Letter Game for
Budding Photographers

Whenever I get my camera out of my bag to take a photo, I am mobbed by my budding photographers begging me to let them borrow it to take their own photos. I decided to capitalise on this obsession to get behind the lens by incorporating a camera into this fun letter game which helps younger children learn alphabet letters and older children practice their writing skills.

The second prop which really made this one of our more popular letter games was a clipboard. A game which uses a camera AND a clipboard … well, you just can't go wrong! The beauty of this game is that you can adapt it to children of most ages.

Ask younger children, who still need help learning their alphabet letters, to find an object beginning with each letter. You can then write down the name of the object, while they take a picture of it. For extra practice, print out small-scale pictures of each photo your child takes and ask them to stick each picture next to the appropriate word.

If your child is starting to write, they could write the first letter of the object and you can fill in the rest. Or you can write the word in pencil and they can trace over the top. If you think 26 letters would be too much for your child, play this letter game with just ten at a time.

Older children can practice writing and spelling by writing the name of the object on their own. Or, for more of a challenge, have fun with alliteration by asking them to write silly phrases where all the words start with the target letter, such as a 'dark, dainty dog'.

This is how I did this activity with my six-year-old son:

1. Since we didn't already have a clipboard, we made our own from a stiff piece of card. Using the lid of an old filing box, I cut up the card so that it was bigger than the paper I wanted it to hold and then taped around the cut edges. I clipped a large binder clip on the top and there you have it - our very own (somewhat basic) clipboard. Of course, a clipboard isn't essential for this letter game - but it adds to the fun!

2. I clipped a few pieces of blank paper onto the clipboard and then asked my child to write the alphabet letters down the left hand side of the paper, continuing on the next sheet when he ran out of room. He decided to write both uppercase and lowercase letters, enthused by the thought of writing on the new clipboard!

3. Then I asked my son to take the camera and search around the house and garden looking for objects beginning with each letter of the alphabet. I said he should take a picture of each object and then write the name of the object down on the paper next to the corresponding letter. And off he went…

He loved having the camera and clipboard - I think it really spiced up what is actually a pretty basic game. Writing is still quite a struggle for him, however, so after a dozen objects he wanted a break. However, he was really keen to get back to it and finish it later, so clearly he enjoyed himself!

A next step could be to print out the photos in a small size and ask your child to stick them next to the appropriate word (requiring them to decipher their own invented spelling!)

Go ahead and furnish your child with a camera and clipboard and watch them have fun with this letter game!

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