Pirate Alphabet Hunt

With two boys at home, a pirate sensory bin was very appropriate. My boys love pirates, and were jumping up and down in excitement as I was getting this sensory bin ready. I love all the learning aspects involved here - scooping and pouring, letter recognition, fine motor skills placing the letters on the magnetic tray, creative play, sensory, counting (how many coins did you find?), and a color review (what color is the J?). If your children are interested in pirates, this is a MUST DO activity! Thank you to Mommas Fun World for the inspiration in this amazing idea!

Supplies:
  • Large plastic bin 
  • Cornmeal - we used three boxes to fill our bin.
  • Magnetic Letter Set
  • Magnetic Cookie Sheet
  • Dollar Store Items: Treasure Chest, Necklaces, Jewels, Toy Shovels, Boat, Skeleton, Pirate Vest, Compass, Telescope (you don't need all of these, just ideas for you to choose from)
  • Items From Home: Toy Pirates, Gold Coins, Printable Pirate Hats

Instructions:

1) Fill a large plastic bin with three boxes of cornstarch. Add magnetic letters and any pirate themed items you find at the dollar store or have at home.

2) Use a dry erase marker to write letters A-Z on a magnetic cookie sheet.

3) Watch your kids explore. My boys especially enjoyed scooping the cornmeal into their treasure chests and burying the skeleton in the cornmeal. They played for some time before I brought out the cookie sheet to review letters.

4) Sing this song as you find each letter:

(tune: are you sleeping?)

Digging for treasures,
Digging for treasures,
One by one.
One by one.
Found letter (blank)
Found letter (blank)
Now, let's have more fun
Have more fun.


A few pictures:







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