Does anyone have any good ideas to make writing letters and numbers fun?

Question

Kids are getting bored with practicing their letters and numbers. They are 4 and 6 years old. How can I make it fun and exciting for them?

Answer 1

try www.starfall.com there are other sites that you can try if you need more email me i have plenty.

Answer 2

Use all sort of mediums. An old roasting pan or cookie sheet with a layer of salt just covering the bottom makes a fun, erasable pad! Or take sand and water,mix it into a thick paste and use squeeze bottles on the sidewalk. A paint brush in water also works well on concrete! Another favorite when my two were young was chocolate pudding! You can make instant or use a cup from the store. A brush is good or fingers, on finger paint paper! Kids like it because they can lick it off! Jello also makes a fun paint to use...mix the power with just enough water to make it the same consistency as tempra paint. For the younger one, tracing can be fun. Make the stencil or pattern and then let them trace it onto the paper over and over to make abstract designs. This is even more fun when you start making words! Good luck and have fun!

Answer 3

You can make a game out of learning the letters and numbers. All children enjoy games. One that I have heard of is a fishing game. You put each letter or number on the cut out of a fish. You can buy individual fishing poles at Wal-mart or you can be creative and have the children make their own. Then all you do is have them take turns trying to catch a fish with their pole and when they do they have to correctly identify the letter or number by either writing it or saying it. The winner is the child that gets the most letters or numbers correct.
You could also make like a memory game. with each letter or number on it and have the children match the letters.
I work in a day care center and one of the teachers made a jeopardy game for the class. She took a large sheet of plywood, fastened a pane of fiberglass to the front of it leaving a side open for sliding large sheets of clues for the class to answer. The children in her class have enjoyed this game so much that we have had her make a second one for the other school-age classroom.

Answer 4

sidewalk chalk is good. It's also good for math problems, too.
also, a favorite is shaving cream. If you can find something you can squirt a bunch of cheap shaving cream on to and smear it out and let them draw the numbers and letters in, then they can erase. Of course, you will want to protect all surfaces you don't want coated in shaving cream, including your darlings, LOL, but they LOVE it.
Try glue and glitter, sponging, buliding with legos or something ...
another is human numbers and letters. Pick out some of each that they can either lay on the floor and be or make cheerleader style (think the YMCA song)
The latter won't give them penmanship practice, but it will get their attention.
If you throw these "sugar treats" in between skills and drills practice it will make the "medicine" go down a little better
Have fun!

Answer 5

Why not have them put their newfound practical knowledge to work by having them write a letter to a famous person? Ask them to send a letter to the President and ask him a question or two about what it's like to be president or try it with a movie star or t.v. star that they recognize - they can also learn more about how numbers are used in addresses and zip codes and so forth... It puts actual knowledge into practical everyday skills and they can see the connection...If the celebrity idea doesn't suit you, maybe they could write a letter to a relative or family friend and that way they're assured of a response that they can read...Best of luck!

Answer 6

go to www.startwrite.com

It is a great program. I love it.

Don't overwhelm the children by expecting toooooo much from them.

ONE page per day of really BIG letters and tracing dotted lines.

Do only one letter per day and go do something else.

The 4 yr old may not be ready with development of the eye-hand-brain coordination. The 6 yr old can probably do more but if I were you I'd give them small amounts of writing and only how much their attention span will allow.

Make it fun by letting it happen naturally --- not forced or coerced.

Barb

Answer 7

There are lots of great suggestions here- so I'll just pass along one I discovered. Dry wipe markers on the windows! You could also use the Windows F/X markers Crayola makes- but they are more expensive. Dry wipe markers come in lots of colors as well. We used them to practice writing on the windows, and wiped the window down with the eraser. If you use a Windex wipe (or other window cleaning wipe), the child can clean the window off completely. It's fun, and you get a clean window.

Answer 8

How about playing teacher? Kids love to play teacher. The 6 year old can start first - he has to come up with a lesson and "teach" it to to you and the 4 year old. The next day, it can be the 4 year old's turn, and then your turn.

Answer 9

Try getting them to draw out the letters and numbers then make them into animals or creatures. They can name them then and relate the names to the letters and numbers.

Answer 10

My mother was a kindergarten teacher. She'd let them use crayons. So A-G was in red, H-N was in orange, etc... Then at the end she'd tack it on the wall and they could see their rainbows!

Answer 11

Have them do it outside on the concrete with sidewalk chalk.