Phonics Boards - Happy Toddler Playtime

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Another fun learning activity using squeeze pouch lids (or caps) and the twist on and off spouts. These cap twist-on and off activities are great at combining fine motor skills with almost anything else! Here I combine it with phonics and learning and practicing letter sounds! So I hope you are saving yours! More fun activities with these tools are coming soon!

Here’s what you’ll need to get started:

Supplies:

(This list contains affiliate links for your convenience)

Squeeze pouch lids
Squeeze pouch twist on/off spouts
Glue Gun
Cardboard
Box Cutter
Circle Dot Labels
Sharpie
Post-its

Set up:

There is a bit of prep with this activity but once you have them made you will have them as long as you need them. Ok so here we go!

Preparing Boards

Using the box cutters cut 4-5 rectangular shaped pieces out of cardboard.

You will have needed to collect and prepare the squeeze pouch lids and twist on/off spouts in advance. Check out How to Collect and Prep Squeeze Pouch Twist On/Off Spouts for details on how to get them ready for activities.

Plug in your glue gun. Once hot, add glue to the bottom of the spouts and glue them on to the cardboard, leaving enough space in-between each for little turning hands. Press firmly and hold for 30 seconds. Repeat this until you have 4-5 boards complete with at least 3 spouts.

Preparing Lids

For this phonics activity we focused on the ‘a’ and ‘u’ sounds. You can amend the words and sounds you want to focus on as you see fit. Choose 4-5 words using the sound desired and write each letter of the word on a circle dot label. Then stick the label on to the lids. 0.75 inch labels should fit most lids perfectly.

You are almost there!

Preparing Post-its

Depending on the level of your child you may either want to skip this part or not. On the post-it write the full word you want your child to spell and sound out. Stick this on to the board to help them make the words. For older children you can just have them make the words with out hints.

Phonics Sounds

Set up it key to enticing your little one to play with any new activity. Spread all those lovely lids with letter stickers on one side and line up the boards on the other side. Place the post-its with the words underneath.

Point to the first letter of the first word and ask your child what it is and then as them to find that letter and twist it on to the spouts. After they have secured it ask them what sound it makes. If twisting on is not too challenging for them you can ask them what sound it makes while they are twisting.

This part was such a hit with my 3 year old that I had to remind her to say the letter sound as she was twisting!

We worked our way through all the letters of the word. Once we finished one word I had her sound out each letter. She isn’t quite able to put all the sounds together so I helped her ‘read’ the word.

Once the activity is complete don’t throw away those boards! Save them and redo this great fine motor skill activity again with different words, improving their skills each time!