Z has been writing uppercase letters for a while now; she seems to have learned most of the letters through writing them, and is learning the sounds the letters make. But she still needs help consistently identifying of letters that are already written, and isn't really at the point where she's sounding out words.

Tactile letters are printed with a textural component that can be traced with the finger. They can help beginning readers bridge the connection between the physical movement of forming letters and the letter shapes themselves.

You can buy tactile letters, but making them yourself is more fun, and it's easy. Just write the letter neatly in glue and then let your child sprinkle sand on to the paper or cardstock, gently tipping the paper to tap off loose sand and leave a textural letter. It's even fine if you do all this yourself - unlike most preschool craft projects, the end result is the goal here, more than the process, but your child is likely to be very interested in helping, and this can help generate additional interest in using the finished letters.

The Write Start has a great suggestion to orient the letter on the side of the card that corresponds with the dominant hand. This encourages the child to hold the card with their non-dominant hand leaving the dominant hand free to trace the letters. Since Z is right-handed, we put the letters on the right side of the card.

This seems like just what Z could use right now as she begins developing reading skills.

It's a very easy project. We used blank 4x6 index cards and Jeremiah and I wrote the letters with glue, one on each card. We passed the cards to Z, who sprinkled either sand or glitter on them. Once we'd run through upper and lowercase letters, we did cards for the numbers 1-20.




Shake off the excess and let them dry.


When we started, our sand was too wet and clumpy, so Jeremiah spread a thin layer of sand on a cookie sheet and stuck in the oven at about 200 degrees. It took longer to dry than we anticipated, but came out powdery and dry. While it was "baking," we grabbed some glitter and powered through our project. When the sand dried, we made some number letters - about halfway through, Z decided she wanted to add glitter to the sand, so we did.

Z really enjoyed this project and Jeremiah and I were both surprised at how many letters she could readily identify. We anticipate using these letters to help her with her writing; sometimes she forgets how to write less commonly-used letters, and these will provide both a visual and tactile cue for her. We may also be able to use them with some simple spelling exercises.


When choosing the size of cards or paper to use, think about how you'd like to store them. Our 4x6 cards fit nicely into one of the taller cigar boxes we are always collecting from our local liquor store (Jeremiah has some fantasies about making cigar box guitars for himself and Z one day) but 3x5 cards would fit in any standard-sized recipe box!

HABA's Number Dwarves game teaches counting, shapes, and numbers without letting on to kids that they're learning. Players traverse a game board with small wooden gnomes with cute felt beards, hoping to land on "treasure" spaces that will allow them to take a glass bead. The game allows for many different types and levels of play, with challenges including counting, physical challenges (Z learned how to do jumping jacks), and shape identification by touch. The most fascinating thing about this game is the creative freedom children are given in counting, which is typically presented as a fairly rote task. More on that in a minute - it's what gives this game its critical thinking dimension and what makes it a great game.

As with most HABA games, the quality of the board, the cards and the pieces is outstanding.


Dwarves making their way around the game board. The game ends when all the gold treasures are distributed rather than when a finish line is reached.


On each turn, you choose a card. If you get a card with an object on it, you identify what on that card you want to count and get to move that number of spaces. Here's where the critical thinking comes in. If you have three spaces to move to get to a treasure spot, you could count the candles in this card; if you had two spots to move, you could count the hearts. There are any number of different things on each card that can be counted, demanding creativity, multiple "counts" for each turn, and observation about what there is that can be counted, and what might yield higher or lower results. This aspect of the game is just starting to make sense to our four-year-old, and it will keep older kids engaged with this game, too. A card featuring a pair of pants, for example, can have the number of legs, pockets, or pairs counted; a jack-o'-lantern, below, can inspire a count of eyes, mouths, holes, reddish stripes, stems, colors... get the idea?

Alternate card types (a fairy or an "imp") challenge you to draw a shape by touch from a bag or perform a physical action. The number of sides on the shapes corresponds with the number of spaces that you are allowed to move forward, again allowing for random drawing for beginner counters or calculated planning for advanced counters. Actions are performed in ways that bear a relationship to numbers as well.



The game ends when all of the treasure is spoken for. The winner is identified by the person who has the most treasures, but we typically just celebrate our accomplishments on the journey and our time spent playing the game as a family, with who won still a secondary consideration.

This is, hands-down, the best number game that we've played - it incorporates creativity, physical activity, touch, critical thinking and movement very well. At $33, we consider this game a great investment in learning, and one that is built to last.