Activities

Games to support Alphabet Letter Knowledge

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Learning the correct letter names helps to reinforce that when talking about the letter ‘a’ (ay) for example it has a set shape regardless of the sound that it will be representing in the word. This further supports children’s handwriting development as the communication of your requirements is unambiguous.

Learning the unique letter names of the alphabet is a pre-phonics skill; as well as an early learning goal. It has to be remembered that a letter is a shape which only represents a sound when it is placed within a word or sentence (has a context). Also, a letter or combination of letters can represent more than one sound and so the only unique way of identifying alphabet letters when we talk about them is to use their names.

It is important to remember that just because a child can correctly recite the ‘Alphabet’ song it does not mean they know the letters of the alphabet. It is surprising how many children can do this but when shown letters from the alphabet cannot name them at all. They may be able to tell you the sound the letter makes but have no idea of the letters name.

Snap

Number of players: 2 – 4

How to Play

You will need a set of flash cards. Anyone can deal. The cards are shuffled and dealt out as equally as possible between the players. Keeping their pile of cards face down in front, so they cannot see what they have got, each player takes it in turn to turn over the top card of their pile and place it face up into the middle of the table to make one stack of cards.

When two consecutive cards are placed on the stack that match, any player can call “Snap”, whoever says it first wins the stack of cards and places them face down at the bottom of the pile of cards they already have. They then lay down the next card into the middle of the table.

If a player says “Snap” incorrectly they have to give the player wrongly ‘snapped’ a card from the top of their own pile, given face down.

When two players say “Snap” at the same time the pile in the middle is moved to one side and called the ‘Snap Pool’. The game continues as before with a new central stack, if the top card placed down on the new central stack is the same as the top card on the ‘Snap Pool’ then the player who say “Snap Pool” first, wins the ‘Snap Pool’ pile. However, the central pile game just continues as before until ‘snap; happens again.

A player who runs out of cards has to drop out of the game.

The winner is the last player with cards.

Pelmanism (Memory Game)

Number of players: 2 – 6

How to Play

You will need a set of flash cards. The cards are thoroughly mixed and spread face down on to the table or floor. They can be arranged in a regular pattern or randomly, but they must not overlap.

One player turns over a card, leaving it in the same place, they say what it is and then turn over another saying what it is. If the two cards match then the player keeps them and has another go. If the cards do not match then the cards are turned back over in the same location as before and it is the next players turn.

The game is finished when all the cards have been matched and the winner is the one with the most pairs.

Detective Game

Number of players: 2 upwards

How to Play

  • Spot the Letter ‘?’ – Look for letters or words in everyday places such as street names, posters, in the home or shops, signs or menus etc…
  • Letter of the Day! – Pick a particular letter or word to be the search letter or word for the day, choose one that your child will be able to find in everyday places such as street names, posters, in the home or shops, signs or menus etc…

Give us a Clue – To find a particular letter or word through directional clues of where to look, using phrases such as it is next to…, below or above…, in font of…, the last…. etc.

Jumping games

Leap Frog 

Number of players: 2-6

How to Play

You will need something to mark the beginning of an imaginary start line and finish line (the imaginary pond edges). The aim of the game is to get from one side to the other using the lily pads (cushion, cones, anything that can mark a spot).

Place about 10 lily pads, marked with the target words/letters/sounds (could be paper with them written on or flash cards), randomly between the start and finish lines, making sure your child can jump between them safely and that the lilies will not slip. Explain that only by jumping on to the correct lily pad are they safe from falling into the water.

There is a caller and a jumper (the frog), the caller says a letter/word or sound that the frog has to jump to.

As they jump from one lily pad to the next, they have to say the letter/word/ sound correctly if they do not want the lily pad to sink. If they make completely the wrong choice they sink into the water and have to start again. The aim is to get across the pond without getting wet.

For every correct jump the frog earns 2 points, if they land on the right lily pad but do not say, or incorrectly say, the word/letter/sound (so get wet feet) they earn 1 point. If they make a completely wrong jump, they do not earn any points from that go and have to start again. The winner is the player with the most points.

You may need to show and model the game to your child to start with, but once they have the hang of it there will be no stopping them.

Children enjoy it when you play the game as well, they just love being able to catch you out so sometimes making mistakes on purpose can really help to focus them in on the game.

Skittles & Throwing games

Skittle Alley

Number of players: 2 – 6

How to play

You will need: up to 10 skittles (can be plastic bottles with a little sand/water/gravel in to make them stable, but not too heavy that they cannot be knocked over) and a range of balls (different sizes), flash or picture cards and some tape or blue-tac. This game is best played on a smooth surface.

The aim of the game is to knock over the skittles that match the criteria set. It could be the letter named or matching capital letter to given lower case letter. This game can be used for all sorts of letter and sound work.

Tape flash/picture cards to the skittle (bottles). Think about distance between the thrower and skittles to take into account the ability of your child’s rolling or throwing skills. Also make sure the skittles are a sensible distance apart so that particular skittles can be targeted and that the ball used is not too big (will knock over too many skittles in one throw).

(Skittle Ally Cont…)

Scoring – 2 points for every correct skittle knocked down, 1 point for correctly aiming at, but not knocking down the correct skittle. Your turn is over if you completely miss the skittles or knock over the wrong one.  The winner is the one with the most points after each player has had 6 turns. One turn is 3 throws.

Language of Drawing

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Sharing and showing your child how to draw shapes and make pictures is a great opportunity for you to help them practice and develop known and new vocabulary.

Your child does not have to actually draw and can just watch, if that is what they prefer to start with. In doing so they may ask you to draw different things in the picture, use certain colours, or want to help you colour or draw things.

You can explain what you are doing as you draw, for instance, if you are drawing a straight line or a wavy line to make a shape or pattern.

Other language you may use:

Straight, short, long, diagonal, up towards …, down towards …, across, curvy, wavey, zig zag, squiggly, swirling, dots, dashes.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about placement (preposition) and directional vocabulary which would also be great to use here as part of drawing activities.

Not all children enjoy drawing and colouring and it can be difficult to encourage them. There are a number of reasons why some children seem reluctant to draw, paint or colour. For instance, some will not like the smell of the paint or crayons, while others may find the pencils, brushes or crayons too thin, long or heavy. Others may be reluctant due to past negative experiences. It can be tricky to work out exactly why a child doesn’t want to draw or write.

For some tips and ideas that may help you get them started, check out this week’s Teach Handwriting Blog: https://teachhandwriting.blog

We have created some new drawings using simple shapes which you may find helps you to get started. Follow this link and scroll down the page a little you will find them under the ‘Activities to help hand development’:  https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html

How to get your child interested in drawing and colouring!

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Not all children enjoy drawing and colouring and it can be difficult to encourage them. There are a number of reasons why some children seem reluctant to draw, paint or colour. For instance, some will not like the smell of the paint or crayons, while others may find the pencils, brushes or crayons too thin, long or heavy. Others may be reluctant due to past negative experiences. It can be tricky to work out exactly why a child doesn’t want to draw or write.

Here we have some tips and ideas that may help you to get started:

Paper Size– Some children like large pieces of paper to work on while others can be daunted by the prospect. Start off by having a range of paper sizes and colours for your child to choose from, this way you can find out which size of paper they prefer to work on.

Vertical surface – Having the paper pinned vertically on a drawing board or wall may also help encourage your child to have a go at drawing more than if the paper is laid flat on a table.

Drawing & Writing Tools – Have a range of pencil and crayon thicknesses, lengths and colours so that your child can choose the ones they feel most comfortable using. Try to make sure that the pencils are sharp enough to be used effectively as picking up and using a blunt pencil can be a negative experience which can turn a child off drawing or writing.

You could try using different drawing tools to start with such as chalks or special glass pens (which are great fun and designed to clean off easily).

Draw Together – Before you start drawing think about the kind of things that will interest your child, for instance drawing a train may be ideal for your little boy but not necessarily for your little girl. Use simple shapes to draw the objects so that over time your child will be able to copy so they too can draw successfully the train, cat or car. Practise by yourself so that when you are doing the drawing with your child it comes easily to you so that you can talk through what you are doing.

We have created some new drawings using simple shapes which you may find helps you to get started. Follow this link and scroll down the page a little you will find them under the ‘Activities to help hand development’:  https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html

Tips:

Pick a time and place where you can start to draw in the same room/area as your child is playing. Start off by just sitting and drawing without actively involving your child. It is surprising how often a child will come to checkout and ask you what you are doing. They may just stand and watch for a while and go back to playing, just carry on and complete the picture without them. Leave the picture for them to see, you could let them know you have drawn it for them and have a little chat about it.

It may take a few goes but hopefully you will find that your child will watch for longer, maybe even asking you to draw different things in the picture, use certain colours, or want to help you colour or draw things.

At this stage it can help to explain what you are doing, for instance, if you are drawing a straight line or a wavy line to make a shape or pattern.

Other language you may use:

Straight, short, long, diagonal, up towards …, down towards …, across, curvy, wavey, zig zag, squiggly, swirling, dots, dashes.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about placement (preposition) and directional vocabulary which would also be great to use and help your child to develop as part of drawing activities.

By sharing and showing your child how to draw shapes and make pictures it gives them a positive and successful drawing experience, which encourages and gives them confidence to have ago for themself.

Placement (Preposition) and Directional Vocabulary Games are Important!

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Teaching your child the vocabulary related to placement (preposition) and direction is import in supporting them to understand and follow instructions, as well as sharing information themselves, such as; ‘put your cup on the table’ or to say ‘teddy in car’.

We also use this placement (preposition) and directional language to explain how to draw shapes, patterns and write letters and numbers.

With handwriting now having to be taught separately from phonics and starting from the first term in reception, the writing framework recognizes that on joining reception:

“They may also need additional support to ensure they are secure in their understanding of key directional words such as, ‘up’, ‘down’, ‘round’ and ‘back’.”

Department of Education; The writing framework: July 2025; page 24/25; https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-writing-framework

To help support the development of this vocabulary we have created three sets of picture cards and games to help you support your child in developing and using positional (preposition) and directional vocabulary.

You can find these free resources on our Phonics website by following this link: https://www.teachphonics.co.uk/phonics-resources.html

You can find these free resources in the Parent section of the Teach Handwriting website by following this link: https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html

What are prepositions?

“A word used with a noun or pronoun to show place, position, time or means, e.g. at home, in the hall, on Sunday, by train.” Definition from Oxford School Dictionary, third edition 2002.

Here are just some preposition and directional phrases you might like to use:

On the … On top of the … Above the … Over the…

Under the… Below the … Beneath … Underneath …

Behind the …

In front of the…

Next to …Beside the … On the right of … To the right of … On the right-hand side … On the left of … To the left of … On the left-hand side… Before the … After the …

In the…  Inside the …

Out of the … Outside of the …

Between the … In between the … In the middle … In the center …

Going up the ….  Going down the … Going towards the… Going away from …

To Play is to Learn!

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Different Types of Play and their Importance

We are always being shown how important play is in the development of young animals’ survival and hunting skills. How many times have you thought how cute or lovely when watching kittens, puppies or polar bears playing?

Humans are also animals which thrive and develop through play; in fact, play is so important the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights state it as a right for every child (Ginsburg, 2013).

We often think of play as a frivolous pastime rather than a practical and meaningful one. However, here at Teach Children we see play as a vital part of a child’s physical, emotional, social and intellectual growth and well-being.

There has been considerable research over the years on play, which supports our point of view, with the consensus being that children need to experience five different types of play (Dr.D Whitebread, 2012). These five types of play are roughly based on the developmental opportunities they provide, especially if it is child driven rather than adult lead:

Physical Play – active exercise (running, jumping, skipping etc..), rough & tumble and fine motor skills activities to develop whole body and hand and eye co-ordination strength and endurance. The outdoor element of such play develops independence, resourcefulness and self-regulation while the fine motor skills activities support the development of concentration and perseverance.

Play with Objects – starts as soon as a child can grasp and hold an object; mouthing, biting, turning, stroking, hitting and dropping. It’s how we all learn through the exploration of our senses (sensory-motor play). This type of play develops our abilities to; physically manipulate items, think, reason and problem solve, to set challenges and goals as well as to monitor our own progress.

Symbolic Play – refers to the development of spoken language, visual symbols such as letters and numbers, music, painting, drawing and other media used for communication of thought and ideas. This type of play allows children to develop the abilities to express and reflect on experiences, ideas and emotions. Sound and language play develops phonological awareness required for literacy, while number play that relates to real life situations supports numeracy skills.

Pretence/socio-dramatic Play – Pretend play provides the opportunity to develop cognitive, social, self-regulatory and academic skills. This kind of play means children have to learn and pick up on unspoken rules of interaction, taking on the role of a character and playing within the expected confines of that role.

Games with Rules – physical games such as chase, hide & seek, sport, board and computer games. Develop social skills and the emotional skills of taking turns, winning and losing as well as other people’s perspectives.

                                                             So, to play is to learn!

Bibliography

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, 25/07/2013; ‘The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds’: THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.full

Dr.D. Whitebread, April 2012: ‘The Importance of Play’; Commissioned for the Toy Industries of Europe:  http://www.importanceofplay.eu/IMG/pdf/dr_david_whitebread_-_the_importance_of_play.pdf      

Indoor/Outdoor Circuits Ideas – To Support Language Development

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Well, another half term holiday is here.  

So, here are a couple of ideas to help your child burn off some of that pent-up energy. Best of all you can class it as language development homework (working on instructional, directional, body awareness vocabulary and listening skills).

An indoor/outdoor circuit training course does not have to take up much space or be messy (but it might be a good idea if indoors to move ornaments a little further out of the way).

Simple activities can be fun if they are done for short periods of time and children do love a time challenge. Make each activity last anything from 30 seconds to 1 minute.

You could record how many they did in the time and see if they have improved when you try it again.

Why not try:

  • Hopping on one leg and then the other (balance & coordination)
  • Use the bottom step of the stairs for step ups (bilateral coordination)
  • Curl ups (core strength)
  • With a cushion balanced on their head can they touch their toes without dropping the cushion (balance, coordination, bilateral coordination and core strength)
  • Star Jumps (balance & coordination)

For more fun, simple activity ideas check out our games page, it is amazing how much fun you can have just hopping, jumping, skipping and dancing on the spot: https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/games.html

If you are feeling really brave why not try building an obstacle course, a lot of the fun is in the designing and making.

Let go and have fun!!!

The Key to Good Phonics Skills – Week 11 – Games to Encourage Talking and Language Knowledge

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Before for the Easter break, we explained the importance of developing your child’s word awareness skills here are some further games ideas to encourage them to use this new language.

  • Playing tapes or CDs of nursery rhymes and children’s song are good for helping your child to make the distinction between the music and words (language used) in them. It is a good idea to practise this skill when there are no other noise distractions.
  • When your child points at something tell them the name of the object, for example if they point at an apple, say “Apple”.
  • Try to use the new word in context regularly as repetition of the word will help your child to remember it and reinforce the meaning of the word.
  • Try playing some action songs and rhymes to help your child learn the actions for the rhyme, then let them have a go on their own. Watch them to see if they can do some of the actions at the right time in the song, to see if they are listening for the right cue words. If they are struggling, explain they have to wait for certain words and show them what to do and when to do it.
  • If they are trying to say a word, let them finish and then say it back to them clearly and correctly. Do not make them repeat it back to you, they may choose to do so but make it their choice.
  • Repeat and expand on what your child says, so if they say “Dog!” you may say “A big dog!” This also helps them to develop an understanding of sentence structure.
  • Finger rhymes, such as ‘Round and Round the Garden’, ‘Pat-a-cake’ and ‘Incy Wincey Spider’ and action songs encourage your child to interact with words, the sounds within them and the rhythms they create. ‘Row, Row Your Boat’ is a lovely whole body movement song that encourages a rhythmic whole-body motion, which babies and toddler enjoy (as well as the adults).
  • Sharing and talking about the books you are reading helps to build word knowledge, as you point to the pictures, picking out different objects.  Reading out aloud helps to introduce your child to words that they may not experience in their everyday talk. This helps to expose them to new vocabulary and the sounds to be found in those words.
  • Introducing and playing sorting games helps your child to build a mental filing cabinet system of categories, this helps them to remember and learn the meaning of words. Start by introducing simple categories of everyday items like food or clothes as their vocabulary increases categories such as colour, size and texture become more appropriate.

Spring/Easter Drawing Activity Ideas – Supporting Language & Pre-handwriting Pattern Development

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It’s the Easter holiday break!

We have put together some quick step by step Easter and farm drawing ideas for you to try, using basic shapes such as circles, rectangles and triangles. It is amazing how, by using these simple shapes, you and your child can create fantastic Spring/Easter: cards, pictures mobiles or bunting. Just follow this link and scroll down the page: https://teachhandwriting.co.uk/more-activities.html

Drawing pictures is a great way to help your child develop their pre-handwriting strokes and shape forming skills. As well as supporting shape, colour, pattern and language development.

Treasure Hunts Develop both Handwriting & Language Skills

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The Easter Holidays are here, so here are some fun activities to keep children of all ages entertained whether we have rain or sunshine.


A treasure hunt is a great way to teach children directional language. Being able to understand directional and placement (prepositions) vocabulary is important for understanding everyday instructions such as ‘put your cup on the table’; ‘go along the hall and stop at the door in front of you’.
We also use this directional language to explain how to draw patterns and write letters, which is another reason why it is important for young children to be introduced to, and have a good understanding of, this kind of vocabulary.


Through treasure hunts you can introduce new directional and placement language in a fun and exciting way. There are a number of different ways to approach this:


• You can give verbal instructions to the hidden treasure.
• You could create a map for them to follow and ask them to talk you through the map, supporting them with new language as necessary.
• You could use a mixture of verbal and map clues.
• For older children get them to hide the treasure and give you instructions, or draw a map.
• If you have more than one treasure and they are of different sizes make the larger ones more difficult to find.


The important thing is the language shared. Words and phrases to use are: left, right, straight on, forward, backwards, about turn, turn around, up, down, higher, lower, stop, next to, in front, beside, underneath, on top of, behind, on the left of, on the right of, outside, and inside.
Treasure hunts are a great whole family activity and you are never too young or too old to join in!

Half-term Fun – Clothes Peg Games

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Some fun indoor activities may be the order of the day for this half term as the weather is not so hot.

This is a very simple idea which children love because they can take greater ownership of it. The aim of the activity is to help build up hand and finger strength through using the pegs; however, it can have a dual purpose, helping to keep track of the week by using it as a timetable or for learning spellings or maths activities, as well as supporting the development of language skills.

You do not need anything fancy, just some string (for the washing line), clothes pegs and pieces of paper or card to peg onto the washing line. The washing line can be a permanent fixture or you can just pop it up when you need to use it.

The clothes line needs to be at a height suitable for your child to peg things on to (placed against a wall is a safe option so that no-one can walk into it by accident and hurt themselves).

There are a whole range of games that can be played using this simple washing line and pegs concept:

Memory games – Get your child to peg up 5 to 10 different pictures or items on the line. Then give them 1 minute to remember the items. Once the time is up ask them to look away, or close their eyes, and then you remove one or more of the items. Get them to look back at the line. Can they work out what is missing?

  • You could try just moving one or two of the items around. Can they figure out which ones are in the wrong place and put them back in their correct place?
  • Try swapping an item for something new, which your child did not hang up on the line. Can they work out which is the new item on the line?

Odd One Out – Hang pictures on the line that belong together. Can they pick out the odd item on the line and explain why it is the odd one out.

  • They could all be pictures of fruit with a picture of some clothing
  • They could be shapes with straight sides and one with curves
  • They could all be animals but all are wild with only one being domestic

Sorting – Ask your child to sort all the pictures or items from a selection and to hang all the identical things on the washing line. They could all be the same;

  • Colour
  • Shape
  • Type

Pattern Work – Using pictures, different colour and shaped paper or items create different patterns. The patterns can be based on colour, size or type of object. You can create a pattern sequence on the washing line and then ask your child to try and copy the sequence. Can they explain the pattern and create their own for you to copy and explain?

Pairing or What is the Same? – Hang a range of pictures or items on the line, making sure that some of the items can be paired together because they are exactly the same. They could match because;

  • They are exactly the same e.g., a pair of socks
  • Match numbers to a picture with the same number of items on
  • Match capital to lower-case letters
  • Or have items that can be put together because they are both from the same set, for example they are types of fruit or are the same colour.