Bubble Wrap Letter Recognition Activity

Working on letter recognition should be fun and largely based on a child’s interest in preschool, what I mean by that is if children are interested in letters, which many are at this age, teachers should actively fund fun ways to capitalize on that without forcing it at too young an age. This letter recognition activity does just that. This activity used the novelty of bubble wrap to attract and invite little ones to engage. The wonderful thing about this activity is that you can adjust it to any child or group. For younger children having their first initial ( often the first letter they recognize) instead of the whole alphabet is a great option, and for older children who are starting to spell words, you can use this as more of a word search.

Prep

Gather your materials. You will need some big bubble wrap, sharpies ( various colors are optional) and something to attach the bubble wrap to a wall. I used push pins at my house, but please be aware that push pins are a choking hazard so in a classroom or with children who are still potentially placing items in their mouths you’ll want to use something else.

Start by writing the letters on the back of the bubble wrap. Remember you will need to write the letters backward so when you flip it over they are the right way around. I used various colors because with my own kids I called out colors and letters because they had both mastered letter recognition. This was more of a word search challenge for them. Do what works for your students.

Attach the bubble wrap to the wall and go for it.

Ways To Use This Activity

1. Simply let the children explore. Let them pop the bubbles and simply be exposed to the letters.
2. Ask the child to pop the letters that they know and call them out as they go. This is a good way of playfully assessing which letters they know.
3. Ask the children to pop the letters you or another classmate calls out.
4. Next, ask the children to pop all of “Their letter” aka their first initial.
5. Ask the children to pop the letter and color combination you call out, for example; ” Pink a.”
6. With school-age children call out a word and have them spell them by popping the letters in sequence.

If you let the children explore with it on their own, I bet you will learn five new ways of using this.

Having this letter recognition activity out at free choice is a great option. Children interested in letters will have a chance to explore. Children who are not interested or ready to pay attention to letters yet can swing by pop a few bubbles and move on to something they are interested in.

Need some great alphabet books for your classroom too? I think these books are a great way to get those kids who are not into letters interested without pushing. Here is our list of 50 great alphabet books.