Jun 20 , 2023

Alphabet Treasure Hunt

Purpose/Skills Addressed:

The purpose of this activity is to engage a higher level of cognition by having children make concept-object connections and problem solve through a fun and creative, child-led approach.

 

This activity will build skills in the following areas…

  • Letter Recognition & Object Classification
  • Recall & Memory
  • Building Focus & Attention
  • Problem Solving & Decision Making
  • Fine Motor Control

 

Instructions:

 

  1. Display the alphabet cards to be practiced in a clear, easy to see space (i.e. taped on the wall or laid out on a table).
  2. Select your objects that begin with the letters to be practiced, and after determining the difficulty level for the activity (see below), set them in the space.
  3. Go through each letter and then one by one, ask your child to find the object in the room that also begins with that letter, moving through one letter/object combination at a time. Alternatively, you can have your child take the alphabet card and place it by the object, or vice versa.

 

 

Ways to modify this activity include…

  • Easy: Use simple, everyday objects and clearly line them up close to, or in front of, the alphabet cards. Use only a few letters.
  • Medium: Spread objects out across the room in visible locations. Use more letters, and/or perhaps more challenging objects (words).
  • Difficult: Hide objects in more obscure locations, out of plain sight. Use many letters and/or more challenging objects (words).

 

Supplies Needed:

 

  • Alphabet Cards (homemade or purchased)
  • Tape (to hang the alphabet cards on the wall)
  • Objects to hide in the space that begin with the letters being practiced
    • Examples: A- apple, airplane toy; B- boat toy, banana; C- crayon, carrot; D- dinosaur toy, dog toy; E- elephant toy, envelope; F- frog toy, flower; G- giraffe toy, glass; H- helicopter toy, hat; I- insect toy, ice; J- jacket, jello; K- kite, ketchup; L- lemon, lion toy; M- monkey toy, muffin; N- noodle, napkin; O- orange, oatmeal; P- pencil, paper; Q- quarter, queen; R- raspberry, rabbit toy; S- spoon, snake toy; T- toothbrush, towel; U- unicorn toy, umbrella; V- vegetable, vacuum, ; W- watch, watermelon; X- xylophone, xmas tree; Y- yogurt, yellow item; Z- zebra toy, zipper