This “Kaboom!” preschool alphabet game is so simple, costs almost nothing to make, and it can be adapted to learn practically anything.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you buy something through a link on my site, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you. See my disclosure to learn more.
Summer is winding down, and while my kids (4 & 2) are too young to be heading back to school full time, we are gearing up for mommy school. We got super lazy over the summer and our school routine got a little lost in the midst of all the morning walks to the park, afternoon trips to splash pads, and play dates with friends. I’m okay with that because I think play is an important form of learning for little ones, but I’m looking forward to getting things running a little more predictably again.
I really like predictable.
As I was reorganizing my preschool stuff last week, I found one of my favorite preschool alphabet games that somehow got buried in a drawer for a few months. I pulled it out to play with Little Man, and he quickly exclaimed, “Mom, I LOVE this game!”
The game is called KABOOM! It’s so simple, costs almost nothing to make, and it can be adapted to learn practically ANYTHING.
(Update: Since our original alphabet version of Kaboom, we’ve also used it to learn sight words and math skills. Years later, it’s still a hit every time I pull it out!)
Little Man loves it, and we have played it over and over again. That’s a winner of an activity to me. So I’m sharing it with you today, so you can win mom-of-the-year too! (Or something like that…)
Preschool Alphabet Game: Kaboom!
Materials Needed:
- popsicle sticks/craft sticks (they’re easy to find on Amazon or at the dollar store)
- fine point permanent marker
- container to hold the popsicle sticks (small bucket, cup, empty Parmesan cheese bottle, etc.)
Set Up:
- Write each of the 26 letters of the alphabet on a different popsicle stick.
- Write the word “Kaboom!” on 6 additional popsicle sticks.
- Put all the popsicle sticks in a container, with the letters pointing down into the bucket so you can’t see them.
How to Play:
- Players take turns picking a popsicle stick out of the bucket and reading the letter on it. (Sometimes we’ll also add in the challenge of saying the sound the letter makes or a word that starts with the letter.)
- Each player collects as many popsicle sticks as possible before drawing a “Kaboom!” stick.
- If a player draws a “Kaboom!” stick, he or she returns all his/her sticks to the bucket.
- The winner is the player with the most sticks when time runs out (you can set a timer for as long or short as you want).
Variations:
The possibilities are endless with this game. We have only used it for practicing the alphabet, but as Little Man gets older I’m excited to try other variations:
- sight words
- rhyming words (what rhymes with…?)
- syllables (how many syllables are in…?)
- basic math facts
- telling time
- adding money
Are you ready to Kaboom!?
Sounds wonderful and if you chose to go for the sound the letter makes as a first choice as opposed to a variation your child will benefit exponentially. If you draw a c (sound) and said c for cat it would take your Little Man so much closer to reading than saying the letter name c and having to come up with a word that begins with that letter. Small incremental steps make learning more joyful. Little Man knows the sound because he hears it already. Learning letter names is like taking a detour. Just a suggestion. If you chose to go that route magical things could happen.