My kids have all loved activities where they have to go on a hunt to find what they are looking for. I used this love of finding things to inspire the creation of these activities for them to practice alphabet and number recognition.
These seek and find mats provide the perfect set up for students to practice letter and number recognition in a way that is fun, hands-on, and engaging. I will show you just a few of the activities that can be done with these mats and cards, as well as share how to get a free set (the birthday ones!) at the bottom of this post!
FIND AND COVER
One activity that is fun for students is the find and cover method. Students will use a mat and its corresponding cards to hunt for each letter, then they will cover that mat with an object, like mini erasers or bingo chips. Any small manipulative will work for this activity, and I always tried to pair something that matched whatever theme we were learning about at that particular time.
Another find and cover activity, one my current preschooler currently loves, is using her magnetic letters to match to the mats. We use a baking tray to keep the magnets from sliding around on the mat while she is matching them.
FIND AND DOT
The find and dot activity is very similar to the find and cover, but here, you use a dot marker or bingo dabber, to mark each letter or number as you turn over each card. My kids love using dot markers, so this activity was always a win for them.
FIND AND TRACE
There are several find and trace activities that we do with these mats. One is to create a write and wipe activity. The page is laminated, and students will use a dry erase marker to trace each letter they find and when they are done, they can erase the page and do it again.
Another activity is a write the room activity. Here, you hide the letter or number cards around the room and students will look for the letters (or numbers) then trace or color the number on their own mat. This activity allows students to get up and move about the room as they complete their mat.
As you can see, these mats offer a wide variety of activities for students to get a ton of practice with recognizing and matching letters and numbers. They are extremely versatile, and that fact means you can use them over and over with different activities to keep students engaged with learning.
AS PROMISED! -- You made it this far, and now you want to know how to get your free copy of these seek and find mats to use with your kids! All you need to do is to click THIS LINK, fill in your email, and the mats and cards will be sent directly to your inbox! Simply open the email, click the download image or link and it's all yours!
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