc or some magnetic letters and help them where appropriate.

Helping one of her "students" count.

Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by joining in the play yourself. You could be a "student" in the class and aid your child in leading the play by asking them appropriate questions. ie. "What are we learning today?" "Can you teach me how to count to 10?" etc. They could pretend to read a story to their class. The options are unlimited.

- Extend this activity by helping your child extend their "curriculum" to include ideas and concepts they might be interested in or might be needing extension in. ie. If they struggle with backwards counting you could encourage them to teach backwards counting to their "students." Explain different school subjects and let your child choose an area to teach.

- Play too. Get into character yourself, especially if your child doesn't do a lot of imaginative play. Addressing your child as Mr or Miss and helping out with things like ringing the school bell etc will help your child get into character and show them how people engage in imaginative play.

- Suggestions. Let your child lead with their interests but if they can't think of anything perhaps offer some simple suggestions to teach such as counting, the alphabet, read a story, talk about dinosaurs, organise a field trip, learn about healthy eating

- Listen to your child talk as they go through their experiences. This will help you determine where they are at with their learning, knowledge and understanding and help you to develop the activity (or future activities) to their level and interests

Happy Playing,

Debs :)

New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

If you haven't come over to play with us on facebook yet, we'd love to see you there. Hey, we're also on Twitter now too. 

Continue reading...

For Grandpa's birthday we decided to bake him some cupcakes. When they were done, I thought we'd include just a little more learning into the activity with the decorating by creating this little decorating station.

Mini cupcakes (made first by Madeline), chocolate icing (with kiddy knife for spreading), A writing icing pen and variety of toppings

Practicing fine motor skills and hand eye coordination to ice the cupcakes

A baking tray with magnetic letters to spell out the word for the cupcakes. 

You could use any word, ("Congratulations", "Happy Birthday", "Love" etc)

You or your child could pipe on the letters (depending on their level). Take the time to talk about them. 

Can your child recognise any of the letters? Where have they seen them before? What sound do they make?

Practicing pincer grip to put little silver balls on a letter

Being creative. Making a smiley face from mini marshmallows

Having a turn at the piping

Cupcakes made with love and learning by a 3 year old. A yummy handmade gift for a loved one.

Handy Tips

- You and your child can make the cupcakes together before the decorating.

- Simplify this activity by not putting such a great emphasise on the letters and by focusing more on the creativity and fine motor skills

- Extend this activity by having your child write the letters on themselves. Depending on their ability they could sound out the spelling of the word themselves

- Continue to talk with your child about the methods they are using and the easiest ways to do them. Remember that practice makes perfect!

- Include the correct vocabulary for the techniques etc to help extend their vocabulary and understanding

- Use this time to talk about "Sometimes foods" and "Everyday foods" Cupcakes are a sometimes food.

- Letting your children help with the cooking from an early age holds incredible learning opportunities. From important maths concepts (such as timing, measuring, counting, comparing, weighing etc.) to learning safety skills, processes, healthy food choices, vocabulary, organisation and much more. Get them in the kitchen as early as you can and start stimulating their senses and letting them learn through observation.

Debs :)

If you haven't come over to play with us on facebook yet, we'd love to see you there. Hey, we're also on Twitter now too. You can also subscribe (top right) so that you don't miss any fun activities.

Continue reading...

Kids love Water Beads. They are sensory, squishy, bouncy, colourful, rolly-poly balls of fun!

Generally when the kids are done playing with them though, they don't really resemble balls any more. They are much closer to GOO!

So, what to do with them once they are mush? The easiest thing of all is just to throw them on the garden. They will dry up and disappear, BUT, if you'd prefer to get one last activity out of them, why not try this?

Alphabet Goo! Add some basic letter recognition learning to this fine motor, sensory activity.

The invitation to play. 

Bowl of crushed water beads with magnetic letters inside. Tweezers for grabbing. Bowl of water for cleaning. Tea towel for drying.

Practicing fine motor skills using the tongs/tweezers to find and grab out the letters.

It's fun but tricky thanks to the slippery, slimy goo.

Cleaning the letters. Swirling the water round and round.

Drying the letters with the tea towel

Discuss the found letters. Do they know any of the names? Sounds? Words beginning with? etc

Ditching the tweezers, time to squish the goo between your fingers

I turned my back and guess what? 

Now all the water from the cleaning container is in with the crushed water beads!

She loved swirling it round and round and round with a spoon.

Adding a plastic cup to the goo soup! Lots of filling and pouring. 

It's fun to watch the chunky bits plop back into the mixture.

Handy Tips:

- Simplify this activity by enjoying the sensory and fine motor components but don't put such a huge focus on the letter learning. If your child doesn't know any letters or sounds yet, there is still no harm in letting them search for them and just telling them what they've found.

- Extend this activity by including letters of basic (or more advanced) words. Have the child find, wash and dry the letters and then see how many words they can make from them.

- Mix Up this activity by including different objects to hide in the goo. Numbers, animals, coloured buttons, whatever.. it's up to you and what you're wanting to focus on.

- Some children aren't into the messy, gooey stuff which is why you'd include the tweezers/small tongs. This allows them to still play/learn without getting messy.

-Talk with your child about the process and order. "Which comes first? Drying the letters or washing them?" etc. 

- Listen to your child talk as they go through their experiences. This will help you determine where they are at with their learning, knowledge and understanding and help you to develop the activity (or future activities) to their level and interests.

***Water Beads should not be ingested so parental supervision with children who might be tempted to eat them is required***



Debs :)


If you haven't come over to play with us on facebook yet, we'd love to see you there. Hey, we're also on Twitter now too. You can also subscribe (top right) so that you don't miss any fun activities.

Continue reading...

This is a super easy and quick game to set up that includes singing and will challenge your child's memory and help them with their letter recognition.

Your child should be able and ready to play this game if they know how to sing the alphabet and appear to have an interest in letters. To challenge further or play the game in a different way, see the Handy Tips at the bottom.

To play this game you will need a set of alphabet cards or books. You print off a set here for free if you don't have any or you could do a quick google search for ones that appeal to you (there are tons available) or simply make your own in Microsoft Word or other publishing progams.

So proud!

- Place all the cards/books in a big pile. Let your child rummage through them and give them a good mix up

- Sing the alphabet song with your child and then ask them what the first letter of the alphabet is (Repeat the song if needed until your child figures out that Aa is the first letter)

- Let your child find the letter Aa. If they are struggling, try giving them hints until they find it (eg. The capital A has a pointy top. etc or use colour hints if appropriate or Show them the letter Aa in a book or some other form of print as an example and have them find the match)

- Once they've found the Aa and put it aside, ask them what the next letter of the alphabet is and repeat the singing and hints etc until they have found it and put it beside the Aa.

- Repeat until your child has correctly identified and put in a line the entire alphabet. Well done!



Handy Hints

- To simplify this activity, have your child identify which is the next letter that needs to be found by singing the alphabet (and pointing along) and then help them find it (maybe make it a race?). Show them the letter then put it in the line and sing the alphabet again while pointing to the line and have them tell you which is the next letter to be found. Remember to make it fun!

- To extend this activity, try including letter sounds and words as well. What is the first letter of the alphabet? What sound does it make? Can you think of a word that begins with that sound? etc.

- As your child sings the alphabet, have them point to each of the corresponding letters they've already found to help reinforce the connection between the letter name and the symbol.

- Mix it up. Try playing the same game but this time call it, "Find the missing letter." Take one of the letters out and have your child try to identify the missing letter by using the same singing and finding technique.

- If your child loses interest half way through, don't push it. Just leave it and pick it up from the letter you were up to another time when they are interested again. Pushing and forcing learning at this early age level won't help your child develop a positive association with letters and learning. If anything, it could have the opposite effect. Remember to make learning FUN.


Debs :)

If you haven't come over to play with us on facebook yet, we'd love to see you there. Hey, we're also on Twitter now too. You can also subscribe (top right) so that you don't miss any fun activities.

Continue reading...

Depending on the age of your child, an activity like this could end up as a fabulous art piece.

With my 3y/o we used this activity to help practice fine motor skills, letter recognition and creativity.

As children work toward developing those early literacy skills and start to move towards writing letters and words, working with some order and within some confines can be very helpful in developing the fine motor skills that they will require in order to be able to write.

This is such an easy activity that will take you a minute to set up and you can use any design you like. Abstract patterns, hidden letters/numbers, objects, etc.

 Draw a simple design on a piece of paper with thick black texta and divide into lots of different segments. Provide whichever art material you'd like. I gave textas this time and the instructions, "try to use a different colour inside each segment."

 I loved how she attacked each segment differently. Taking time to ensure something different in each one.

 She chose to follow the shape of the "M" instead of colouring it. Great practice for letter formation

She spent quite some time on this simple little activity. A great one to pull out while you're cooking dinner or need a few quiet moments. The focus and concentration used in this task was fantastic to see.

Handy tips:

- Use any design that you or your child come up with

- Extend this activity by letting your child draw the design first and then paint/draw within it's confines. Hide letters/numbers to help with learning recognition and formation

- Simplify this activity by drawing larger spaces for your child to work within. Try dividing a simple shape into 4 parts etc.

- Repeat this activity with different designs etc and using different sizes art materials. Paints, inks, crayons, make a collage etc

- Stay near your child while they do this so you can give them gentle reminders about trying to work within each segment

- Talk with your child about what they are doing and use new words (eg. Segments) to increase their vocabulary and understanding.

Happy playing,

Debs :)

Look where else we are. Are you following along? :)

New Here? Subscribe to get all activities sent directly to you

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Continue reading...