alphabet spin

We had rain, rain, rain once again, which will hopefully mean that the flowers will be more beautiful than ever here in Maryland. Maybe? I can hardly wait for some outside color-matching activities. . .
Anyway, today was a pretty good afternoon for indoor games.

Once Cora went down for her nap, I let Maddy and Owen choose which game they wanted to play before their rest times–Alphabet Egg Puzzles, Rhyme Bingo, Rhyme Sorts, or Alphabet Spin. Owen choose good ole Alphabet Spin. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it here before, so here’s what it is:

• Alphabet Spin: This is yet another resource from Bear’s Words Their Way . . . (2004), and we’ve played it several times now. I am convinced that little kids really love any game with a spinner, so Maddy and Owen both enjoy this one.

The concept is simple: match uppercase and lowercase letters A-I. (Alphabet Spin II has the second half of the alphabet.) Uppercase letters A-I are printed on the spinner board, and lowercase letters are on about two dozen tiny cards. A person spins, says the letter that the spinner points to, then searches for that lowercase letter. The first few times we played, we lined the cards up so that they were all facing the same way. Now, we just spread them around the spinner board. It’s funny for them if we stick some of them in the carpet so they stand up–hey, whatever works, right?

The tricky part is when you get to the end of the game, since most cards have been taken, since the winner is the person with the most cards in the end.

I love that this game includes only half of the alphabet, especially because little ones usually confuse b/d and p/q. I also love that i/j are separated and that Alphabet Spin I & II each have half of the alphabet.

With this game, we do a lot of comparing–when someone gets a B or a D, someone locates a lowercase b and d and holds them next to each other so the person can choose more easily, and we always help each other out if need be. It seems to be just enough of a challenge and not too, too overwhelming for them.

That’s it–that’s our little bit of learning for the day. Now, rain, rain, go away.