The write start - Jennifer Hallissy 2010

Mystery Letters
Guidelines for the Activities

“WRITING” letters on kids’ backs is another one of those activities that help them visualize letter formation without the help of their visual sense. (Unless your child is a Cirque du Soleil wannabe, it’s pretty much impossible for them to peek at what you’re writing back there.) It’s therefore an ideal activity for facilitating that internal awareness of letter formation. In my house, we have also found it to be an ideal activity for bedtime, when the lights are turned down anyway and the soft touch and quiet nature of this activity invites both concentration and calm.

MATERIALS

∗ None! Just a quiet spot.

HOW-TO

Simply trace a letter of the alphabet on your child’s back and wait to see if he or she can guess the letter. If your child can’t identify the letter, try it one or two more times before revealing the mystery letter. Start with capital letters first, because they have simpler shapes. When your child has mastered all the capitals, you can introduce lowercase letters.

Variations

For Scribblers: When you’re first starting out, just alternate between writing two distinctly different letters (like X and O) and see whether your children can differentiate one from the other.

For Spellers: Try writing a few familiar letters on their backs (such as the letters in their names) and see if they can identify them.

For Storytellers: Work your way up to including all the letters of the alphabet and finally words and little messages, such as “sweet dreams” and “I love you” (using a pat on the back to indicate a space between words).

For Scholars: This is a fun and motivating way for Scholars to review spelling or vocabulary words. It’s especially effective at bedtime, as the mind tends to rehearse and retain the information it processed right before it went to sleep.