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    • comprehension
      • activating schema
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      • inferring
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      • visualizing
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    • environmental print
    • fluency
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    • word building
    • word consciousness
    • vocabulary
  • writing
    • creative writing
    • grammar
    • informative writing
    • tripod grip
  • math
    • computation
    • counting
    • numbers
  • science
    • animals
    • plants
    • science experiments for kids
  • Activities
    • birthdays
    • cooking
      • new for us foods
    • crafts
    • foundations
      • colors
      • critical thinking
      • fine arts
      • listening
      • pretend play
      • sorting
      • speaking
    • holidays
      • new year’s
      • valentine’s day
      • president’s day
      • st. patrick’s day
      • april fool’s day
      • easter
      • mother’s day
      • teacher appreciation
      • father’s day
      • july 4th
      • halloween
      • thanksgiving
      • christmas
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      • family fun
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hide-and-seek: abc style

home / early literacy / alphabet / hide-and-seek: abc style
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Today was my first day back to reality after our incredible trip to Disney, our escape from two more feet of snow, and a fantastic conference (which I’ll share about on Friday).

So, I wanted to take it easy this afternoon, but I also wanted to make sure that Owen and Cora remembered that there was indeed an alphabet, with uppercase and lowercase letters, and that those letters belonged in a special order.

hide and seek abc teachmama.com

They were rammy. I was tired. So after lunch, I tried to channel some of their energy into a Hide-and-Seek ABC Game, and (yeeesss!!) the stars were aligned.

They bought it big-time, and after dinner, they begged for more. (I’m not even kidding.)

Hide-and-Seek ABC’s:

I pulled out our bag of alphabet letters which is from reading a-z, but if you need uppercase and lowercase alphabet cards, you canย download them below.

I said to Owen and Cora, Okay friends. Who’s up for a game of hide-and-seek?

They both were. Really, find me a kid who’s not up for this game at any time of the day.

I said, Awesome. Head up to Owen’s room. We’re playing hide-and-seek before rest time, but we’re not hiding. These silly alphabet letters are going to do the hiding, and you’re going to find them.
hide and seek abc teachmama.com

Can you see that sneaky letter ‘F’?

So I told them to hide out in Cora’s room while the uppercase letters found hiding spots, and I tucked them into pretty easy spots around Owen’s room.

When they returned, like people possessed, they searched for the letters. And my only instructions were that when they found a letter, they had to call out its name. I told them I wanted to hear letters being shouted as loud as they could.

 

hide and seek abc teachmama.com
When they found the letters, they dropped them in front of me.

And when they couldn’t find any more, I said, Okay, now let’s put them in order to make sure we found them all. Someone find the first letter of the alphabet and put it here.

hide and seek abc teachmama.com

 

Owen led the task of putting them in order, but I made sure to hand Cora cards so that she was involved, too.

When all of the letters were in order, we sang the Alphabet Song to check their work.

I said, Awesome job. Now head back into Cora’s room so that the lowercase letters can find hiding spots, and before I finished the sentence, they were outta there.

hide and seek abc teachmama.com
I hid the lowercase letters, just like I did with the uppercase letters, and when they found them they called them out. Cora had more difficulty with this, but she got lucky enough to find ‘c’ and ‘o’ and ‘z’, which she confidently screamed upon finding them.

After all of the letters were found, we played match-up and put the lowercase letter on top of its uppercase partner. I originally suggested turning the cards over when we matched them, but Owen said he wanted to ‘see all of the letters’. Fine with me!

hide and seek abc teachmama.comOur downstairs hide-and-seek ABC’s. . . a little messier,
so finding letters got pretty tricky.

After we sang the Alphabet Song to check their work (really, the letters were in order, but you can’t sing this song too often!), I collected the cards. Both Owen and Cora insisted that we play again, but I promised that we’d play after dinner. It was late, and I knew Cora needed to rest.

So we played again with Maddy after dinner, and the intensity of the game tripled.

They ran faster, they screamed louder (gah!), but they also laughed harder.

And Maddy and Owen begged to each hide half of the lowercase letters, which they did, which resulted in endless searches for letters that they just hid but couldn’t find five minutes later. Thankfully, we ended up finding all of the letters in the end.
hide and seek abc teachmama.com

A game like this is good for any aged little one, from Cora (2 years) to Maddy (who just turned 6).

Here’s why:

  • they get to practice putting the letters in alphabetical order;
  • they have more practice recognizing letters that give them difficulty (b/d; p/q; etc);
  • it still helps to see uppercase and lowercase letters matched;
  • confidence grows when kiddos see a letter they know and they can YELL it out;
  • alphabet games can only help because knowing the letters of the alphabet is one of the basic building blocks of literacy.

Doย you want some alphabet cards? Sure you do! They’re FREE!

Happy letter hunting!

Want a few more alphabet activities? Check out:

  • backyard alphabet hunt
  • homemade alphabet book
  • leafy letter learning
  • ABC hunt
  • on the road ABC hunt
  • lowercase ABC hunt
  • build your own bingo: uppercase and lowercase match
  • ABC cards and clothespin match
  • alphabet letter splash
  • alphabingo (play with lowercase letters)
  • alphabet letter lids
  • leafy outdoor alphabet hunt
  • build your own board game
  • clothespin letter match
  • 10 fun ways to learn theย alphabet

And don’t miss our #raiseareader series on YouTube!

Follow us on pinterest, and check out our literacy pins:

Follow amy mascott @teachmama’s board literacy on Pinterest.

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About amy mascott

teacher, mother, dreamer. lover of literacy, fun learning, good food, and three crazy-cool kids. finder of four-leaf clovers | dc metro ยท http://about.me/amymascott
tweet with me: @teachmama

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This yearโ€™s registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time! 

What better way to get students to engage in civics and contribute to their communities? 

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#CivicsBuzz #strongcommunities #middleschool #civicsbee #teachersofIG
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Have you heard of The National Civics Bee? #ad 

The National Civics Bee is an initiative aimed at encouraging more young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. 

Organized in partnership with The Civic Trust of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the competition in your community will inspire middle schoolers to become better informed about American democracy, to engage respectfully and constructively in the community, and to build greater trust in others and institutions. 

Learn how to bring The National Civics Bee to YOUR community now: https://teachmama.com/bring-the-national-civics-bee-to-your-community/

Iโ€™m thrilled to have partnered with @mom_select and @civicsbuzz for this exciting campaign! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿค๐Ÿ’™

#CivicsBuzz #middleschoolers #teachersofIG #communitypartners
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(Itโ€™s what Rusty the ๐ŸฆŠ is currently reading.) 

Find it at your favorite bookstore or order here: https://amzn.to/3Pu3tWs

(This is my affiliate link, so when you use it, I will earn a small percentage of the sale, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using my link and supporting my small business!)

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View
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Lately when I find four leaf clovers, Iโ€™ve been leaving them. ๐Ÿ€๐Ÿคท๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ

So if youโ€™re in Maryland, and you happen upon a lonely, little 4-leafer with very little grass, weeds, or leaves around it, I donโ€™t know WHO tried to set you up for success.

#yougotthis #keepyoureyesopen #itsthelittlethings #kilpattyluck
View
Open
Okayโ€”how do we know if someone has dyslexia? 

Which professionas are able to make that important determination? 

โ–ถ๏ธ Watch to find out. 

Hit me with the questions you still have about dyslexiaโ€”and know we have a few more posts to go!

#demystifyingdyslexia #raiseareader #teachreading #readingteachersofig
View
Open
What are some of the common signs of dyslexia?

Watch to learn and find out!

#demystifyingdyslexia #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading #dyslexia
View
Open
True โœ… or false โŒ?

#demystifyingdyslexia #dyslexiaeducation #readingteacher #raiseareader #teachreading
View
Open
What do you know about dyslexia? 

What questions do you have about dyslexia? 

For the next few weeks leading up to my own start to the school year I am sharing a new series called โ€œDe-Mystifying Dyslexiaโ€ and I would love for you to join me! 

Follow in my stories or on the highlight above!

#dyslexia #teading  #readingteacher #raiseareader #demystifyingdyslexia

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