Letter Hunt and Matching

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I got this original idea (the hunt) from Susie @busytoddler (blog and IG). I love her. :)

I added one element to it just because I know Alexander loves his letters.

The first thing I did was write the 26 uppercase print letters on card stock. Then I laminated them, added a piece of tape to the backs of each, and "hid" them around the kitchen and dining areas. As you can see above, they weren't really hidden. They were just around, but for Alexander, that's hidden enough! Some were a little harder than others, where he had to look on the side of something instead of the front of it.

The second thing I did was make a "board" that had the 26 letters, in lowercase print. I laminated that also and taped it to the wall. (Since he liked it so much, I'd like to make a more permanent version of this activity!)

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His job? Find the hidden uppercase letters and match them to their lower counterpart. He played this for a LONG time. After the first time, I helped him hide the letters. After that, he started removing the letters and hiding them himself. Of course, they were mostly on the same few cabinets; he just liked matching them. But the physical aspect (actually having to walk back and forth each time) is what I really liked. He likes matching letters, but this also got him moving. That changes it a lot, especially at his age!

This can easily be done for a younger baby/toddler. You could have 5 shapes printed (square, heart, star, circle, triangle) and have the same 5 shapes printed but cut out. Hide the cut-outs and have baby find them. Then match them to the original print-out. Much simpler but still matching + moving.