Cookies, Letters , and Phonics

​Children love snack time, so why not use that time to reinforce letter recognition or phonics? If your child is just starting out, it's still a great time to introduce letters in the 10 minutes it takes to eat a snack. Some cookies are only alphabets, but if you're lucky to find a container with letters and numbers, get those instead. Think of it as the two birds with one stone approach.

My son requested cookies for a snack and as I sat with him, I began to ask him about the letters in his bowl. He was able to identify all the letters. To take it a step further, I ask him to say the the letter sound for each before eating it.

There is so much you can do with alphabet cookies:
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Find Letters In Your Name: Ask your child to find the first letter in their name. Depending on how many letters your child is already able to identify in the alphabet, you may want them to find the remaining letters in his/her name. Keep in mind, you may or may not find all letters because you don't know which letters will land in the bowl when you pour. If all the letters just happen to be there, ask your child to arrange the letters on the table to spell out the name.

Sort Letters: Some letters are formed with curvy lines and some have straight lines. Provide two bowls and model what you mean by curvy and straight lines. After sorting, ask which bowl has more cookies. To reinforce letter recognition, encourage your child to name each letter as they eat. If your container of cookies includes numbers, then ask your child to sort the cookies by letters and numbers, also continuing to identify each as they are sorted.

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Spelling: Depending on your child's age (5+), encourage them to spell words with the cookies. This is a great way to reinforce simple sight words that he/she has already learned (at, me, to, go). My 3-year old son has been learning sight words for a few months now and he loves to put sight words together with magnetic letters or point them out in his environment any chance he gets. 

I Spy With My Little Eyes Phonics Edition: Children love to play 'I Spy', so why not modify it to teach letters sounds without them even knowing they are learning. This game is perfect for children who have already shown mastery of letter recognition. Take a look at the letters in the bowl. For example, "I spy with my little eyes, a letter that says /f/". So what you do is say the letter sound and see if your child can find the F cookie. Continue with the remaining letters until all are eaten. Simple, delicious, and engaging. ​

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