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Practice labeling and learn vocabulary!

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This unit is an excellent way for kindergarten students to start the year with writing!

Words have meaning, and when we put letters together in a specific way, we can create new words!

All the prep work is done for you, and this is the first unit in my new kindergarten writing series.

The units are sequential and progressively get harder throughout the school year as students' skills develop.

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Writing at the Beginning of the Year in Kindergarten - LABELING FREEBIE - Keeping My Kiddo Busy

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K-1 LABELING UNIT How do I teach my kindergarten and first grade students to write? I think every teacher has wondered this at some point. It can seem overwhelming... especially when getting started. I am so excited to share with you how I tackle writing and writer's workshop!

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Download these apps to practice short words like c-a-t.

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The 5 Best Apps to Practice CVC Words - Mrs. B's Beehive

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Find the 5 best apps that provide CVC word practice for your students. Both free & paid versions are listed - find one to meet your needs!

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Try these online games for the alphabet.

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ABCya! * Kindergarten Learning Games, Ages 5 - 6

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Race cars, meet cuddly penguins, and explore while practicing counting, sight words, and more kindergarten skills. Play now!

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*Is this story real or make believe? HOW do I know?

*If this real, what will I learn?

*If it is fiction, what will the main character need or want?

*Why do I want to read this story?

*What do I think the setting will look like?

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*What will happen next in the story?

*How do I feel about the main character?

*Why does the character act or feel a certain way?

*Does the story or text make sense?

*How will the story most likely end?

*How does this story or text connect to my life?

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*How did the story or text make me feel?

*What do I like or dislike about the story?

*What is the story or text mainly about?

*How have my feelings about the main character changed?

*What is the author trying to tell me?

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Write the heart words on a paper and play this game with sticky notes.

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Memory games are a great way to improve attention span and concentration in preschoolers and kindergartners. They are also great for practicing a whole host of different academic goals.

I did this super fun post-it memory game to practice sight words with my four year old and she absolutely loved!
Here's how to get started!

There are two ways to do this activity: 1) you can either create the memory board on paper; or 2) you can create it on a chalkboard or whiteboard. The set up is the same with either method that you choose!

Create a 6 x 5 grid. Then randomly write out the sight words or whatever your learning goal is in each of the boxes.

This activity can be modified to meet almost any learning goal. You can play post-it memory game using letters, numbers, or even

shapes!
Different Learning Goals

Post-it!

Next, place a post-it note on top on each word. Use different coloured post-it notes to make it more fun! Some coloured post-it may show through with black sharpie so make sure not to press the post-it note down but to have it lifted slightly up.
This was a MASSIVE hit with my 4 year old and we played it a few more times before she started to remember where the words were.
My daughter quickly realized that you can easily cheat in this activity by looking up under the post-it. To ensure that there are no peekers when playing this activity on the wall, stick the sheet at sitting level.

Time to Play
Using a chalkboard is a great option for this activity. You can change the words and their positions after each game or as they start learning more!
The rules for this memory game are the same as any memory game except instead of turning over a card you flip up a post-it note. If you don't make a match you can stick the post-it note back on and continue.

If you do make a match, remove the post-it note and the player that made the match keeps those post-its. This will allow you to know how many matches each player has made.

Big Hit
Purchase your supplies now on Amazon.

Chalkboard Option

Supplies

(This list contains affiliate links for your convenience. If you make a purchase using one of these links, I may earn a commission. Please visit my disclosure policy for more information.)

WILL YOU TRY POST-IT MEMORY GAME WITH YOUR LITTLE LEARNER? Pin it for later!

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Post-it Memory Game - Happy Toddler Playtime

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Memory games are an amazing way to improve concentration and cognitive skills in preschoolers! Here is a fun twist on the classic memory game using post-it notes!

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Print these writing prompts and try one a week!

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This pack is great for beginning writers or struggling writers in kindergarten and in first grade to build confidence in writing.
Check out the full packet here: GROWING BUNDLE Daily Writing for Beginning Writers
This FREE Daily Writing Journal includes the following:

*10 Journal prompts with illustrated word bank to help spell words they might use in their writing.

*10 of the same prompts without starter phrase for more advanced writers.

If you have any questions, please email me at:

teachingbiilfizzcend@gmail.com before purchasing
*************************************************** Follow my stores for more AWESOME FREEBIES and GET UPDATES on my NEW PRODUCTS!! Connect with me: Teaching Biilfizzcend Instagram Teaching Biilfizzcend Pinterest

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This pack is great for beginning writers or struggling writers in kindergarten and in first grade to build confidence in writing.Check out the full packet here:GROWING BUNDLE Daily Writing for Beginning Writers This FREE Daily Writing Journal includes the following:*10 Journal prompts with illustrat...

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Print these story cubes and have your child tell a story by rolling these different dice.

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How to play with your story cubes

Your child starts by rolling all four story cubes. They then use the four pictures that they see to build a story. They can tell any story they like as long as they find a way to weave in the characters and items on their story cubes along the way.

Here the cubes have thrown up a toadstool house, a dragon, a wizard and a magic key. Already you can see how your child's imagination will start working as they think of a story to tell.

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Each time your child rolls one of their story cubes they will get different characters, settings and objects that they have to include in their story. The combination of pictures will instantly prompt ideas for magical and exciting stories that they can tell.

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Wordless books encourage language learners to use their own words and provide more freedom for storytelling.

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Read this interesting article about how children learn language through play.

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Dramatic play is one of the best forms of play for language development, however all forms of play will support language development.

Keep in mind that you are your child's best teacher so by being involved in their playtime (not always, children do need space to explore on their own) you can help their language skills develop.

Did you know that having good oral language skills is essential for a child to be successful at school?

It really doesn't matter if a child can count to ten or recite the ABC's if they have difficulty coming up with novel sentences.
Academic skills can be learned after the foundations have been set!
And these foundations, including speech and language skills, can and should be learned through play!

One thing I want to point out is that language development is more than just saying words or sentences.

Language development encompasses skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, cause and effect, spatial concepts, etc.
Here are a few ways to stimulate some stellar language skills just by playing!
How Does Play Support Language Development?

Babies and Play

At this stage play is all about sensory exploration.

Everything is new to a baby, including their senses.

Babies are hearing, touching, tasting, smelling and seeing things for the first time.

What You Can Do To Help

Offer your baby simple and safe objects and toys that can be explored using a variety of senses.

This is playtime for a baby. If you give your baby a rattle, watch as they figure out that it can make noise when they move it up and down.

Take this time to label some of the things you see.

For example "Look at your rattle, it's so______", "there you go, you are shaking the rattle", etc.

When your baby is "playing" with a toy, label the toy - give it a name. Also talk about what your baby is doing with the toy.

For babies, it is important to keep toys as basic as possible.

There is no need for anything fancy. Especially if it claims it will turn your baby into a genius.

So throw away the talking toys and flashcards and keep it simple.

In fact, even a Tupperware container will do!

Babies also love social games such as peekaboo, tickles, bouncing up and down on a parents knee, etc.

While playing these kinds of games talk a lot. Use motherese to keep your baby engaged.

Use sounds to facilitate back and forth turn taking.

For example, look at your little one intently and say "babababa", pause and wait to see if they will respond by either smiling, vocalizing or imitating your sounds.

Check out these great toys for babies (and I share many speech and language tips with each toy).

Toddlers and Play

Toddlers love getting into everything.

If you have one you know what I am talking about.

But their curiosity and need for exploration leads to some great play time, which in turn will help with the development of language.

What You Can Do To Help

If your toddler is interested in something and you go along with that, there is a much better chance that they will stay engaged and be interested in what you have to say about the topic.

As a result there will also be more opportunities for language development.

Let's take blocks as an example.

If your child wants to play with the blocks, sit beside them and play with some blocks too.

Watch what your child does with the blocks and imitate what they are doing. You might get a few laughs.

Be sure to label what is going on.

Because you have followed their lead, they will be more likely to listen to what you have to say.

If you are building a tower you could say "I'm putting the block on, your turn. You put a block on top".

In this simple scenario your toddler is learning the spatial concept of "on".

Or maybe they would prefer to hide a block "under" something or put it "in" a box.
You do not have to do any explicit teaching. Keep the interactions as natural as possible.
Turn taking is an important part of language development as it is what makes conversations flow.

If one person does all the talking, the other communicative partner will get bored and tune out.

This is quite advanced for young children but luckily the most primitive form of turn taking starts during play.

While playing with your child take turns during an activity.

If we go back to the blocks example, your child could add a block to the tower and then you could say "now it's my turn" and then you add a block.

As children get older, turn taking becomes important not only in carrying on a conversation, but in more organized games as well.

This is a very important skill that starts to develop just after birth!

Examples Of Toddler Toys For Language Development

I won't list all of the toys here as I have several articles dedicated to toys for toddlers.

But as I said above in the baby section, keep toys simple.

Much more learning and playing can be done with toys that do not require batteries.

Check out these great toys for toddlers. Again, each toy will have some speech and language suggestions.

Preschoolers and Play

This is where it gets fun!

Preschoolers really start getting into dramatic play.

They have had a few years to build some foundations through simple play and have learned many skills. But the play doesn't end there.

Now it becomes fun, imaginative and often based on something the child has experienced.

This is why playing "house" is so common during the preschool years. But don't take playing house for granted. And get involved from time to time.

Your child may want you to take on the role of the family pet though.

What You Can Do To Help

Offer open ended toys and play scenarios such as a play kitchen and accessories, dolls and accessories, cars, trucks, pop up tents, storage containers, blocks, etc.

Be A Good Speech Model: Expand and Extend

If you are playing with your child, listen to what they are saying.

For example, if your child says "I'm the baby so I get the small bed" you could say "that's right, that bed is tiny, perfect for a baby".

Did you notice I changed the word "small" to "tiny" and added some more words?

This is a great way to introduce new vocabulary through play.
You can also make grammar corrections subtly this way.
If you and your child are playing "airport", for example, and they say "I drived the plane really fast" you could say "that's right, you flew the plane so fast it scared me a bit".

Notice I corrected the word "drived" with "flew" and then added an emotion?

Now this opens the door to talk about things that might scare them.

Make Playtime Count!

Don't feel that you need to be involved in your child's play all the time.

Not only is this not feasible but children also learn many important skills through unstructured child led play (with no adult involvement).

But, it is also important that you engage your child in play from time to time, and when you do, you give yourself 100% to their play time.

You will need to find a balance that works for you and your family.

Parental involvement in play is especially important in a child's first 3-4 years of life as there is so much to learn and discover.

By joining in on their play you can help come up with new play possibilities as well as be a good language model by helping them learn new vocabulary, social skills and problem solving.

Remember, language development happens by interacting with others.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) there is no app or TV program that will build a child's language skills.

I hope I have helped to show you that YES, play does support language development!
Every child needs to be given the gift of play.
Both child led and adult guided forms are necessary for learning to occur.

Be sure to save this article by pinning the images below to your favorite Pinterest boards!
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How Does Play Support Language Development?

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Play is the most natural form of learning and is packed with opportunities to strengthen language development. Learn how to support your child's play to...

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Free Draw & Write Worksheets | Kindergarten writing activities, Summer writing activity, Kindergarten writing

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Jun 24, 2022 - Free kindergarten worksheets for students to draw and write. Four free activity pages for Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall! Students learn to draw a butterfly, snowman, pumpkin and an ice cream cone.

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If you feel very ambitious, you can try these activities!

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I thought it was time to share some alphabet activities for preschoolers. Alphabet activities and How Wee Learn definitely seem to go hand in hand!

I have shared with you oodles of letter activities before AND a (rather lengthy) post about why I don't actually suggest teaching letters in ABC order. But I have not shared with you a great, big, huge resource full of alphabet activities-until now, my friends.

Just before we dive right in, I want to ensure you have already received my free resource for teaching the first group of letters: s, a, t, i, p, and n. If you haven't, please grab yourself a copy right here:

This freebie also includes a sample of my learn-to-read program, How Wee Read. How Wee Read covers it all, from rhyming to reading in 60 sequential, simple, and beautiful lessons:

Step One: Phonological Awareness (7 lessons)

Step Two: Letters, Sounds, and Blending (12 lessons)

Step Three: Special Rules (5 lessons)

Step Four: Familiar Readers (36 lessons)

You can learn more about How Wee Read right here.
But back to that magical letter order... It is so important that children learn their letters in this special order! So important, in fact, that the teacher in me just needed to tell you all about this method and exactly how to teach those letters to your little ones. SO just before we dive into the alphabet activities, have a little peek at this video:

Alright, you've got your FREE Beginning Letter Sound Cards? Did you watch my video? Do you know exactly which order to introduce those letters to your little one (and why)? Then it's time, friends. Let's keep that letter learning fun and exciting!

Sensory Letter Activities

Alphabet Activities with No Pencil Required - This is a fabulous sensory activity for preschoolers! Little hands can form all of the letters of the alphabet using popsicle sticks and pipecleaners on this sticky wall.

ABC Hide and Seek by Sunshine and Chaos - Grab any play letters you may have (magnets, puzzle pieces, bath letters) and hide them in a sensory bin of your choice (rice, cornmeal, sand). Ahhh, activity simplicity at its best.

Dirt Play Dough + Rock Writing Tray by Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls - Letter activities for preschoolers can be especially engaging when kids have the chance to use materials they love. Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls shares their natural playdough recipe via this post. Substitute rocks, beads, beans, marbles, buttons, or whatever you have on hand for making the letters.

Sprinkle Sensory Writing Bag by Active Littles (link no longer available) - Sprinkles are such a fun and colorful filler for this writing bag. Using popsicle sticks as a writing tool is such a great way to ensure your kiddo's letter creations come out clearly.

Find it, Write it, Draw it by Views from a Step Stool - This idea can easily be adapted to whatever materials you have at home. Have your preschooler find a letter in a sensory bin and place it on a page. Beside the letter, they can try to write it, and then they can draw a picture of something that begins with that letter. Organize the page however you'd like, leaving enough room for your child's letter writing and drawings.

Clothespin Letter Dig and Match by Happy Toddler Playtime - I love how simple this engaging letter activity for preschool is to set up. Harness the secret magnetic power of clothespins by tossing them into a sensory bin and challenging your child to fish them out with their magic magnetic wand before matching them onto a simple homemade letter card.

Alphabet Games

ABC Go Fish - Go Fish is a great "first card game" for little ones because it's straightforward and simple to understand. It is also great for teaching because as you play, you can gently course correct if you don't hand your child the card they were expecting (I asked for an 8, mommy. Oh, that's a 6!). We show you how to enjoy all the benefits of Go Fish with letters instead of numbers!

The Letter Monster Alphabet Game - This silly alphabet activity is a hit with all those little ones! This monster only likes items that start with certain sounds-check it out through the link; you will love it!

Match Me! The Christmas Alphabet Game - While this game is set up to be used at Christmas time, you could simply change the theme and play this letter-matching activity at any time of the year.

Sort the Alphabet - Preschoolers can learn so much by simply playing with and sorting those alphabet letters!

Alphabet Matching Game on the RUN! - We all know that little ones love to MOVE! This fun activity gets those little ones outside and running around to find letters.

An A-Maze-ing Learning Letters Game - Is there anything you cannot do with painter's tape? This is an easy maze with a very fun letter-learning twist!

Alphabet Rescue by Entertain Your Toddler - This fabulously fun alphabet game is great for giving your child a secondary purpose for matching their letters. It's a race around the clock to save these letters and get them home safely!

ABC Letter Match - Here at How Wee Learn, we also taped down our letters for a fun letter-matching game, but the goal was to pair up upper and lower case letters.

Paper Plate Memory Game by Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls - Letter activities for preschool that engage my child's memory? Yes, please! Did you say it's a fun game to boot? Pass me the paper plates! We are making this one! Children of all ages will love challenging themselves to find matching letters. Something tells me this activity could take a significant amount of time to play... hmmm...

A Writing Treasure Map by Days with Grey - Get your little one busily playing and practicing those writing skills with this fun treasure map! This invitation to play is sure to engage.

Letter Learning with Gross Motor Play

Scoop and Dump the Alphabet Activity - Write different letters on rocks or another item your child can scoop and dump with a truck. Then have them transport their letters to the right stop (or match the rock letters to their right card)!

Sponge Letter Stomp by Pre-K Pages - Use a permanent marker to write each alphabet letter on a sponge. Invite your preschooler to stomp on the letter you call out for some squishy gross motor fun!

Alphabet Basketball by School Time Snippets - The combination of fine motor skills (crumpling paper) and gross motor skills (throwing) in this letter activity for preschoolers is very exciting! Place your paper letters on the ground, call them out, and have your preschooler crumple them into a ball and toss them in the basket. If you don't have a basketball net, you can use a cardboard box or a laundry basket.

Letter Learning for Fine-Motor Fine-Tuning

Letter Pounding by I Can Teach My Child - This engaging letter-learning activity is easily adaptable for preschoolers and older kids. Children can decide to hammer their golf tees into the styrofoam or place them in with their hands. Both accomplish the learning goal, and both help strengthen fine motor skills.

Even More Alphabet Activities for Kids...

Make a Letter - This idea is just about as simple as they come. The post explains why loose parts are so important for children.

Watermelon Seed Letters - If it happens to be summertime, why not play with these watermelon seed letters? This quiet time activity is easy to set us and perfect for little alphabet learners.

Cotton Swab Letters by The OT Toolbox - A food coloring and flour mixture are baked onto cotton swabs to create this fun manipulative. It is fantastic for letter formation and can also be used to make numbers and build shapes.

Cookie Cutter Letter Painting by No Time for Flashcards - This simple craft gets kiddos having fun with painting while exposing them to the alphabet. Call out letters to stamp with or create letter patterns for added fun.

There you have them, friends!! Tons of alphabet activities for preschoolers. It is so important that we keep this learning fun and playful for our little ones.

Children learn best through play-so let's meet these little ones exactly where they are and play our way into letter learning fun.

For absolutely everything you need to teach your child to read-from rhyming to reading-take a peek at How Wee Read right here:

Thank you so much for reading!

Teaching Letter Recognition - What Order to Introduce Letters

Gross Motor Alphabet Games for Kids
https://shop.howweelearn.com/pages/how-wee-read

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Awesome Alphabet Activities for Preschoolers

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Alphabet games, sensory bins, and moving with letters! Let us help keep letter learning fun with these alphabet activities for preschoolers!

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Have chalk? Try this game!

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By Chrysta Naron

If your little ones are anything like those I teach as an early child educator, they probably get very bored very quickly sitting still, especially when workbooks are involved. Alphabet Hopscotch provides important alphabet knowledge and letter sound practice-all while reinforcing gross motor skills and getting kids some much-needed exercise and fresh air.

But most of all, this easy alphabet game is a fun way to bolster literacy while on the move with wriggly kids. This game can come to life in just a few minutes with just a single piece of chalk for supplies. Talk about easy. (Or, if you can't get outside, you can easily modify the activity for indoor play.) So let's get hopping!

Materials Needed:

Chalk (or masking tape for indoors)
Optional Materials (for indoors game variations):
Cost: If you have a piece of chalk on hand, this activity will cost you nothing!

Step 1: Using the chalk, draw a hopscotch court on your driveway or sidewalk. (If you don't have access to pavement, no worries! You can replicate this activity with masking tape on the floor.)

Step 2: In each square, write a different letter. I recommend using lowercase letters, because that's what kids encounter most when they start reading-even though activities for youngsters typically feature uppercase letters, leading most kids to master those first. But you can use uppercase, lowercase, or a mix of the two; the main thing is to adapt to your child.

Similarly, choose letters that will reinforce and expand your child's knowledge. For new alphabet-learners, start with their own first initial plus easier to learn letters such as O, A, B, C, and X. Research suggests that kids tend to pick up these letters first because of the frequency of exposure to them (ABC), and because of the distinctiveness of their shapes (O and X).

Step 3: Invite your child to stand at the bottom of the court. Call out one of the letters on the hopscotch and ask them to jump to that letter. They can jump on one leg or two (again, adapt the challenge to the child).

Step 4: Repeat until all the letters have been called out. Feel free to go again if everyone is having fun!

Step 5: Now it's time for round 2! This time, call out the sound of the letter. Use short vowel sounds (e.g., the way "a" sounds in "cat") and, for consonants that can be pronounced more than one way, use their "hard" sounds (the way "g" sounds in "get" and "c" sounds in "car"). This time, have your child jump to the letter that matches the sound.

You can easily modify this game for children with limited mobility. For example, ask them to direct you to where to jump, or invite them to drop a ball or toy onto the correct letter. You could also draw a miniature hopscotch on a piece of paper and have them move a pawn or figurine to the letter, or color the box with the letter in it. It's all about finding ways to make literacy learning interactive.

What's more, you can adapt Alphabet Hopscotch to whatever skills you want to work on. As your child's reading skills evolve, the game can evolve too. Add letter blends, soft consonant sounds, sight words-even numbers or beginning math facts. The key is to keep kids moving and mastering those new skills, as you help them build a healthy body and mind!

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Letter Learning: Awesome Alphabet Hopscotch

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In this activity tutorial, you will learn a creative way to make early literacy an interactive experience without using a screen.

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Try these games at home!

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Learning letters is the first step in learning to read. Children in preschool and kindergarten largely focus on letter identification and letter sounds.

While some kids are naturally inclined to learn letters from a young age, others take longer and that's okay.

My mission is to making learning letters and how to read fun and hands on. So if you're looking for a letter sounds worksheet or some alphabet flashcards, this isn't the place.

Instead I'm going to show you my most favorite, hands-on letter learning games so that your kid is just as excited about the alphabet as I am (that's super excited...ahem...kindergarten teacher).

Is there a correct order of teaching letters and sounds?

There is not one correct order of teaching letters but instead many different ways to choose which letters to focus on first.

1. Alphabetical Order - this is often very common in classrooms that have a "Letter of the Week" curriculum.

2. Learning letters of child's name first - Kids are excited and drawn to learn about the letters in their name, and one of the most important things to demonstrate kindergarten readiness is writing one's name. For that reason, I do recommend we begin letter learning with the letters of your child's name.

3. Learning letters based on their shape - this method is recommended by Handwriting Without Tears, a writing curriculum. Basically, they recommend teaching letters that are easiest to write first. That would mean letters that are made with straight lines first (L, T, I, H), followed by ones with curves next (D, B, S, C), and finally letters with diagonal lines last (R, Z, K, N).

4. SATPIN - These are part of a phased learning of letters that recommends teaching SATPIN first. Apparently, those letters are the most common ones that can also make the most words: pin, sat, tin, pat, pan, sit, etc. Learning SATPIN letters first gives kids the ability to work on other reading skills without memorizing all the letters first. After SATPIN comes... m d g o c k e r u b h f l j w v x y z q

No matter what order of teaching letters you choose, I would recommend only working on 5-7 new letters at a time to avoid overwhelming your child. They'll need lots of repetition for those letters to stick in their minds, so always add in some letters they already know when you're playing these games.

14 Hands-on Games for Learning Letters and Sounds!

All you need are some Post-its, a fly swatter (or a hand), and you're ready to go. Call out letter names or letter sounds and have your little one jump and swat the letters. You can use numbers too!

2. Letter Sounds Toy Rescue!

Hide toys around the house or even just on a door with blue tape. Invite your child to play by telling them that the Toy Thief has stolen their precious toys and they, and they alone must rescue them.

At the rescue station, toys must be matched with their beginning sound, reinforcing the letter sounds while also working on phonemic awareness!

3. Rescue the Letters:

Got salad tongs? Blue tape? Any container? Combine with letters for this fun challenge!

It's simple, really...call out the letter sound and have your child pluck the corresponding letter from the container below, maneuvering through the blue tape.

It's a wonderful chance to practice fine motor skills as well!

Active kids don't like to sit to learn. Try Letter Sounds Stomp to get your child smashing their way to all their letters and sounds.

Got some tricky letters that continue to confuse your child? Pick out those 5 or so letters they're learning and place them on Post-its for this surprising little game that kids love!

Much like my very viral Pinterest post for teaching Sight Words, you can place letters on Post-its, lining them up with a muffin pan.

Throw the poms poms at the muffin pan and yell the letter name and sound! Kids and adults love this hands-on learning game that happens to also improve your aim.

Loving learning letters yet?

7. Letter Sounds Post-it Hunt:

Pick out those target letters your child is working on and write them separately on a piece of construction paper. Hide 4 Post-it notes of the same letter around your home and have your child seek out those Post-its.

As your child matches the Post-it letter to the matching construction paper letter, they say the matching letter sounds!

8. Learning Letters with Bear's Bag:

Surprise! Your favorite stuffed animal is going on a trip, but you need to pack some intriguing objects for it!

Place different letters in a bag. Take turns pulling out different letters and searching around the house that you can pack that begin with that letter sound.

Place the item with the letter and pack them for Bear's trip! Bon Voyage!

Learn letter sounds as Bear packs for a trip!

In this creative game, kids rescue their toys from under a laundry basket, unlocking the "code" by writing the letters that match the beginning sounds for each item. Genius!

https://familyedventures.com/toy-rescue-preschool-writing-activity/

Got some blue painters tape? Create some zig zags for your child to traverse. Along the way, place some Post-it notes with letters they're learning on it.

Give your child a way they must cross the path: tip toe, jump, hop on one leg, walk, skip.

Each time they come to a letter, they need to stop, name it, and say it's letter sound.

Do your kids love trains and cars? They can even use their vehicles to traverse the zig zag path encountering letters as train stations or stop lights.

Take the fun outside with some chalk and play this silly, active hands-on learning game from The Imagination Tree. Draw letters on the ground and have children jump on the letters you name!

Grab those plastic Easter eggs and get ready for the most epic letter learning experience. Match the letters in the eggs to the mat, and we even added a secret ingredient! WOW!

Practice matching letters with lowercase and capitals in this sensory soup bin that will keep even toddlers engaged!

The newest addition to this list is a complete set of alphabet playdough mats. This activity promotes learning letters in 4 different ways and includes sensory, tactile, fine motor, and reading/writing in every single mat.

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Kids Love Learning Letters and Sounds with 14 Hands-on Games

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Learning letters is the first step in learning to read. Children in preschool and kindergarten largely focus on letter identification and letter sounds. While some kids are naturally inclined to learn letters from a young age, others take longer and that's okay.

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This alphabet tic tac toe game is a great tool to practice letter or sound recognition with your child. But let's talk letter recognition for a second. I know you could find a lot of research out there on "the best" way to teach your child their letters and sounds. But I just want to take the pressure off for a moment momma. The best way to teach your child is the way that works for both of you! If you are working with your child in any way, you are already giving them a head start.

The way we have complicated preschool was one of my main motivators for creating my Preschool Made Easy program. So I hope that is a breath of fresh air for you. Let the unrealistic expectations roll away and take a breath and enjoy spending time reading, playing and yes, even learning with your child. And if you aren't sure how to enjoy learning with your child, this tic tac toe game is a great place to start.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details

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Alphabet Tic Tac Toe - Super God, Not Super Mom

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This Alphabet Tic Tac Toe is a fun way for your preschool student to practice letter or sound recognition.

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Print these and let them put stones or any other small object to trace!

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Ready for some hands-on letter recognition Practice? Grab some rocks from your yard and our free printable below and you are ready to get learning!

In preparation for learning to spell names, we're starting to focus on the letter recognition activities. This simple activity is one of our favorite letter recognition practice games because it helps familiarize the kids with each letter using simple materials. Plus kids love building letters with rocks! Your toddler or preschooler will have lots of fun while learning letters!
Post contains affiliate links for your convenience, please see disclosure for more info.
Letter Recognition Practice with Rocks
Materials Used:
I printed out the letter cards we needed and laminated them so they would last longer. Once they were laminated I set them out on the table with a container of small rocks.

At first, the girls picked whatever letter they wanted and started tracing it with the rocks. I'd ask them about each letter they picked and helped them identify it if they were struggling.

The older girls and I worked on letter sounds with the letters that they knew.

We also sorted the letters by each child's name. I had printed out multiples of ourA to Z letter cardsso that each child had enough letters to form their name.

My toddlers worked on tracing out each letter with the rocks, I wasn't concerned with the order as they are still working on recognition. My preschoolers went off on their own and worked to spell out their names and even a few basic sight words with the rocks.

Lots of learning and only a few simple materials!
-> Download our free (uppercase) A to Z letter cards and do this today <-
Need more hands-on learning activities to do with kids? Check out some more of our fun learning activities and crafts for kids below. Just click the images:

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Letter recognition practice for toddlers and preschoolers using rocks! Simple kids activity that helps children learn letters with loose parts through play.

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Print this game and practice upper and lower case letter identification!

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This Race to School ABC Game will have your students racing to pick up this center! It’s a fun way to practice uppercase and lowercase letters.

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See this list of books. Type in the name of the book on Youtube if you have Youtube!

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Above, below, inside...these words are confusing for kids to understand. My positional words book list for little learners is packed with books for preschool, pre-k, and kindergarten students. I also have put together an awesome unit on positional words that will give you everything you need to provide your students with an exceptional learning experience!

This post contains affiliate links. This means I earn a tiny commission when you use my links at no cost to you.

Positional Words Book List for Little Learners

Your little learners will love this rhyming, and singing book! They will want you to read it over and over again. It is sure to get stuck in your head, but it's totally worth it! It uses so many positional words in a fun way; it can't be beat!

This easy reader will introduce your class to many spatial relationship words like above, below, in, and out. The images are simple and bright and will attract your readers to look and listen.

Get ready for the laughter! Your students will be rolling on the ground when you introduce this book. But I promise they will learn along the way. They will also relate to the bear cub that doesn't want to go to bed. This book is jam-packed with learning since it also contains rhymes, conjunctions, and homonyms.

Oh no! Bear is missing! Help the little boy search for bear high and low. This fun book is a great read-aloud to accompany We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Your students will love being detectives as they listen along with you!

This book is great for my positional words book list for little learners because it will grab your kiddos' attention and keep it as they watch the trains. The trains are traveling the country and using positional words to describe their journey.

Another funny book to add to your classroom library that your students will want to read again and again! Join Sally and her friends as they parade into town in the most unusual way. The rhymes, silliness, and great pictures will keep your little learners looking!

This bright book is great to teach positional words and the steps of planting seeds. This would make a great read-aloud with a garden craft after. The students would have to follow directions and use their knowledge of positional words to follow along with you.

Goat and Frog are fun to follow as they jump on, under, over, and so much more! Your students will love the colors and the silly story of this book, as it goes over lots of positional words.

This wordless book is amazing to use with your little learners. The pictures are great and will captivate your students. Join a father and child as they go on a hiking adventure, the perfect activity to talk about positional words.

This story is a favorite of my students! They love listening to the adventure and then acting it out with the story or song. It's the perfect way to get your students moving while learning!

Rosie wants to go on a walk, but she doesn't know that Fox is following her. Rosie unknowingly leads Fox into all kinds of disasters. Your class will be giggling as they listen and learn about positional words!
Need a Spanish version?
This book is the perfect addition to your library! Your students will love the pictures and reading about Centipede trying to learn to dance. It is a great way to introduce or remind students that they need to follow directions to do their best work. It goes over left, right, forward, and backward.

Where has baby bear disappeared to now? Mama bear has to keep a close eye on baby bear, but he still keeps disappearing. Your students will love guessing where he has run off to and using positional words to describe his hiding places.

Zoe loves going to gymnastics, and she gets so excited that she can't stand still. This book does a wonderful job of using opposites to describe where Zoe is and what she is doing. The vocabulary is simple and perfect for preschool and kindergarten!

Next up, follow 5 elephants on a parade! They go over, under, around, and so much more as they march through the book. Your students will love to help you guess what the elephants are up to!

This book is the perfect addition to my positional words book list for little learners because it is rich with positional words! It is a fun, rhyming book about the wind blowing and taking all the people's things. Then, it changes directions and gives them all back.

The author shares a wonderful story about going on a hike to get to their campsite. The pictures are amazing and have tons of details to spot. There are animals having their own journey to keep an eye out for!

Explore the ground under the snow that is full of life! See what all the critters are doing while it is cold and quiet on top of the snow. You get to travel in their tunnels, peek in their dens, and learn about positional words!

Take your little learners on an adventure to a pond. The author does a wonderful job of showing readers all areas of the pond and how they intertwine to create an environment full of life.

Check out the worms under the ground and the plants growing on top in this fun book! Your little learners will love seeing all the animals and getting muddy while learning about positional words.

Out the door, down the stoop, and into the city! Join this little girl as she walks around her town heading to school. The author uses tons of positional words to help readers understand these important concepts.

Positional words are so important for little learners to understand! They make following directions and interacting in the classroom a lot easier! Understanding positional words is also crucial to life outside the classroom! I hope this positional words book list for little learners provides you with more resources to teach this key concept! If you are looking for more positional words resources, check out my resource devoted to positional words: positional words curriculum for little learners!

Love this Positional Words Book List for Little Learners? Pin this image!

For more of my favorite books, check out my themed Book List Blog Series that features themed book lists to accompany your lessons and activities! These are sure to keep your library shelves full! If there is a book list for a theme you need, just let us know so we can create it for you!

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21 Positional Words Book List for Little Learners - Pocket of Preschool

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Up, down...these words are confusing for kids to grasp. My positional words book list for little learners will give you a great read-aloud!

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See this list of books and search for the book on Youtube if you have it!

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Teaching Kids About Parts Of Speech can be a bit MEH! So we have found some really wonderful picture books. Here's a great list of engaging Kids Books To Teach Adjectives. They make learning parts of speech a blast!

These are some of our favourite kids' books that have lots of adjectives in them which makes teaching easier and learning more fun! Check out this list of the best we can find for teaching but are also the perfect addition to any classroom library.
Related Post: Awesome Children's Books For Your Classroom
These kids' books about adjectives include simple everyday explanations that will help your kids to understand how adjectives work and how they can use them too.

This list of books with adjectives is not just for teaching! They are packed full of rhyme, humour, and repetition which make them perfect as an everyday read aloud too!

So if you're wondering how to teach adjectives to kids, wonder no more and give these kids' picture books a try!

We have included affiliate links to each picture book in our Amazon Store for your convenience. Read more about our partnership with Amazon here.

Kids Books To Teach Adjectives

Hairy, Scary, Ordinary - Simple, rhyming text and colourful cartoon cats help children expand their vocabularies. This picture book with adjectives will help build and gain an appreciation for the rhythm of language using light-hearted rhyming verse. Adjectives like frilly, silly, polka-dotted, fizzy, and spunky are printed in colour, and all the words will tickle you pink!

Breezier, Cheesier, Newest, and Bluest: What Are Comparatives and Superlatives? - What are comparatives and superlatives? After reading this book, you'll have a much clearer idea and will be the best at forming these descriptive words! Brian P. Cleary and Brian Gable explain how these forms of adjectives compare nouns, through the cleverest rhymes and illustrations that are sillier than ever. Each comparative or superlative word is printed in colour for easier identification.

If You Were An Adjective - Discover the colourful, brilliant, dazzling life of an adjective! In this imaginative picture book, young grammarians are introduced to these busy words that describe nouns. Along with bright illustrations and colourful fonts, bestselling author Michael Dahl (If You Were a Verb and If You Were a Noun) delivers an imaginative read-aloud for your littlest grammarians. Also available If You Were A Noun & If You Were A Verb

Many Luscious Lollipops -Perfect for introductory grammar lessons! What is an adjective?
Explore language and discover how to identify and create many different types of adjectives, from demonstratives to articles to proper adjectives.

The Dragon Grammar Book - The Dragon Grammar Book is the perfect grammar study guide to help readers learn the rules of grammar and improve language art skill. Finally! An easy-to-understand English grammar book with fun grammar lessons for middle grades and up. An excellent education reference for classroom and homeschool grammar lessons.

Quirky, Jerky and Extra Perky -One book is never enough to explore the wide range of amazing adjectives! The crazy cats deliver loads of additional examples to illustrate the potent power of adjectives to describe the wonderful world around us―and our incredible imaginations. Brian P. Cleary's playful verse and Brian Gable's comical cats turn traditional grammar lessons on end. Each adjective is printed in color for easy identification. Read this book aloud and share the delight of the sense―and nonsense―of words.

Related Post: Children's Books To Help Teach kids Measurement

Lilly's Plastic purple Purse - Lilly loves everything about school, especially her cool teacher, Mr. Slinger. But when Lilly brings her purple plastic purse and its treasures to school and can't wait until sharing time, Mr. Slinger confiscates her prized possessions. Lilly's fury leads to revenge and then to remorse and she sets out to make amends.

A is For Angry - The kids love the silly animals doing silly things, Sandra Boynton's trademark. There is an animal and an adjective beginning with each letter. ... Sandra Boynton is one of my all-time favourite children's authors, and this is one of my favourite among her books.

The Woods -Being afraid of the dark doesn't mean being afraid alone. When a boy can't find his favourite stuffed bunny, he bravely heads into the woods to look for it. Instead, he finds a big, scary brown bear! But the bear is just lonely, so the boy shares his night light and forges ahead with his new companion until...they run into two frightening giants! As the boy continues on, he comes across other seemingly menacing creatures but finds that-like him-they're just looking for some comfort and security before bedtime. Simple text and classic European style meet a fresh, modern twist in this delightful picture book.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day -Alexander knew it was going to be a terrible day when he woke up with gum in his hair. His best friend deserted him. There was no dessert in his lunch bag. And, on top of all that, there were lima beans for dinner and kissing on TV! Great Book filled with lots of adjectives.

Fun Dog Sun Dog -Tinka is a sweet dog, a treat dog, a jumping-up-to-greet dog. A fun dog, a sun dog, a run-and-run-and-run dog. Meet Tinka, a dandy, sandy golden retriever, and the boy who loves her as they spend a busy, dizzy day at the beach. Sunny watercolours and a lighthearted rhyming text, with lots of adjectives, will make this rhythmic read-aloud a winner with dog lovers of all ages.

Old Hat, New Hat - Brother Bear explores the concepts of size and shape as he shops for a new hat. He tries on frilly hats and silly hats, bumpy hats and lumpy hats, until he finds the most perfect hat of all-his own! Perfect book for teaching adjectives.

Pig, Pigger, Piggest -"Perhaps not the funniest, it's funnier than many; and definitely a funny book." - Publisher's Weekly A Rick Walton classic (and one of his most popular children's books) returns in paperback! It's the three little pigs with a whole new twist! When three brothers (Pig, Pigger, and Piggest) meet three sisters (Witch, Witcher, and Witchest) the results are a muddy mess in which they all live sloppily ever after. Full of superlatives!

My Mouth is a Volcano -Louis always interrupts! All of his thoughts are very important to him, and when he has something to say, his words rumble and grumble in his tummy, they wiggle and jiggle on his tongue and then they push on his teeth, right before he ERUPTS (or interrupts). His mouth is a volcano! But when others begin to interrupt Louis, he learns how to respectfully wait for his turn to talk.
Related Post: Parts Of Speech Activities For Kids {Nouns-Verbs-Adjectives etc..!}
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Must Have Kids Books To Teach Adjectives

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If you're teaching adjectives try these awesome kids books to teach adjectives and make learning parts of speech a blast! Click To Check out book list

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These are fun alphabet games to play online!

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ABCya! * Kindergarten Learning Games, Ages 5 - 6

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Kids LOVE our free online games! Race cars, meet cuddly penguins, and explore while practicing counting, sight words, and more kindergarten skills. Play now!

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Of all the skills to learn in life, one of the most important is learning to listen.

This underpins all areas of the curriculum.

However, it is easier said than done. We have all seen children that roll around on the floor whenever it is time to listen to an adult. So how do we teach listening effectively?

The answer is exciting listening games, ones that get children on side, and get them enthused and engaged.

In ten years of teaching children between the ages of 3 to 5 I have tried out hundreds of listening games.

The best 21 have made it to this article.

These are the games that children love, and that they ask for again and again. They are great for children between the ages of 3 to 7.

So, sit tight, and here are the best 21 listening games around...

1.Wonky Donkey

A less well-known one (but a real gem!) to start with.

The children sit in a circle. Pick one child to stand in the middle of the circle. They are the 'wonky donkey' and they put their hands over their eyes.

Have a fake 'tail' for the donkey. I use a simple small black sheet.

The donkey holds this tail in one hand, and it is draped over their shoulder so that it goes down their back.

Then silently pick one child. They are going to stand up, creep over and shake the tail whilst saying 'Wonky Donkey'. Then they sit back down.

The wonky donkey will then wake up. They are allowed to open their eyes and have three guesses to say who it was that said 'wonky donkey'.

This is a voice recognition game. If you know what your friend's sound like, then you will be able to guess.

Also, it is thinking about where the sound has come from.

To make the game harder you can do some of the following:

1. Move round the circle before saying 'wonky donkey' and then creep back to your place

2. Use a silly voice (like a monster)

3. Whisper

2.Noisy Neighbour

This is an old chestnut from the archives, and one that children really love.

Have a feely bag or a box, and some objects that have been selected because they make a noise. They are what the noisy neighbour is going to use in his house to irritate the neighbours!

A top tip is to show the children what the objects are first, and also make the noise for them. This gives them a fighting chance of guessing what they are later.

Some good objects are things like a crisp packet, a plastic bag, a brush, a dog toy, bells - and anything else like that.

There is a chant that goes like this:
Noisy Neighbour! Noisy Neighbour! Stop that noise!
Then put your hand into the bag and make the noise of one of the objects.

The children try to guess what it is. It's as simple as that.

Probably start with only about 3 or 4 objects, but as they get better at the game you can expand the number you use.

Top Tip - The harder version of the game is not to show them the objects first, but just let them guess. This is significantly trickier though, just to warn you.

3.Odd One Out

This game is not as easy as it looks. There are also quite a few different ways to play it.

One version is a simple listening game. You tell a story, but it has one element in it that makes no sense.

For example, 'For dinner I ate chicken, a sausage, a leopard, carrots and potatoes.' What sounds a bit ridiculous in that sentence?

You could also have some objects to really bring it to life.

For example, 'Let's see what's in the car park. We have a tractor, truck, car, toothbrush, motorbike.'

The harder version of the game is where you have objects that share a more complex association.

It could be rhyming objects, for example. You might have a cat, hat, bat and dog. Which is the odd one out?

It could also be words that start with the same sound (alliteration), are the same colour, or some other feature like that. If you're looking for more alliteration games then check out these ten terrific ones.

4.What's In The Box Phonecall

This is a simple listening game that is really jazzed up by using some kind of pretend phonecall.

Have a box or bag with some mystery objects inside. You also have a pretend phone of some sort (which is optional but really does bring it to life).

The idea is that you are going to describe what is in the box and the children are going to guess. But to make it much more exciting, someone (or something) is going to phone you up.

It could be the Big Bad Wolf. It could be a witch or an alien. Maybe a character from a story you were doing at the time would be a good choice.

Anyway, the character phones up and describes an object. Make it as exciting as you can! What a shock the character has phoned! What's that?! You have left objects in your magic bag!? For us!?

An example of the description could be 'It's an animal. It has four legs. It is grey with a trunk. It has large ears.' (It's an elephant)

Objects could be animals, food, toys, or random objects from around the room.

Top Tip - Another variation is that instead of a phonecall, get a puppet to describe what is in the box.

5.Rabbit Game

This is a highly addictive game that many children will love.

You will need at least one instrument, and three different instruments if you are going to do the harder version of the game.

Put out lots of rubber spots in a random array all over the floor. The spots should all be at least two metres apart, and you need at least as many spots as children. The spots are the rabbit holes.

The children are now the rabbits. They are going to hop around the 'field' (which is the playing area).

Have an instrument such as a drum. This is the 'fox'. When the children hear the fox, they will need to get to a rabbit quick and stand on it. Then they are safe.

Repeat the game, getting them to move in different ways - for example, hopping, skipping, crawling, jumping sideways etc.

There are a few ways you can expand the game. These include:

Adding more instruments and animals. When you shake the tambourine, that is the friendly snake. The children will just carry on. A maraca is the monkey. He's your friend, so when you hear that you're going to wave. The drum is still the fox, and that still means hide.

Another way of playing is the competitive version. In this, the fox comes back each time and takes away a few holes. Then when they hear the drum next time some children will be 'out'. They go and sit somewhere in a socially distanced way.

At the end one child (or a group of children) will be the champion/s.

6.Captain's Coming

This is a fun role-playing game, that combines physical activity with imagination.

The children are all sailors on the boat. There are different commands that you demonstrate to them, and actions they will do when they hear each one. These are:

Captain's coming - Stand on the spot and salute

Row the boat - Sit down and row

Scrub the deck - Down on your knees and scrub

Swim to shore - Swim!

Into the hammock - Lie down

Lift the cannonballs - Lift them up one by one and put them in the cannon

Just mix up the commands and let them go for it.

7. Where's That Sound?

You need at least a couple of instruments for this one, that will be played by either one adult or possibly even two.

Have a circle of socially-distanced children. Get them all to close their eyes.

You are going to have an instrument, for example a tambourine, walk quietly around the circle and then stop and shake it. The idea is the children are going to point to where the sound is coming from.

Then move to another point in the circle, and repeat.

You can make this game much harder in a few different ways. Some of these include:

1. Play the instrument really quietly

2. Have two adults with instruments at different parts of the circle. Then the children have to point with two hands

3. Play two instruments both really quietly

4. Play two instruments that are the same (e.g. two tambourines). This makes it quite a bit trickier

5. Use three instruments! Children point with two hands and maybe one foot

6. Guess what the instruments are also

8. Noisy Box!

This is a really fun one for young children in particular.

You have some kind of box for this one, and a few things inside that make a noise. The adult is going to handle these. The children sit in a circle.

The objects could be a representation of something that makes a noise in reality - they don't have to actually make it. So, for example, you could have a toy chicken in the box, because chickens make noises in real life.

The idea of this is that the adult looks in the box first, and picks an object (but doesn't show it). They make the noise of the object. Then everyone tries to copy!

You can go 'round the circle'. In this the adult makes the noise to the first person in the circle. They copy and pass it on to the next person, and keep going like this all the way round. Then everyone tries to guess what it is.

Some great objects to use might be:

1. Toy animals - this is probably the easiest way to do it and a good way to start

2. Things that make electric sounds like a phone, or alarm clock

3. DIY tools, like a hammer or drill

4. Noisy objects, like a plastic bag, or tin foil. (This is a much harder version of the game)

9. Red Light Green Light

The basic idea is that one child is the traffic light. They stand quite a way from the other children. The rest all start in a line, usually next to a wall or fence.

The traffic light turns their back on the other children, and shouts, 'Green light!' This is the cue for the other children to start sneaking towards them.

Whenever they feel like it, the traffic light will spin round and say 'Red light!' If they see anyone move, then they tell them to go back to the start.

The winner is the person that tags the traffic light.

10. Mother May I?

This one works well if the adult is the 'mother' in the game, but with a bit of practice children are able to do it OK as well (hopefully!).

The 'mother' starts by herself, and the other children start away from her, normally near a wall or fence.

The idea is that one at a time a child will ask if they can move in a certain way. For example, they might say 'Can I go four steps forward?'

It is up to the 'mother' to say 'yes' or 'no'.

If the mother says 'no', then she can tell them where to go, for example 'go five steps back.'

Common requests are things like 'steps', 'jumps', or 'hops'.

The winner is the first person to 'tag' the mother. The 'mother' is very much in control of who wins in this game, so it's good to share it around (obviously) if that's you.

11.Musical Statues

This is one is a classic party game that is also brilliant for sharpening listening skills.

Put some music on!

Children are going to be moving and dancing to the music

When the music stops - they freeze! If you see them move then they have to sit down.

You can do it so you get a winner at the end, or just the more non-competitive version where you have a few goes and then everyone stands back up.

12.Musical Bumps

This is a similar idea to Musical Statues.

Put some music on and the children all dance. When it stops, they sit down straight away. The slowest person is eliminated (if you are doing the competitive version.) For non-competitive, just have another go.

A classic party game that is good for simple listening skills. A perfect combo.

13.Traffic Lights

This is a great listening game that involves all sorts of gross motor skills.

The children are the cars in this game. The adult is going to be the traffic light.

The instructions the traffic light will give, and the actions the children do, are the following:

Green - Go! Jog around the space

Amber - Walk on the spot, waiting

Start off like this. You can either say the instructions verbally, or a slightly harder version is you have three markers - one green, one red and one amber. You hold these up now and again.

This encourages the children to always be alert and on the lookout for the next signal.

You can extend this game with the following ideas:

Car-park - They lie down

Motorway (or freeway) - Run really fast

Honk the horn - Beep! Beep!

Roundabout - Go round in a circle

14.Bean Game

This is another quite well-known listening game.

The children are going to move around like different beans. The instructions the adult will give in this game, and the corresponding actions are these:

Runner bean - the children run around

Sprouting bean - walk on tip-toes, with arms high in the air

Jelly bean - wobble like jelly

Baked bean - sit down

Beans on toast - lie down

Chilli bean - shiver!

Broad bean - Put your arms out as wide as possible

French bean - Say 'Bonjour!

I would say to start simple with this - maybe show them about three or four different types of beans to begin with, and expand as they get used to them.

You can extend the game by getting a child to become the person giving instructions.

15.Simon Says

Another old chestnut from the repertoire here - Simon Says.

This probably needs no real introduction, but just for the record...

The adult gives an instruction by first saying 'Simon says...' So it could be 'Simon says, "Put your hands on your head".' The children do it. 'Simon says, "Jump three times".'

If you miss out the 'Simon says' and just say the instruction, then the idea is that the children do not do it. For example, if you say 'Hop on the spot,' they shouldn't do it.

16.Mr Men Or Little Miss Game

This is a very simple concept, and one that is open to lots of creativity and suggestions from children.

The idea is that you are all going to move around the space like different Mr Men or Little Miss characters.

Some good suggestions might be:

Mr Grumpy - Stamp round with angry faces

Mr Tall - Walk as high as possible with arms up

Mr Topsy-Turvy - Walk, jump or crawl backwards

Little Miss Tiny - Move round in a curled-up ball

Little Miss Sunshine - Skip joyfully around

If children can suggest their own characters and movements then that is great. I have only skimmed the surface here of the all the possible Mr Men and Little Miss characters that you could try.

This game could also be adapted to a more general idea of different characters from stories. They could move like the Gruffalo, or the Big Bad Wolf for example.

17.'And Then' Story

Let's kick off with a fantastic storytelling activity.

This is realistically for children from about the age of 4 upwards (it will be trickier before this age).

The idea is that a pair of children sit facing each other.

One child is going to go first. They quite simply start a story. It can be on any theme they like - for example, 'One day a frog went into the forest.'

The next child is going to start their sentence 'And then...' and in such a way they will carry on the story. (For example, 'And then a witch flew down.')

Keep going like this: one sentence at a time, with the next child carrying it on by saying 'and then.'

Top Tips - Model it first, either with another willing adult, or at least a child with good communication skills. To make it easier, start them off with the opening line and they go from there.

18.Swop Places

This an outdoor game that requires some chalk marking on the floor that look like this: some square boxes drawn all over the place in a random assortment. You need at least as many boxes as you have children, and a few extra is probably a good idea.

A nice easy game to kick us off.

Every child starts by standing in one box each. The adult then shouts out who should swop boxes. Say things like 'Swop if you are a girl.' 'Swop if you have black hair.' 'Swop if you support (X football team).'

Each time, a number of children will be swopping round their places.

You can make this one trickier in a few ways which include:

1. Create a combination of two or more features. For example, 'Swop places if you are a boy and you like apples.'

2. Include phonics, such as the sounds that children's names start with (e.g. 'Swop places if your name begins with 'm'.)

3. The children take turns to create their own criteria for swopping

19. Shark Attack
Markings Required - Same as the last game. Some square boxes drawn in a random assortment.
The adult holds some kind of instrument for this one. Something like a drum would be perfect.

The children are going to move in different ways all around the space this time, trying to stay a reasonable distance away from others if they can. They are in shark-infested waters so watch out!

At any given moment you are going to hit the instrument. This is the sound of the shark!

When they hear it they are going to run and find a box. When you are in the box you are safe. This is the life-boat.

It's as simple as that.

Ways to really bring it to life include:

1. Move in lots of different ways around the space - hop, jump, skip, slither etc

2. Children select how the group will move

3. Maybe swim like different fish

20. Asteroid

Another one with chalk marking that look the same as the last two games.

This is a bit like 'What's The Time Mr Wolf?'

Everyone starts in a box, and the adult says a number of steps they can take out of the box, for example '2'. They stride twice out of the box. Then say another number, and they take that number of steps extra.

Keep going like this, until you shout 'Asteroid!'

At that moment they need to run back to the same box they were in. This is the underground cave, safe from any asteroids. They have five seconds - do a countdown '5,4,3,2,1,0.' If they get back in time they are safe.

You could potentially do a competitive version, where if they didn't get back in time they had to go and sit somewhere in a socially distanced line at the side of the game.

21. Number Swop
Markings required - Boxes or circles in a random assortment, each with one number written in the middle of it. There need to be at least two of each number, though there could be more than that (e.g. four boxes with number '6' in would be fine). You also require a lot more boxes than there are children.
This is a great game for recognising numbers, and can also be adapted for other things like sounds or tricky words.

One child stands in one box each to start with. Simply shout a number - e.g. '7'. Everyone that is standing in a circle or square with a 7 written in it are going to run and find a new box. The big rule is that you can't run to another box with a 7 in it - you've got to find a new number.

Keep going with different numbers!

There are many ways of adapting this game which include:

i) Making number bonds, for example of 10. Say things like 'What do you add to 3 to make 10?' Everyone in the '7' box runs to another.

ii) Put sounds, tricky words, or CVCs in the box

iii) Try one more or one less of a number - e.g. 'What is one less than 3?' Everyone in a '2' will swop places

Conclusion

So there you have it - the ultimate list of listening games that children will love.

Give them a go, and if you've found this useful, why not check out this article:
Children's Eye Contact Games - 12 Brilliant Group Ideas

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21 Listening Games For Kids (That You've Got To Try) | Early Impact Learning

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Of all the skills to learn in life, one of the most important is learning to listen. This underpins all areas of the curriculum. However, it is easier said than done. We have all seen children that roll around on the floor whenever it is time to listen to an adult.

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Discover 10 fun and engaging listening games for early years that enhance children’s listening skills, focus, and communication abilities

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10 Games and activities that can help develop language skills in preschoolers - Mulberry Learning

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Explore 10 engaging games and activities to enhance language skills in preschoolers, from interactive storytelling to alphabet games. Discover how these fun and effective methods, along with innovative approaches like group story creation and picture book exploration, foster a love for language learning. At Mulberry Learning, children are encouraged to express themselves and develop vital language skills through creative activities and engaging discussions.