FUN WAYS TO TEACH THE ALPHABET + NUMBERS

Want a fun way to teach the alphabet? How does running around the house whacking things with a (clean) fly swatter sound? Kids LOVE this game. You can use the same technique for numbers and sight words too.

Teach the alphabet, numbers and sight words with this fun game

The best way for kids to learn is to learn through play. The more engaged they are, the more they learn. Making it fun is the way to keep them engaged! In this post I’ll give you everything you need to set up one of my daughter’s favorite games. I’ll also share a well loved toy that puts the kids on track for learning the alphabet from a young age.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. Get my full disclosure here.

If plan ‘A’ didn’t work, the alphabet still has 25 more letters
– Jake Jenkins

FUN WAYS TO TEACH THE ALPHABET VIDEO

FUN WAYS TO TEACH THE ALPHABET

Here’s the setup. Your child needs to be at least a little familiar with the alphabet before you start – more on that later in this post.

First you’ll need to grab my free printable below. Print out and cut out all of the letters in the alphabet. Choose a room in your house and tape those letters up out of order all around the room around eye level for your child. Hand the child a (clean) fly swatter, and you start calling out letters. The object is for the child to run around the room and whack the letter you called out with the fly swatter. Maybe you’d like to enjoy a hot cup of coffee while you get to actually sit down and lead this game! Don’t forget to cheer them on to add to the excitement! It is SO fun to watch the kids run around the room whacking the letters.

I start with the uppercase letters. Once my child more or less masters them I start teaching the lower case letters. Then for later sessions you can combine the uppercase and lowercase letters for complete mastery!! You’ll call out “lowercase a” or “uppercase M”.

You can use this game to teach the alphabet, numbers and sight words

FUN WAYS TO TEACH NUMBERS + SIGHT WORDS

Have fun learning the alphabet with this fly swatter game

Looking for a fun way to teach numbers and sight words too? The same game works perfectly for those. Again, make sure you’ve gone over the numbers or sight words a couple times with your child. Otherwise they’ll feel like they’re standing in a room full of hieroglyphics expected to figure them out. Then start calling them out and watch your child giggle while they learn! I’ve included a FREE PRINTABLE for numbers and sight words at the bottom of this post too!

I found these adorable fly swatters on Amazon. If you want to make sure things don’t get mixed up in your home (such as which fly swatter is used for flies, and which is used for games), you may want to get something like this. 😉

HOW TO FAMILIARIZE YOUR CHILD WITH THE ALPHABET

So, what if your child isn’t familiar with the alphabet at all yet? I have a rave toy review for you. LeapFrog doesn’t know I exist – I just love this toy so much!! After seeing this toy at my sister-in-law’s house years before having children of my own, I knew it was a must have for my household. Both of my kids absolutely love it. It’s the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set.

You can see a demo of this toy in the Fun Ways to Teach the Alphabet video. It is magnetic, so the main body of the toy sticks to the fridge. Each of the letter tiles are also magnetic. The child inserts the letter tile into the open space on the school bus. When they press it a song plays that tells them what sound(s) that particular letter makes. If they press it again, it tells them a word that begins with that letter. If they press the music notes on the school bus it plays The Wheels On The Bus.

This toys KEEPS THE KIDS INTERESTED! Of course it is no substitute for sitting down and working with your kids to learn the alphabet. But it helps get them familiar with it while you’re busy cooking dinner or doing the dishes, and it is also a great tool for when you do sit down with them.