Have some sensory and literacy fun with Alphabet Sift and Find

I love activities that are two-for-one and can combine toddler “subject” areas. This Alphabet Sift and Find is the perfect mix of literacy and sensory fun for kids. We love this combination!

Looking for other great ABC activities for kids? Check out the ebook I co-authored “ABCs and 123s” with more than 40 activity ideas for ages 2-8.

Setting up the Alphabet Sift and Find is so easy!

Materials
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• Alphabet magnets
• Small colanders (seriously, we are obsessed with these)
• Corn meal / corn flour – I used a 32 ounce box
• Small container

It was such an easy prep for this activity! I dumped alphabet magnets into a small storage container and covered them with a large box of corn meal. I added in 3 small colanders for my son to use.

How to play Alphabet Sift and Find

I modeled for my son how to scoop up a colander full of cornmeal and sift/shake it to reveal any letters that had been scooped.

He loved the idea and especially loved that he never knew quite how many letters he had scooped up until he was done sifting.

Once he had sifted out the letters, I had him put them into a pie plate for safe keeping. There was a little added fun here – metal pie plates are magnetic so the letters stuck right to it.

Skills being taught with Alphabet Sift and Find

This activity teaches so many skills:

• Letter name recognition
• Motor skills to sift
• Hand eye coordination to scoop letters
• Sensory exploration

Make this activity right for your toddler!

If your toddler isn’t quite ready for letter play, consider hiding something else in the cornmeal for them to find, like buttons (we did that once!) or puzzle pieces.

For older kids learning to read, using the found letters to make simple words in the pie plate would be a great extension to this activity.

Combining activity ideas – math and literacy, science and sensory – is always a big hit at our house. I love the mix of literacy and sensory in Alphabet Sift and Find, and hope you do too!

Will you try the Alphabet Sift and Find with your kids?