Magnetic Alphabet Fishing

I was on my second re-heating of my morning coffee and needed a break. It was only 8:30 and I was already struggling to find a moment to sit and breathe. I wanted my coffee, I wanted it hot, and I wanted five seconds to sit without answering another “why” question.

Enter magnetic alphabet fishing aka my new favorite quick and easy toddler activity.

You can’t believe how easy it is to set up magnetic alphabet fishing

My number one requirement with toddler activities is that they have to be easy but pack in a lot of fun and learning – you won’t believe all the different activities we did using this simple set up! It may look one-dimensional, but trust me on this…

Magnetic alphabet fishing (which was inspired by this activity from Fun with Mama) was a perfect combination of sensory, literacy, and quiet independent toddler fun.

What materials do you need for this activity?

Most of my activities use supplies we have just lying around our house and this activity was no different.

Materials:
(this list contains affiliate links)

• Alphabet magnets (these are great and they come with numbers)
• Magnetic wands
• Storage tub
• Water

We ended up using this set up in a couple of different ways – this wasn’t a one-and-done activity!

The initial prep was to fill the storage tub with some water and drop in the alphabet magnets. I then handed my son (3.5) a magnetic wand to begin fishing out the letters, but I didn’t want him to just fish them out.

I had a few ideas up my sleeve.

How I stretched this activity into 20 minutes of quiet

I knew I needed this activity to go on for a while or at least as long as it took me to drink my finally hot coffee and maybe eat some breakfast without giving away any bites. My son was of course very supervised during this activity.

I set two plastic containers on either side of our make shift fishing pond and had my son do some sorting work.

He sorted by letters vs numbers, by capital letters vs small letters, and even by colors (I had to add a few more containers for the color sort).

Can you guess how much a toddler is learning here?

This activity – albeit a simple one – packs a major learning punch. In this activity, my son was working on:

• Letter and number recognition
• Sensory investigation
• Hand eye coordination
• Sorting skills

Making this magnetic alphabet fishing activity was the perfect plan to give me a little break in the morning. My son had a blast and I had a blast enjoying my breakfast in peace. Quick and easy activities are a lifesaver.

Will you try making magnetic alphabet fishing?