Lockdown Tip – Alphabet Hunt

My son is almost four and a half and an only child. So keeping him entertained, indoors, during a lockdown can be sometimes a little challenging.

He is at that age where he is curious and needs continual entertainment and company. During non-lockdown times we would generally mix up the weekends with some home activities, a play-date with one of his friends, and then a trip to a farm park, a zoo or some other activity.

However, with the closure of zoos, farm parks, activity centers, restaurants, and more, we are have to find other ways to keep him entertained and stimulated through the day. When the weather is grey and wet, there is always a temptation to just revert to screen time. Of course, some screen time if fine; but for me, personally, part of the fun of being a parent is enjoying learning and play with my son!

Today we made up a little game. I called it the Alphabet Hunt.

As my son is now in reception, he is learning phonics and letters. He is finding such joy in looking at new words and trying to sound them out. So we made a little game of it. I asked him to find different objects around the house that started with each of the letters, and then we worked together to sound them out so he could write the word next to each letter.

It kept him entertained for over an hour, and we had a lot of laughs as he would find very strange objects and played with their sound and spelling.

This was such an easy exercise to put together, and whether your child is spelling or just finding objects, it makes everything in the house a little fun as they go exploring through each room. There are so many ways you could play this type of game too, depending on your child’s age groups, and I could imagine the fun of a little competition between siblings.

I’ll keep sharing my ideas as they come to me, but I’d love to hear from others too! The more ideas and creativity the more we can conquer this lockdown and come out with a little less anxiety as parents!

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