Busy Bag Swap: Day 12 (Build-A-Letter)

Name: Laura Stiller

Kids/Ages: Cannon is 13 months and Baby #2 is due Jan. 6th


Blog: thestillers.blogspot.com

How do you spend your free time? photography, blogging, reading and running (when not prego!)


When you were a child, what was one of your favorite ways to spend your day? reading or playing outside with the neighborhood kids

Fondest memory with your mom as a child? going to the library, getting a HUGE stack of books and eating orange push ups and reading all afternoon


What does special time with your children look like? Taking the time to sit on the floor and play together


Favorite outdoor activity with your kids? Going for walks in the wagon

Favorite blog for children's activities/crafts/parenting? (um, there is no way I can pick just one!)

Toddler Approved

Fun for 5 and Under

I Can Teach My Child

Not Just Cute

Productive Parenting

A favorite tradition that you want to pass down with your children? reading and cuddling

The Build-A-Letter activity helps your child learn to match shapes as well as practice learning their letters. The idea is that your child uses foam shapes to create each uppercase letter.

Each activity bag has the entire uppercase alphabet printed out on card stock and enough foam shapes to make each letter (not all at the same time). Foam pieces are different colors so you can also use them to learn colors, as well as shapes.

Once your child has mastered building each letter, you can use this activity in a variety of different ways:

«  Cut apart the letters
(cut each page in half) and use them to form words

«  Use the template online
to print the lowercase letters (http://tiredneedsleep.blogspot.com/2010/07/build-letter-lowercase-templates.html)

«  Cut enough additional
foam pieces to build ALL of the alphabet at one time.

To make your own Build-A-Letter Activity Bag you'll need a few things. Here are the supplies I purchased to make 26 activity bags:

• Bright Foam Sheets (I actually only used one of the packages pictured!)
  12 ct.
  12"x18"
  $4.99 each (40% off at JoAnns, regularly $7.99)
  Total Cost: $5.20
• Gray Cardstock
  110 lb
  250 sheets
  $13.99 each
  Total Cost for two: $30.29
• Ziploc Bags
  Gallon Size Freezer Bags
  40 count
  $2.97 each
  Total Cost for one: $2.97

Total cost to make 26 activity bags: $38.46

Cost per individual bag: $1.48

You can find the uppdercase letters template at Tired, Need Sleep. (I added the "W" to her original templates, since she forget it. :-)

To assemble this bag I printed the alphabet onto card stock.

Then I traced the template onto sheets of foam and cut and cut and cut and cut . . . until I couldn't cut nay more. I used a disappearing ink fabric marker to trace the shapes onto the foam so that I didn't leave an ugly marker/pen line behind on each of the shapes.

Finally, I sorted enough of the shapes into each activity bag to makes the letters.

I let Cannon do a test run, and at 13-months, the versatility and purpose of this activity was completely lost on him. So, we have some room to grow.

But by golly - squishing foam shapes into tiny wads is awesomely fun!

Downloads:
-Build-a-Letter Direction cards
-Capital letter template
-Lowercase template

Go see Magnetic Pompoms on Planet of the Apels!