This “Kaboom!” preschool alphabet game is so simple, costs almost nothing to make, and it can be adapted to learn practically anything.
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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!?
Good morning! I am super excited for you that you will be celebrating your 100th post on Wednesday… Congrats!
This game is such a great idea! I will be adding it to my fall activities for my little ones. Thank you for sharing!
Cheers,
Lisa at Dreams and Caffeine
{http://www.dreamsandcaffeine.com}
Thanks for the support, Lisa. Enjoy the game…simple is best in my book!
This was one of my favorite games to play in my classroom – you can even do it with math (numbers, addition/subtraction/multiplication/division, etc.) and vocab words for other subjects, too! I’m glad you reminded me of it, I’ll have to go root around in my classroom bins and dig it out!
Thanks, Lisa. As my little guys get older, I’m excited to try a bunch of different variations on the game. It really can be used for anything!
What a great idea! The possibilities are endless with this! I think I’ll have to give this a try with my almost 4 year old! Thanks for linking up!!!
The versatility is what I like best suit this game. We’ve still just used it for alphabet related skills, but I’m looking forward to introducing math with it. Way more fun than worksheets and flash cards!
Thanks, Meghan. If you think of any other versions I didn’t include that would be good, let me know!
I love to play a slightly different version of the game, since my preschool room has 15 kiddos most days. I use alphabet cards mixed with 6 turkey cards. When a card is drawn, say the letter name. If you draw a turkey, you have to stand up, flap your wings, and gobble. I’ve thought about switching it out seasonally (pumpkins – make a silly face, snowflake – be a storm) or just adding other animal cards.
I love your turkey version! I’m definitely going to try that with my own kids. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for these ideas!! I have just made a version with capital and lowercase letters, as well as sight words for my students. I hope they love this game/activity.
I’m so glad you found this and felt it was helpful! I only have the upper case letters done, but I’m teaching Little Man sight words now and want to make a version with them. Enjoy!
Great game idea Meg!
I. Love. This. I have a little guy learning his letters but also 3 older girls who would live this with some of the other variations you mentioned. I see a trip to dollar tree in the very near future. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Megan, for sharing this wonderful activity. I cannot wait to do it with my preschoolers. Congratulations on your upcoming 100th post on Wednesday. Looking forward to other shared ideas.
Thanks, Nancy! I hope your preschoolers enjoy it!
Stumbled on this game while searching for ideas to help my preschoolers learn their ABCs and sight words.
I used to play a similar game when I was a TA in a special education classroom and my kiddos LOVED this. They would seriously play the whole day if they could! Such a great idea thank you for the reminder!
I absolutely LOVE this! This year we have decided to homeschool our 7th grader and our 4-year-old. My littlest little is going to go bananas for this game! She does not turn 5 until the end of October but she is incredibly eager to learn so we are starting kindergarten for her this year. She already knows all the letter sounds but this is going to be a great way to practice. And I love the idea to have the added challenge of saying a word!! Thank you so much for sharing such a great tool!!!
I’m so glad you like it!