Does your family have a road trip or long flight planned? Are you nervous that your children might be slipping a little too easily into their summer routines and might be forgetting reading and writing? Creating an Alpha-box can be a fun way for children to play “I-spy” while keeping up on reading and writing skills.

Create boxes for each letter of the alphabet on an 8.5x11 piece of white paper. (Make sure your child has something sturdy to write on…..a book underneath or a clipboard will work.) Some of the letters can be grouped together in 1 box 9(X, Y and Z). You will have a 4 x 6 grid of boxes with the letter of the alphabet at the top of each box.

Play “I-Spy” with your child.  Make it a game to fill all the letter boxes with a word.  For example, if you are driving in the car, and you pass a dairy farm with cows, your child will write COW under the C box.  If your child is just learning to write, encourage sounding-out words and writing a letter for each sound.  For these emerging writers…resist spelling each word, letter by letter.  Children are building their letter/sound association and need to build confidence. 

 Younger children can play the Alpha-box game with a modified letter box grid. Choosing the letters: T, S, M,  and P, for example, can be easier for younger children to match to objects they see.  Keep in mind that it might be more appropriate for your child to draw, more than write.

Summer trips make wonderful family memories……squeezing a little reading and writing into these trips is a great way to learn, while having fun with the family.

Happy trails!