“Same Sounds” Scavenger Hunt

Make it a B-B-Beautiful Day

Increase your child’s awareness of beginning word sounds with this easy activity using items found around the home! As an example we’ll be using the letter “b” but any letter will work (though some may be more challenging) allowing you to do this activity over and over again!

Materials:

• laundry basket or large box
• household objects that begin with “b”: book, boot, bear, banana, ball, etc.

Activity:

Give your child a laundry basket or big box to explore. Play with saying the word a few times: buh-buh-basket! Encourage them to say the word with you, listening as you emphasize the beginning sound.

Say—“I can think of another word that starts with “buh”— book!” Buh-buh-book…

Go with your child to find a book and have them drop it in the basket. Emphasize the “buh” sound

–buh-buh-book!– and encourage them to say it, too.

Suggest a scavenger hunt, exploring the house for other things that begin with “buh” to put in the basket/box.

Once items are in the basket, take them out and talk about them using their name each time. Keep the items in the basket for other extension activities during in the day. As you go through the day, talk about other words that begin with “buh”. If possible add them to the basket.

Try incorporating these items and concepts throughout the day tying back to the “buh” sound!

objects: beads, bear, bell, banana, bubbles, ball, book, barrette, button, balloon, box, bag, boot, belt, bucket, butterfly, battery, bandage and “blended consonants”: brush, bracelet, braille, brick, branch

scents: banana, blueberry, bread

sounds: bird (chirping), bell (ringing), buzz, bang, bark, beep, boom

actions: banging, blowing, blowing bubbles, breaking, bending, brailling, brushing, bouncing

textures/tactile features: bumpy, bouncy, bent, big, bubbly

Extensions:

Same Day Extension:

• Record your child saying the names of the objects in the basket/box and have them tell about your Buh-Buh-Beautiful Day scavenger hunt.
• Make up a story using the things in the basket. Act it out using the objects in the basket as props. Record and share with others.
• Sing or listen to songs that have words beginning with “buh” or make up tongue twisters and word plays using the “buh” sound.

Next day: Start a new scavenger hunt exploring for objects with other beginning sounds. Use the basket or another container– a large sack (putting in soap, sock), a big purse (putting in pencil, paper).

Extension 2: After the child has had a lot of experience with beginning sounds, extend the game by using two containers of objects that the child has already collected. Dump out all the objects and make a game of sorting them by beginning sound, putting them back in the correct container.

Extension 3: After a lot of experience with beginnings sounds, add a familiar object to the container that does not begin with the same sound. If the child does not notice the difference in beginning sound, talk about it and emphasize the difference. Keep it playful.

Extension 4: After even more experience, give the child familiar objects (different from those they have already collected). Choose objects that begin with two different sounds, such as /k/ or a hard c sound and /m/. Ask them to sort the objects by beginning sound. Remember to keep it game-like and stop when they have had enough. At first, play these games choosing objects that begin with a single sound. Avoid objects that begin with two consonants (tr in truck for the t container, or sh in shoe for the s container).

For more resources please check out our #AtHomeWithAPH resource list for free and accessible activities, tips, webinars, and more from APH, our partners, and the field at large. Have a free and accessible resource you would like us to include? Email us at communications@aph.org to tell us about it!