Kid Fun! Letter Search!

As part of my project to teach the little girls (Delaney and the girl I babysit) how to recognize their letters I have been hosting a scavenger hunt for the letter of the day!
I got the idea just from looking at this picture on Pinterest.

But once you go to the page you find this awesome post over at Crayon Freckles about teaching your kids the sounds associated with the letters and another great hunting game!

So for our game I hide letters all over the living room and have the little girls look high and low for them. I hide them in obvious places as well as in some relatively hidden places... well for 3 year old girls.

 On the excersaucer.

 On the side tables.

Behind the curtains.

You get the point... Out in the open but hidden enough to make a game of it! but you would be surprised I think they are going to find some so easy but those are the last ones found!

I use plastic magnet letters and foam letters but I also I have written down the letters on construction paper, so really this activity doesn't have to cost any more than a few pieces of paper.

They come to me and beg to look for letters everyday now... Its so cute to see them running around looking for the letter B or the letter C and they have a little healthy competition to see who can find a letter first. Once they have found the letters we count them and they beg me to hid them again!!!

Its fun for them and it forces them to look at the letters and see if it is the letter they are looking for or if it is another letter.

What games do you play that help teach your kids new things? I'd love to hear your ideas in the comments!

Kid Craft! Book Marks!

I've been working on activities that start with or involve specific letters of the alphabet for Delaney and the little girl I babysit. They are both 3 and heading to kinder-start next year so I thought it would be a good start for them to at least recognize their letters.

I tried at first with those little activity books that get the kid to trace the letter and put circles around the words that start with the letter on the page...

They didn't quite work... They seem a bit advanced just yet so I put them away and started looking around for other ideas and came up with a few myself too!

I found some great ones that you can have a look at on my For the Kiddos board on Pinterest.

One of the ideas that I had was to make things that started with the letter... and the bookmark was the first thing I thought of.

To make the bookmarks I just cut construction paper in the shape of a thick bookmark then I gave this to the kids along with markers, crayons and stamps and stickers to decorate their own.

They chose the ribbon they wanted to use and went to town making very.... unique bookmarks!

Once they had the coloring done and added lots of stickers I used self sticking laminating paper to laminate them so they would be a bit sturdier...

And TADA they each had a bookmark of their very own!

(I had to make one for Max... couldn't leave him out...)

I apologize for the glare I forgot to turn off the flash and I was trying to work quick before they ran off and on to a new project or game!

(I got the laminating paper at a craft store that is now closed so I can't give you any recommendations as to where to get it now, you maybe able to get it in any store but I haven't really looked because I had some...)

Make any great kid crafts lately? got any letter of the alphabet projects or games that really work with your kiddos? Share in the comments and let me know.... we have 25 letter left to go, I'm gonna need a fresh idea now and then...