Hunting for the alphabet can make learning letters and their sounds much more fun. Here you’ll find creative ways to teach the alphabet that young kids will surely love. Many can be easily adapted to use for uppercase and lowercase letters or their sounds. I definitely plan on using some of these ideas with my 2-year-old! I hope you enjoy them as well.
1. Outdoor Printable Scavenger Hunt
Print this out and head outdoors. You can put it in a plastic sleeve so it’s reusable. That way you can challenge kids to look for different things each time without wasting paper. A clipboard may be helpful as well!
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2. Indoor Alphabet Hunt
This hunt comes in two versions, one blank scavenger hunt and the other has the words printed, so you can use whichever one works best for your child or students. Indoor activities are great for the colder months or a rainy day and this one can be used for any theme you’d like.
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3. Letter Recognition for Preschoolers
This one is great for younger kids. Simply print out the letter sheets, cut apart the letters and hide them. Then give the kids the sheet with the letters in circles for them to color in or cross off as they find each letter. I like that it has the uppercase and lowercase letters together as well.
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4. Grocery Store Letter Hunt
Grocery shopping with kids is a challenge, so giving them something like this is helpful. For younger kids, have them check off the letters when they find something that begins with each letter, and for older kids, I would have them find letter sounds. My biggest fear is my kids wandering around to complete this, so some rules would be put in place first.
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5. Fun Outdoor Scavenger Hunt
This hunt for kids can be done outdoors or inside. Simply write the alphabet out on butcher paper, tell kids to find objects that match, and place them on the letter they go with. Indoor recess comes to mind here and this is something that can be done again and again. Make it theme-based to make it more challenging.
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6. Alphabet Photo Scavenger Hunt
Looking for a family scavenger hunt? Give this one a try! It’s bound to lead to some laughs, especially if your kids are as creative as the ones in the example. Younger kids may need help taking pictures and adults will have to set up the collage, which I think will make kids want to look back at what they did, again and again.
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7. Beginning Sounds Hunt
When kids are learning initial letter sounds, they need all the practice they can get. When the activity is fun, they are more receptive and the skill sticks more quickly. This hunt will not disappoint, while they learn their sounds.
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8. Museum Alphabet Scavenger Hunt
While museums can be boring for kids, and they aren’t the first place many people think about taking them, it’s important to expose kids to a variety of places. This scavenger hunt can make things more engaging when a museum isn’t geared toward kids. If your child is able to, have them copy the word down. If not, they can just cross off the letter.
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9. Zoo Scavenger Hunt
Going to the zoo is usually fun, but if you go often, then you may need something to get those kids excited about it again. Reuse this each time and challenge them to find different things each visit. We have a small zoo nearby that my son isn’t so excited by anymore, so I’m going to try this with him next time we go.
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10. Alphabet Walk
I think this one is my favorite idea. It requires a small amount of prep and is easy for kids to use. Using a paper plate makes this outdoor scavenger hunt unique. Each letter is on a tab, so as kids see something that begins with it, they fold it back.
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11. Ice Letter Hunt
Ever get those big tubs of foam letters and wonder what to do with them all? Freeze them in the colored water and have some fun! It’s also a great way to help kids cool off on a hot summer day.
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12. Alphabet Bug Hunt
What a cute bug-themed scavenger hunt. It does require a bit of prep since you have to print out and laminate the bugs before hiding them. Then give kids a spray bottle and have them go find each letter. They’ll love squirting those bugs with “bug spray”.
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13. Glow in the Dark Letter Hunt
Glow in the dark fun, perfect for indoors or out. The creator used glow-in-the-dark beads glued to milk jug caps, but there are other ways to accomplish this. I might use glow-in-the-dark paint personally.
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14. Alphabet and Color Hunt
I love that this combines two different kinds of hunts and asks kids to look for multiple items for each letter. It will keep them busy for a long time! Turn it into a game and see who finds the most!
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15. Hatching Letters Alphabet Hunt
This egg-themed hunt provides gross motor skills with matching and letter recognition. It is the perfect indoor scavenger hunt idea for Easter as well.
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16. Christmas Letter Hunts
Holiday-themed activities always go over well. With these hunts for preschoolers, they are looking for one letter at a time, both lowercase and uppercase.
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17. Outdoor Letter Hunt
This is an alternative outdoor hunt that kids will love. I think it would be good to use at summer camp, since some of the objects on this outdoor scavenger hunt idea may not be in your backyard or neighborhood.
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18. Summer Outdoor Letter Hunt
Find these summer-themed items. The beach or playground would be the best place to find them. Cover them in plastic so they don’t get dirty or blow away.
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19. Pirate Letter Hunt
Get your children keen for a swashbuckling day of learning with this pirate letter hunt! You’ll kick off the fun by hiding the letter cards around your classroom. Once your little explorers have searched for and found their letters, you’ll prompt them to say each letter out loud before tracing them out on their pirate-themed treasure map.
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20. Uppercase/lowercase Letter Hunt
Here’s a quick, easy one for kids to learn to match uppercase and lowercase letters. We have a set of magnetic uppercase letters, so I would use those and then hide lowercase letters for my kids to match.
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