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Turtle Helps at the Alphabet Hotel

Earlier this year we were gifted with a Geosafari Phonics Pad (sometimes it's REALLY nice that Jackie works at a school supply store!). I put it aside after deciding to use it for Jathan's "school" this year. Starting in August we started using it during our study of phonics for pre-k and it's been a lot of fun.



Part of what I love about it is that it's a complete system. It comes with worksheets that you use as pretests and post-tests before and after playing the game. It also comes with a sort of lesson plan book that gives you suggestions for extended activities. One of the extended activities was making an "Alphabet Hotel."



I drew a simple hotel on half a poster board tracing around a memo note pad to make windows. I wrote the capital letters A-N inside the windows then wrote lower case letters a-n on the sticky notes.



Since Jathan had just gotten a new toy turtle and it hadn't left his hands in 24 hours, it joined us for phonics time. The little letters were cry out (in my best helpless letter voice), "Help, help! We can't find our big letters! Can you help us find our room?" The turtle would reply, every single time, "Why, of course. I'm a friendly turtle. Watch my trick...and I can go inside my shell!" And so that the turtle wouldn't get too carried away the little letters would cry out, "No, no don't leave me! I'm lonely and want my big letter!" So then the turtle would walk the little letter to its room. = )



When we had helped all of the little letters find their big letters, Jathan said, "I want to play it again! That's my favorite!" I admit EVERYTHING enjoyable is his "favorite" but he definitely did enjoy this simple, fun alphabet game.

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