About two months ago, I started teaching my three-year-old son the letters of the alphabet and their sounds in Letters of the Week. To reinforce the letters he has learned, I made up two games for him to play.

The first game is the Alphabet Fishing game. I was able to find a PDF of the alphabet with a cute fish design online. I printed the document on colored stock paper (you can use regular paper but I find that it’s better to use a thicker paper) and then cut out each letter rectangle. Next I clipped a metal paper clip to each card. These will be the “fish” to catch. To make the fishing pole, I got a paint stick (you can use any long stick or rod or a wooden spoon) and secured a magnet on a string to the stick. To play the game, I spread all the fish cards on the floor and have my child sit on a stool and use his fishing pole to fish each card. As he fishes up a card, I have him tell me the letter name and sound, and if he answers correctly, he can place the card in a bowl. If he can’t tell me the correct answer, he is to throw the fish back into the “river.”

The other game is the Alphabet Bingo game. Again, I was able to find an alphabet PDF document online. I printed all the uppercase and lowercase cards. Each time my son draws a letter, I ask him for the name of the letter and then have him find the letter on the game card. Whoever gets all the letters straight across, down, or diagonal wins. Even though this game was intended for my three-year-old, his five-year-old older brother was just as enthusiastic about it.

I find that when it comes to learning something new, playing a game is vital because it piques the children’s interest which results in actual learning. I am happy to say that my three-year-old knows most of the uppercase and lowercase letters and their sounds. Because of the games and activities we do, he tells me everyday that he wants to do letters, and this makes me very, very happy.