You’ve gotta try this: the secret letters activity is a total winner!
Need a fun activity to make it to nap time? You have to try this secret letters activity – your little learners will love it! It’s a combination literacy and art activity and that’s a whole lot of fun in one simple project. It’s the perfect way to pass the time!
Looking for quick and easy learning activities? Check out Playing Preschool – my simple home preschool program.
Set up secret letters in just seconds!
Materials:
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This is a crayon resist activity, meaning you paint ON TOP of the crayon.
Here’s how to set it up: I took my white crayon and wrote letters all over the paper. White on white made them so hard to see. When I handed my son the paper, he laughed because he couldn’t see a thing on it!
Let the letter hunt begin!
My son couldn’t believe his eyes when he painted over the top of that “plain white paper” and suddenly letters were visible.
He practically had to do a double take. It was absolutely magical.
RELATED: Looking for more easy learning activities? Try these!
Why does this work?
The crayon wax acts as a barrier against the watercolor paint (resisting it) making the letters magically appear on the paper.
I can’t remember the last time my son loved using watercolor paints so much!
RELATED: Try Mystery Math – a crayon resist math activity from Happy Toddler Playtime.
A few tips to make this successful and some extensions:
- Make sure the brush has enough paint on it. You need a good amount of paint for the crayon to show up.
- Print your letters firmly but not too firm. If you make them too light, the crayon resist technique doesn’t quite work. Make them too dark and you can see the letters before they’ve been painted over.
More tips:
- Extensions: Hide words, phrases, sentences. Make a secret note!
- Not ready for letters? Draw pictures, shapes, squiggles – it’s all about the magic in the reveal.
My son loved this activity so much, I had to quickly make THREE sheets of letters.
He was totally into it: It was also the first thing he wanted to tell Dad after work which means this activity was a home run. There are so many possibilities with secret letters!
Would your kids like painting over secret letters?
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Mimi says
OMG. You are just a genius. I was about to fork over almost $400 in montessori stuff when i stumbled across your pge. Thank God for you. These are all so fun and simple. Thank you sincerely. My babe is 2.5 and im a recent stay at home mom. Need to make the time at home more fun less boring. How old is your definition of toddler?
busytoddler says
Hi Mimi!!! I’m so glad you found my site. My daughter is 25 months old and my son is 3.5. Since he isn’t in preschool yet and won’t be for a while, I still consider him my Busy Toddler – but I think I always will 🙂 XO!