Games + Activities

So as you might have seen I’ve hit the heady heights of 10,000 followers, and a friend asked me if I cried as the number ticked over from 9,999. I didn’t cry then because those figures, although lovely, don’t really say much. Probably quite a lot are those robot things that follow you hoping you’ll follow back and then unfollow when you don’t! But I will tell you what did make me cry, a message from a fellow Mum saying “I’ve felt better about my parenting this summer thanks to your games” because that is EVERYTHING.

Yes the games might be for the kids but this really is for YOU. The parents, the grandparents, the carers of small people. Easy ways for you to teach and play to make you feel like today has been a good day. So really, truly, THANK YOU to everyone reading this. To those playing the games and having fun with their little ones. To those sharing the ideas with friends and family. I am really very grateful.

Anyway back to business, a new game.

The Letter Reaction Wall…

1. Get something with letters on and a wall/door/surface you don’t mind sticking them to.
2. Choose a selection of letters. Some your little one is very familiar with like those in their name and some new or ones they aren’t as confident with.
3. Stick them to the wall. We blue-tacked ours to a door. Then get out something to time with…your phone, an oven timer, a stopwatch, a sand timer, an iPad.
4. The game is to set the timer going for 30 seconds or a minute, and you shout letters. Your little one has to hit the right letter as fast as they can and each time they do they get a tick or a tally line. You count them up at the end.
5. Now it’s your turn. Your little one has to start the timer, shout the letters and then tick them off. Can they beat you? Can they beat themselves on their second go?

Now there’s a lot going on with this game. It’s probably best for those aged 4 and 5. However as always there are ways to adapt it. You could just set the timer running and see how fast they can get all the letters, and see if they can go faster next time. So this doesn’t require a tally. You could do fewer letters for littler ones just learning, or do it with their name and tick the letters in their name off as they get them. For those older ones - you can do it with key words, or spellings. For very little ones like Flo (2) I did the colours of the letters so she could join in too.

I intend to play this game on an autumn afternoon with Ewan when the nights are drawing in. I will close the curtains and shine a torch on the letters as I shout them. I reckon he’ll love that.

The faster and more frantic, the more fun! Remember to find it tricky yourself, make mistakes and keep hitting the wrong ones so they can correct you. And as always…The Golden Rule.

Happy playing!