Turn an empty box into a tool for learning this holiday season so kids can learn to recognize letters as they work on fine motor skills–perfect for fun and learning. Since this activity is a matching one, kids who don’t know all their letters yet (just like my son) can learn to recognize them without the pressure of knowing them by name. Then as the parent or teacher, as they do the activity you can teach them the letters they don’t know. To keep things simple I have shared how I put this activity together in less than 10 minutes (including making 2 sets of letters) and included a free template to make things even easier for you. You could also skip the template and adjust the activity to match your child’s needs like using numbers, sight words, or anything else that comes to mind.
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Christmas time is ALWAYS super busy, so cutting out 26 things for the kids to use for school doesn’t always seem manageable especially when I need two sets (one for uppercase letters and one for lowercase letters and don’t even get me started on needing things for counting to 100…) Since I figure I am not the only one who doesn’t have “free time” to sit around cutting school manipulates, I teamed up with Oriental Trading Co. to come up with shortcuts for the holidays you can use in your home or classroom.
We received the Christmas Gift Tags for free, in order to create this activity. Thank you to Oriental Trading Co. and to you for supporting us and our sponsors. Be sure to check out the rest of their Christmas Supplies for more inspiration and inexpensive ideas. I notice whenever I surprise my kid’s with cute supplies, they run enthusiastically to the activity–which is always a great reaction to start their lesson.
Looking for a deal at Oriental Trading? Visit their coupon page for the latest in sales.
Suggested Books:
The ABCs of Christmas-affiliate link
Mary Engelbreit’s A Merry Little Christmas: Celebrate from A to Z-affiliate link
The Night Before Christmas: The Classic Edition-affiliate link
Christmas Letter Match
Supplies
Empty cardboard box
Tape
Knife (adult only)
Permanent pen
Directions:
Tape the alphabet template to the top of the box. If you don’t have a box the right size you can always write the letters on yourself (it just will take you more time). Carefully use a sharp knife to cut slits into the box so the letter tags can go inside. I tried using a serrated knife and that cut the template. I had the best results using my sharpest straight edge knife.
Write the letters towards the bottom of each tag. You may want to reinforce the bottom of the tag with some clear tape too. I didn’t and some of the corners are a little bent from the activity (no biggie, but thought I should mention it).
Have child select a tag, and find the matching spot and place it in the box through the slot.
Little Dragon loves this activity. He doesn’t make it through the whole alphabet in one day which is totally fine. He likes to do about half the letters at a time. I am always surprised at how many letters he already knows and love watching him start to recognize new ones.
Once I get my Christmas tree out I also plan on hanging the letter tags on the tree and having the kids find them.
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FREE PRINTABLE: Letter Box Template
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Thanks for learning with us today. If you enjoyed this idea please pin & share it with others so they can enjoy it too! Love, Katie & the Kiddos