Alphabet Acorns

Alphabet Acorns Activity Set - A fun set of alphabet acorns with letter-specific objects.

 

Alphabet Acorns by Learning Resources is Fun with a capital F. This set contains 26 2-piece acorns, top and bottom, and an object for each acorn that starts with the particular letter on the acorn. For instance there is an apple for the A acorn, a boat for the B, an octopus for the O, etc. The objects fit inside the acorn (with the top on) and most of them are free standing, and so are the acorns. 

Printed on the front of each acorn is a capital letter and printed under the acorn top is the lower case version of that letter. The top of the acorn is the same color as the letters printed on the acorn parts and the object inside. The letters are printed on, not stickers, and some of them can be a little hard to see because the brown background is darker (see purple letters in the image below).

All pieces are plastic and it may be a little difficult for some to hang onto the acorn with fingers only while pulling off the lid because the plastic is very slick and the acorn tapers down toward the bottom. Adjusting the way I held the acorn, so it was in my hand not just my fingers, helped a lot. The lids fit on the acorns ok. They are not loose but they are not real tight either.

The packaging is an annoyance for me. The opening on the front of the box is just that, an opening. There is a white plastic base that the acorns fit snugly into and then a clear, plastic formed piece that goes over the top to keep everything in place. If you have time during therapy to snap everything back into place you will be fine. You could even make that a part of your plan. But when it is not part of my plan, I will put things into the box and arrange them when I get home. You can't do that here because of the big hole on the front. I may tape a piece of plastic over the front of the box so I can leave them loose in the box without them falling out. However, if you want to start a session with the lids already on, to save time you may be better off putting them back into the insert.

An enclosed activity sheet offers these ideas:

• Free Exploration - Just play with the pieces. Stack them, open and close, put things in, take things out, etc.
• ABC Lineup - Line them up in order. Sing the ABC song as you go.
• Beginning Letters - Pick up a random acorn. Say the letter, say the name of the object stressing the letter.
• Alphabet Cleanup - Take out all pieces and open the acorns. Ask the individual to match the tops and the object to the correct bottoms.
• Find the Vowels - Isolate the vowel acorns and teach with them. They are all the same color.
• Stack & Match - Make simple 3 or 4 letter words by stacking the apples, without the lids. Point to each letter as you verbally spell and say the word.

If the individual recognizes that the object and acorn color matches, he will only have to recognize the needed letter from four or five options, instead of 26. This will greatly increase his chances of getting it right if he is guessing. Just a thought.

To see other fall-themed games, click here.

Try this: 

• Use as a two-handed activity even if the individual cannot identify the letters. Just assemble any three-piece acorn (top, bottom, toy) if concentrating on two-handed activities, without spelling, having to know the alphabet or recognizing colors.
• Assemble three-piece acorns, based only on color for those who can't identify letters.
• Spell words by lining them up instead of stacking. 
• Separate out the letters necessary to spell a word so the individual will not have to search through them all. Place a card with the written letter on the tabletop and let the individual line them up in that order. Practice several times, spelling out loud as you work, then take away the card and spell.
• Place four or five letters near the individual and see how many words he can make from those letters.
• Skip the toy inside, just match each capital letter bottom to its lower case letter top.
• Skip the acorns, just play with the objects. Place one in the palm and ask the individual to orient it in-hand and stand it on the table. Or, place all the pieces on their sides on the table top and ask the individual to pick them up one at a time and orient them in-hand for placement. Sort them by color as you go, or make a pattern such as blue purple blue purple, etc.
• Line up the acorns in ABC order and present the individual with one object. Talk about the object and what letter it starts with. Ask the individual to find that letter acorn and place it inside. If the individual needs help, cue them to look at only the acorns of the same color as the item. Start with fewer options if 26 is too many at first.
• Play with the acorn tops only. Line them up in (lower case) ABC order.
• Come up with an adjective to describe each object and put the object in that letter acorn, such as T for twinkling star or W for wet umbrella. Can you manage to match each item to an acorn letter?
• Work on visual discrimination, visual form constancy, spatial relations, figure ground, eye-hand coordination, alphabet recognition, color recognition, spelling, manual dexterity, bilateral coordination, executive functioning, process skills, play and leisure exploration and participation
  
  In the box: 26 acorn bottoms, 26 acorn tops, 26 objects
   

Blokus Junior

Use the game mats to teach this game to beginners.

I've already blogged about the original Blokus game, so now it's time for Blokus Junior. This game has the same type (but smaller) board, similar pieces and plays the same as the original Blokus, but has something that the original game does not have - the addition of game mats for single player games designed to teach the game to beginners.  

All the pieces are plastic and the grid on the game board is raised so the pieces don't move around. The board is a 14 X 14 square grid, measures approximately 10" x 10" and has two squares which each have one circle in them. Those are the two starting places for each game. Each player will get 24 pieces of 12 different shapes, each piece is made up of smaller squares.

Before playing with an opponent, use the game mats to teach newbies how to play. The game mats are printed front and back, so 10 puzzles altogether that increase in difficulty as you go. Simply choose a mat and gather the green pieces that are shown in the bottom left hand corner. These are the pieces you will use to complete the puzzle. Following the Blokus rule of play (each piece played must touch another like-colored piece, but only in the corner(s), play the green pieces so that they connect the green pieces already printed on the mat. No need to set up the board, the games pieces can be placed directly on the game mats. Work through the 10 puzzles and then challenge an opponent.

Object:

Play as many pieces as you can.

Set up:

Players choose a color and take those pieces. Place the board between the players.

Play:

Each player will place one piece on one of the squares with a circle. Then players take turns putting down one piece at a time, making sure each piece played touches a like-colored piece on the board, but only at the corner(s). If a player cannot play a piece, he must skip that turn. The game ends when either all the pieces have been played or no player can place another piece. Players now count the squares that make up each piece they have left (that was not played). Player with the fewest squares is the winner.

Try this:

• Play with the pieces without playing a game to start. Let the player see how they fit on the board and how they touch in the corners.
• Play a game on one of the game mats as the individual watches. Talk out loud to teach the strategy for playing as you go. Then take the pieces off and let the individual solve.
• Turn pieces in-hand as you orient for placement.
• Look at the shapes of the pieces your opponent has left and try to block spaces that he will need.
• Play you biggest pieces first, there may not be room for them later as the board fills up.
• Use the game mats as pattern cards and set up the board, without playing a game, for those who could not complete a game.
• Work on spatial relations, visual closure, visual discrimination, visualization, manual dexterity, in-hand manipulation, process skills, executive functioning skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation 

In the box: Game board, 48 games pieces, 5 double-sided game mats

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.