Surprise Alphabet - Parenting with Natacha

All you need for this activity is a white crayon and some watercolours. It is an activity that is almost magical for children. If your children are too little to read letters, you can do the same game with shapes, or animals, or anything you like!

Best Ages for This Activity

This activity is great for two to five-year old’s, or until your child easily recognizes the letters of the alphabet.

How to Make It

Supplies

Any white sheet of paper
A white crayon
Water colours (you can use just one colour, but I find many colours is better)
A paintbrush
A cup with water (to rinse the paintbrush)

Let’s Get Started!

Write the letters of the alphabet on a white sheet of paper, with a white crayon. Don’t write the letters in order so it is more fun for your child – more surprising. Because your child is just learning the letters, make sure that you write them as closely as possible to this font:

Set up water colours, the paintbrush and a cup with water, and invite your child to discover this “magic paper”.

Let’s Play!

You are now ready to play! Your child can paint over one little area at a time, until a whole letter is revealed. With surprise and delight, you can guess together what letter it is, until you find all 26 letters! If your child is younger, you can do it with less letters, or with shapes, or anything else you would like to draw!

Learning Opportunities

Children will gain reading skills by recognizing the letters, and writing by practicing hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.

Extended Learning Opportunities

If your child already knows how to read, print messages for them. You can also spell words or see if they can write you a message without looking at it until it is painted over – tricky thing to do!

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