Sticks, Humps, Bumps, Curves and Circles
Prep:聽5 Minutes | Activity Time: 10 Minutes
Play this sorting game using your child鈥檚 favorite letter 鈥 the first letter in his name! Chances are, your child is familiar with the first letter of his name and may even have claimed it as 鈥渉is letter!鈥 Use his natural interest in 鈥渉is letter鈥 to learn about differences and similarities in letters.聽
- Magnetic uppercase letters聽
- Refrigerator or cookie sheet聽
- Masking or painter鈥檚 tape聽
- Index card聽
- 惭补谤办别谤听
Step 1:鈥鈥疘n this activity, your child will sort magnetic alphabet letters into two groups:鈥
- Letters that are made with sticks
- Letters that include humps, bumps, curves and circles
Gather six uppercase magnetic alphabet letters. Be sure to include the first letter of your child鈥檚 name. Include three letters that are made of sticks (i.e., A, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N) and three letters that include humps, bumps, curves or circles (i.e., B, C, D, G, O, P, Q).鈥
Step 2:鈥 On a cookie sheet or refrigerator, make two sections with strips of tape.鈥
Step 3:鈥疻rite the first letter of your child鈥檚 name on an index card and place it at the top of the left section. You might say:鈥
"Whose letter is this? Yes, it鈥檚 your letter. It says T. T for Thomas."
Step 4:鈥Describe your child鈥檚 letter, talking about what you see. For example, does it have all sticks, straight sticks, slanted sticks, sticks and curves, humps, bumps or circles? You might say:聽
"The Letter T has one stick that goes down and one stick across the top. It has straight sticks.鈥" 鈥
Step 5:鈥鈥疉sk your child to find other letters that are made with sticks (i.e., A, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N).鈥痀ou might say:
"Let鈥檚 find some other letters that are made with sticks. We鈥檒l put letters that have all sticks, like your letter, on this side of the refrigerator."聽
Step 6:鈥 Find a letter that has humps, bumps or circles (i.e., B, C, D, G, O, P, Q) and place it on the other side of the line. You might say:
"This is the Letter R. Look, it has a straight stick, but it also has one bump, so we will put it on the other side of the line. Can you find another letter that has a hump, bump or circle? You found the O. Great! Let鈥檚 put it here."鈥 鈥
Step 7:鈥 Continue until all the letters have been sorted or he is no longer interested.鈥
厂别别鈥Eating the Alphabet鈥by Lola Ehlert to connect letters to the kitchen.聽
Create a selection of letters that are very similar to 鈥渉is letter鈥 and very different so that he can see the differences more clearly. Limit the amount of letters he has to choose from. For example, if your child鈥檚 first name starts with T, you might include just these four letters to choose from:鈥 T, E, O, S.聽
Ask your child to name the letters. You might even ask if he knows the letter sounds.聽