Thursday, June 21, 2012

Pasta letter hunt


Finding novel ways to keep letter knowledge interesting for children isn't hard if you put yourself among certain people, or use the Internet!  I used to work for an agency that required me to be inside many different child care centers, and I saw teachers doing amazing things with children.  One of my favorite things I saw helps with letter recognition, focus, and fine motor skills, or as I like to say, exercising your writing fingersit's a pasta letter hunt, an easy set up for a child to explore.


A cookie sheet or dark colored tray,  tweezers, and letter shaped pasta is all you need (if you don't have anything dark you can line it with dark paper).  I get my letter pasta from a grocery chain called Publix, it is their house brand pasta.  Depending on your child's knowledge, personality, and patience, you may want to add a few things...

  • Containers to put found letters into
  • A magnifying glass
  • Larger examples of the letters they are hunting for as a visual reminder
  • An object with the beginning sound of the letter as a visual reminder  


There are different ways to approach a letter hunt...
  • Set a numbered goal.  Can you find 10 R's?
  • Set a timed goal.  How many B's can you find in five minutes?
  • Show them a lower case letter and have them find the upper case version.
  • Find all the letters in their name, or other favorite word.

Twenty-six letters to learn, and one more way to play with them!

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18 comments:

  1. What a great idea ! I can see my 4 year old loving this activity. Looks like I need to add pasta to my shopping list...

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  2. Easy and simple; love it! What a great letter recognition game for those HOT days! Thanks for sharing on Saturday Show & Tell at Cheerios and Lattes this weekend!
    If you're interested, we would love to invite you to also link this up to the Summer Activities for Toddlers Collection! Here's a quick link: http://www.cheeriosandlattes.com/summer-activities-for-toddlers/ This would be a perfect activity to do with young ones!
    Have a great week and hope to see you again next weekend! :)
    Mackenzie

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  3. Wow - they are so tiny! I bet my kids would get a kick out of this. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. They seem even tinier in person, that's why tweezers are needed :)

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  4. Wow, what a great idea! What a fun way to learn letter recognition. :-)

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  5. The magnifying glass would just put this right over the top for my little ones! They love those things! Pinned this and featured you on my blog today. Thanks so much.

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    1. Thanks Lorie! I find that additions of tools like tweezers and magnifying glasses make things a little more interesting, a chance to use something they may not get to use everyday.

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  6. Great idea! I love this idea for my little guys; I'll be watching for this pasta! Thanks for sharing on Saturday Show & Tell at Cheerios and Lattes last weekend! We love having you join us and hope to see you again this weekend! See you soon!
    Mackenzie :)

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    1. Hope you can find it near you! I'm not sure how far Publix's reach is, it's very popular in Florida!

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    2. Ha! Just realized you were the 1st commenter too!

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  7. Such a great idea! I've chosen to feature this on the Sunday Showcase
    http://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/2012/06/30/the-sunday-showcase-literacy-numeracy-fun.html

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  8. I think I'd get a headache trying to do this myself (I need to get new glasses!) But I think my 5 year old will love it. I've not seen this pasta for years. Any advice on where to find it? Found you via Bonbon Break! :) From a fellow contributer!

    Darci the STEM Mom

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    1. I get them at a grocery store called Publix...it is their house brand pasta. If you don't have a Publix where you live you may want to try checking out local grocery store house brands.

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  9. I love all the small motor skills covered in this activity. What a great way to work on letters.

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    1. Lately he's been asking to cook and eat the letters but I think I need a fresh box!

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