I am always looking for ways to practice letters and sounds with my kiddos. This fun activity combines hide and seek, cars, and outdoor play. What more could a child want?!
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Materials
Gather up the items below and get ready to have some educational fun with your kids!
- Large paper roll
- Marker
- Post it notes
- Cars
How To
This activity is really quick and easy to set up. It can be altered to accommodate beginners as well as more advanced learners. Let’s break it down.
- Write out the alphabet in a snake-like fashion (check out the picture for a visual!) on your large paper.
- Write one letter of the alphabet on each post it note.
- Go outside and scatter the post it notes where your kiddos can go and find them.
- Lay out your large paper as well as a marker and car on a flat surface (we simply used the patio).
- Set your kiddos loose to find letters and match them up!
As your kids find each post it letter, they can stick in on top of the matching letter on the large paper. Using the markers, have your littles trace a line from one letter to the next for their cars to drive along.
My kiddos enjoyed driving their cars from one letter to the next as they found the post its and drew lines to connect the letters.
Up for a Challenge?
Are the capital letters too easy for your kiddo? No worries, give them a challenge! Here are a few options to make this activity a bit harder for kiddos who have the capital letters down.
- Write lowercase letters on both the post it notes and the large paper.
- Write lowercase AND capital letters (ex. Aa) on the post it notes and lowercase letters on the large paper.
- Write lowercase letters on the post it notes and capital letters on the large paper.
- Want a bigger challenge? Although it’s pretty time consuming, you could draw simple pictures on each post it (one picture for each letter) and write letters on the large paper. Then, your littles would be matching the beginning sound of the pictures (ex. apple – Aa) to each letter.
Try one of these simple variations to challenge your kiddos and have fun outside!
Do it your Way!
Obviously, this activity does not need to be done outside. If your weather isn’t conducive to outside play, bring it inside!
Typically, all of our academic activities happen inside. Whether it’s at school or at home, we usually learn inside. There are less distractions, and our house just isn’t set up for outside learning. Because of this, I like to bring learning outside whenever I can. It gets my littles more excited about the activity when we choose a different location that normal.
However, we live in a place that gets all 4 seasons and this activity wouldn’t work very well in the snow. So, you do you and change this activity to fit your need!
Enjoy!
No matter how you set up this activity, have fun with it! A truly simple way to practice letters and enjoy some family time outside.
Thank you so much for reading, sweet friend! As always, you can see what we are up to on Instagram and check out more activities on Pinterest.
Looking for some more letter practice? Check out a collection of some fabulous ideas below!
