Any time that we can give new life to an old toy, hours of excitement and fun are sure to follow! Our shopping cart toy has recently gone from a pretend toy to a baby walker. To inspire some new fun and learning within my preschooler, we found a way to practice beginning sounds by shopping for the alphabet! This alphabet game will take practicing beginning sounds on a fun scavenger hunt throughout your home.

Beginning Sound Alphabet Shopping

What You’ll Need to Play

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A set of alphabet letters
A shopping cart
A box to pull the letters out of

How to Play

First, I grabbed an empty tissue box and put the letters inside. We used the same bath time foam alphabet set as we did in our Name Recognition Scramble. Each time my little one would pull a letter out, she would identify it and then say its sound. As soon as we reviewed, she excitedly took off with her cart to “shop” for something in the house that shared the same beginning sound.

When Q was selected as the first letter for our game, I was impressed with her way of thinking when she came back with Elsa in her cart. She backed up her claim that she found Q by announcing, “Mommy, it’s a queen!” Her determination quickly set in as it was only a short time later that the cart was brimming at the top with all of her beginning sound treasures.

Our alphabet hunt took her all throughout the house, as she searched the playroom, kitchen, bedrooms, and even the pantry! We found things such as an apple for A, a train for T, an orange for O, some silk flowers for F, a stuffed animal rabbit for R, and a necklace for N.

Although we couldn’t fill the entire cart with the alphabet, it gave us good reason to empty the cart and start the game again! And as usual, her sister grabbed the cart and practiced her (almost) newfound walking skills.

For an added challenge, you may focus on isolating the ending sounds when shopping for the alphabet. It will definitely extend the life of this toy and help kids practice letter sounds in a fun way!

Related Activity: Superhero Initial Sound Matching

For even more ways to get kids moving while learning the alphabet visit our gross motor alphabet activities collection.

More Alphabet Activities

Try these excellent resources for even more hands-on alphabet activities.

More Hands-on Play with ABCs and 123s

If you're looking for more hands-on ways to practice the alphabet and beginning math skills with kids, check out our co-authored book ABCs and 123s. Inside you'll find over 40 kid-tested learning activities that teach beginning literacy and math in a playful way.

Learn more about ABCs and 123s