One of the best purchases I made for our playroom has been our foam alphabet and  number play mat. It was an inexpensive way to decorate as well as provide insulation on a cold floor. And on top of that, there are so many ways it can be used in fun learning activities!

Here’s how it works:

Supplies

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• Alphabet Foam Play Mat
• Sensory bin

Set Up

First step is to punch out the letters (and some numbers too!) and place them in a big sensory bin. I didn’t do all of them about 10 for my daughter when she 2.5 year old and more when she was 3. Do more for preschoolers and less for younger little ones.

I then put all the letters into my sensory bin and then I let her choose a letter (or number). I first asked her what letter was it and its sound, then told her to find where it went.

Another way to play

Another version of this activity is to hide the letters around the room or house and have them hunt for the letters before trying to find their match in the puzzle.

Extend the learning

Whenever my daughter found the match for a letter I would review with her the sound it made and then we would think of an animal that started with that sound.

Great indoor activity

This is a great activity to get your little one running around on a rainy day indoors or when you need a quick little prep activity!

ARE YOU GOING TO TRY GIANT ALPHABET PUZZLE WITH YOUR CHILD?