Updated: Nov 25, 2021
Children in reception will be learning to:
Read individual letters by saying the sounds for them. (Literacy)
Bottles/cups
Dry wipe pen
Water
Sponge
Object that floats - we used the balls from Hungry Hippos
Draw a line on a bottle/cup using a dry wipe pen. Can they hear what sound the word line begins with? Tell your child you are going to have a race to see who can fill their bottle up to the line first.
Write the letter l next to the line and tell your child this is the letter l and it makes the l sound. To make the sound, touch your teeth with your tongue and try not to add an uh sound at the end. Explain that sometimes the l sound is made using two of the letters. This is called a digraph. The two letters work together to make one sound e.g. fill. We are going to fill up our bottles.
Have a race to see who can fill their bottle first. Use the sponge the squeeze water into the bottle. The first person to get the water to reach the line is the winner.
Empty the bottles then put an object that floats into the bottle. We used balls from our Hungry Hippos game. See who can fill their bottle the fastest so that the water lifts the ball to the top!
Squeezing the sponge will help to strengthen their hands ready for writing. Picking up the ball requires them to use their pincer grip and hand-eye co-ordination to get it into the bottle.
If you have a go at this activity and share any photos on social media I would love to see them. Please tag @miniwritersclub and let me know how you get on.
Anna