Learning letters is fun when an action is involved. Quick bursts of action and repetition can begin to lay a foundation in alphabet awareness. In this activity, the goal is less about recognizing the specific letter and more about becoming aware that a letter is a printed shape that is pretty important.
- 4 pieces of scrap paper
- a writing tool (e.g., marker, crayon, pencil)
Step 1: Write the uppercase letter of your child’s first name in large clear print on 4 pieces of paper.
Step 2: Scatter them on the floor.
Step 3: Ask your child to look at the paper and stomp the letter with her foot. For example, if you wrote the letter “M,” you might say:
I see the letter M. Can you see the letter M? Stomp the letter M? Stomp, stomp, stomp! Find another letter M and stomp it.
Place one letter down at a time. You might say:
Here’s the Letter M. Show me how you stomp the letter M.
There are several ways you can increase the challenge with this activity. You might change the actions or movements, spread the letters farther apart, or create four new pages with a different letter. Then play the game with the new letter. When playing Stomp the Letter, no matter how many pieces of paper you scatter or place on the floor, always make sure you use the same letter on all sheets of paper. Keep this activity fun, repetitive and build success.