The Letter Monster: Director Donna Sanderson's Favorite Cap Activity

Director and Co-founder of the Cap Kits Program Donna Sanderson says her favorite cap kits game is the Letter Monster. Used to improve literacy, a child can 'feed the monster' with caps after saying or spelling words that begin with the letters that are on the caps. The game promotes letter recognition, sound practice (D makes a -duh sound) and word formation. Kids get so excited when they can feed the monster! Be sure to add some special effects for when the monster 'eats' or is full.

Materials:

• A box or mini trashcan

• Construction paper

• Glue

• Scissors

• Markers

• A cap kit of course! Use the letters

Take an old shoe box or one of those mini trashcans available at Five Below or Dollar Tree, and transform it into a monster!

Cover the box or trashcan with construction paper, color of your choice. Cut out eyes, if using a paper box, or draw them onto the construction paper on the lid of the bin. Add a nose to the edge of the lid and teeth to the front of the bin. Get creative with what your monster looks like. Does it have hair? Earrings? Maybe colorful eyebrows? Anything goes!

Once your monster is born, put all the lettered caps into a bag and shake it up. Have your child or student choose a cap one at a time. First, ask them what letter it is. Then, ask them what that letter sounds like. Lastly, ask them to share a word that begins with that letter. Once they work through these questions, they get to feed the monster! Ask your child more questions if you want to, such as if they can spell the word they thought of and if they can use that word in a sentence. This exercise is to help them see the connection between letters and words.