We have been doing lots of indoor alphabet activities recently. Today for our Playful Preschool Series , we have a game that will get the kids moving while learning the alphabet. It fits well with our theme: reindeer!
Learning the alphabet takes lots of repetition. This activity provides an opportunity to practice naming letters with a fun holiday twist.
Alphabet Activities: Reindeer Roll
Why We Chose This Activity
It really started when my boys spotted the reindeer antlers at Hobby Lobby. They just had to have them.
Indoor activities to burn off a little energy are in need these days when we are stuck inside.
So, I thought let’s design a reindeer game that works on a preschool literacy skill!
Preparing the Activity
Materials needed: 5 pieces of red construction paper, 1 piece of white construction paper, 1 piece of brown construction paper, scissors, markers, die, 4 labels and reindeer antlers for each child.
1. Cut out 15 red circles (reindeer noses). Write a letter of the alphabet on each circle.
2. Cut a 9 x 12 piece of white paper in half. Write “start” on one piece and “candy cane cove” on the other piece.
3. Cut a house out of a brown piece of construction paper.
4. Using 4 labels cover up the sides of a large die (numbers 3-6). Label the sides: 1, 2, start, and candy cane cove.
5. Buy (we bought ours from Hobby Lobby) or make a set of reindeer antlers for each player. (optional)
6. In a long space on the floor, place the start sign. Next place 10 letter noses followed by the candy cane cove sign. Lay the remaining noses down the line and end with the house.
7. Have each player put the antlers on their head.
Playing Reindeer Roll
The first player rolls the die and moves (hops or steps) the corresponding spaces. If the player rolls “start”, he or she must return to the starting line. If the player lands on “candy cane cove” they move to that spot. When a player lands on a red letter nose, they have to name the letter or say the sound that the letter represents. If they get it correct, they stay on that spot. If they are incorrect, they move back one space. The first player to reach the house wins.
Visit our alphabet games and activities page for more learning fun!
Keep reading. Visit the links below for more great seed and nut activities from the Playful Preschool team.
Swat the Letter: Reindeer Preschool Literacy Activity from Learning 2 Walk
Reindeer Preschool Activities with Play Dough and Songs from Life Over C’s
Reindeer Noses Playdough Math Mats for Preschool: 1-to-1 Correspondence from the Preschool Toolbox Blog
Palm Print Reindeer Craft and Poem from Capri +3
Racing Reindeer Number Line Activity from Mom Inspired Life
Reindeer Christmas Snacks for Kids from Fun-A-Day
Reindeer Math Games for Preschool Learning from The Educators’ Spin On It
Reindeer Christmas Dot Marker Activity from Still Playing School
Love love love the moving and learning that takes place with this FUN game!!
Thank you Mary Catherine! My kids are always on the move so I try to come up with things to use some of this energy!
Loved this idea, but changed it up a bit today to fit our needs (on a rainy, play inside day!). I wrote some sight words, words my guy knows, and some he can learn on little cards. I put them in a circle, and then we rolled a die and hopped around the circle and read the word we landed on. I love it when we can add movement to reading…and so does my little guy!
Lynda I love how you made it work for your family!
This is a great way to incorporate large motor and literacy! I’ll bet you had a blast! Cute antlers, too!:)
What a great leaning activity!
What a great learning activity. We already have some antlers so we are all set to give this a go!
This is great! I was trying to come up with a move and learn literacy activity like this and couldn’t figure out how to do it, but this is perfect. My son will definitely enjoy this.
My kids would LOVE this hands-on, movement connection to learning their letters. We will be trying it this afternoon!