Menu

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About
    • Developmental Domains of Early Childhood
      • Language Development
      • Cognitive Development
      • Motor Development
      • Social/Emotional Development
      • Self-Help/Adaptive Development
      • Spiritual and Moral Development
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure/Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
  • Thematic Units
  • Concepts
    • Alphabet
    • Number Recognition
    • Color Activities For Toddlers
    • Shapes
    • Reading
    • Science Experiments
    • Sunday School Activities
  • Holidays
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • For Parents
    • Gifts
    • DIY Ideas
    • Recipes
    • Photography Tips
    • A Lesson Learned
    • Tools
      • Infant Percentile Calculator
      • Children’s Percentile Calculator
      • Children’s BMI Calculator
  • Shop

I Can Teach My Child!

Activities and resources for parents of young children

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • Blog
  • Birth-12 Months
  • Fun Activities For 1 to 2 Years Old
  • Home
  • 2-3 Years
  • 3-5 Years
  • 6+ Years

December 28, 2010 by Jenae - 15 Comments
This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.

Flashlight Spot-and-Tell

One of Big Brother’s favorite Christmas presents this year was a Thomas the Train flashlight he got from my parents. He has used it nonstop for the last 2 days. We finally had to take it away on Christmas Night because he wouldn’t go to sleep!
I had the stomach flu yesterday and now Big Brother has it…so we are trying to find creative ways to stay sane and still take it easy.
Due to his new found love of flashlights, I thought this little game would be fun!
Here’s what you’ll need:  a flashlight, painter’s tape, and an alphabet sign (I used my alphabet from my classroom–you could also use numbers, colors, or shapes).

1. Hang up the alphabet using the painter’s tape (so it doesn’t take off the paint on your wall) in a room that can be pretty well darkened.

2. Arm your little one with a flashlight!

3. Get started! First have your child point to a letter on the wall with the flashlight and tell you what the letter name is. Next, add a new spin on the game by calling out a letter and having your child use the flashlight to point to it.

This game was a HUGE hit. We’ll be doing this one again for sure…I’d also like to hang up some number cards and try it with that.

Related Posts

  • Letter Recognition using Cheez-Its

    I just happened to see these Scrabble Cheez-Its on my way down the cracker aisle…

  • Alphabet Train Game

    Matching letters is a great way to help children recognize letters in the alphabet. This…

  • Alphabet Sorting

    I haven't really pushed Little Brother to learn his letters yet. Big Brother had already…

  • Outdoor Alphabet Track

      It is finally feeling like spring around here so we decided to have some fun outside!…

  • Alphabet Squish

      This Alphabet Squish activity was actually a spin-off of our Puffy Planets. Little Brother…

  • Alphabet Hop and Pop

      This post was inspired by some packaging material that came in one of the…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Danielle says

    December 28, 2010 at 2:31 pm

    This is a great idea! My kids love to play with flashlights and a great game for bad weather days and mommy sick days.

    Reply
  2. [email protected] Connections for Kids says

    December 28, 2010 at 2:54 pm

    I love this idea! You could also do a hide and seek variation. Mom describes an item and child looks for it using the flashlight…"I'm thinking of something that we use to tell time".

    Reply
  3. Brandy says

    December 28, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    I used to do this in my classroom (we only had one small window…so it was pretty dark in there) and I've been doing it with my little ones every since they began their fascinations with flashlights. We use this poem to go along with the game: "Flashlight, flashlight what do you see? Find a letter just for me." My son just moves the flashlight around until the end of the poem and whatever letter it lands on is the one he identifies. For my daughter, I used to replace "letter" in the poem for "word" and she would find words on the word wall.

    Reply
  4. Brandy says

    December 28, 2010 at 4:50 pm

    Oops…I wrote "every" up there on the second line of my previous comment when I meant "ever." It drives me batty when I make mistakes like that…people are probably thinking, "Good thing she's not in a classroom anymore!" LOL!

    Reply
  5. Michelle says

    December 29, 2010 at 11:02 am

    Awesome idea! :) Love it!

    Reply
  6. Hannah says

    February 19, 2011 at 12:55 am

    What a great idea! All the rooms in our little townhouse have windows (which is wonderful!), but I was thinking this would be a fun evening activity for winter nights when it gets dark so early! I'm sure we will enjoy this, although the days are getting longer now.

    Reply
  7. cat says

    June 4, 2012 at 10:32 pm

    oh love it need a alaphabet thing now something like yours Need to encourage my 3 yr old with learning the alaphabet and numbers try to get him to do it but he is a little behind in this I think for his age and he is so stubborn too!!
    Love it so going to do this thanks for the great inexpensive idea!

    Reply
  8. Tyler says

    June 19, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    We’ve played a similar game when we do backyard camping in our yard. I’ll have the kids try to locate certain objects in the dark or if I want to get really creative, I’ll place specific objects out in the yard before the kids come out and I’ll have a list for them to check off once they’ve found the objects with their flashlights. They’re also amazed when they see our cat’s eyes glowing when the light hits them just right as they’re running through the yard.

    Reply
  9. Rosea Webs says

    March 13, 2016 at 3:57 am

    Very interesting and unique idea i think. I will must try.
    My elder son just moves the flashlight around until the end of the poem and whatever letter it lands on is the one he identifies. For my younger son, I used to replace “letter” in the poem for “word” and he would find words on the word wall.

    Reply
  10. Andrew says

    May 27, 2016 at 9:55 am

    Great idea!!! I love the A-Z Letter Recognition ideas on your site. I have a question for you. How much time do you spend on each letter? I will be babysitting a preschool aged boy this fall, but only two days per week. Thanks for your help and advice!

    Reply
    • Jenae says

      May 31, 2016 at 1:50 pm

      Just as long as their attention span allows!

      Reply
  11. Kathy says

    June 14, 2016 at 2:19 am

    This is a really a great idea. I will try to make one for my son. Have a great time !

    Reply
  12. hotmail signin says

    August 1, 2016 at 9:58 pm

    This is very nice one and gives depth information. Thanks and keep posting! Thanks again for the blog article . Much thanks again. Great.

    Reply
  13. ronnie says

    November 13, 2016 at 10:54 am

    Very unique idea. I am going to apply with my child this.

    Reply
  14. Jennifer Forever says

    November 29, 2016 at 8:56 pm

    This was a huge hit as you said it was for you! I would have never thought of such a unique but fun game for my two boys! I think it has something to do with being in the dark and giving them the flashlight which gives them control of the light and makes it even more fun than just doing typical letter and word learning. Love it and will tell my friends who will also love it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Might Also Love

Baseball Card Sleeve Seed Planter
Categories: 3-5 years, Flowers and Plants, STEM
Home Learning Tool Kit to use During Coronavirus Pandemic
How to Learn at Home During a Pandemic
Categories: 2-3 years, 3-5 years, School Age
Activities for Kids on a Sick Day
Activities for Kids on Sick Days
Categories: 3-5 years, Helpful Hints for Parents

Primary Sidebar

Kindergarten Readiness Teach Your Child to Read ABC Printable Scripture Cards Indoor Toddler Activiites

Looking for something specific?

Footer

Note on Copyright

Feel free to use ideas at your home, school or anywhere else you learn and play. If you wish to share any posts or photographs from this site on your blog or website, please make sure to abide by the following copyright guidelines: -Use Only 1 Photo -Maximum of 1-2 sentence description -Include a link to the ORIGINAL post Please do not repost/duplicate more than 1-2 sentences of the tutorial or distribute printed content without written permission from the original author. Please do not use ANY of the photographs on this website on Instagram.
Privacy
© 2021 I Can Teach My Child, LLC. All Rights Reserved. · Site Design and Hosting by SERVOUSLY
The owner and writer of this blog accepts no liability. Readers following instructions and suggestions made by the owner and writers are responsible for their own safety and the safety of minors in their care. All activities require adult supervision at all times. Children under 3 should not participate in any activities that involve small pieces.
Back to Top
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

  • About
    ▼
    • Developmental Domains of Early Childhood
      ▼
      • Language Development
      • Cognitive Development
      • Motor Development
      • Social/Emotional Development
      • Self-Help/Adaptive Development
      • Spiritual and Moral Development
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure/Disclaimer
    • Terms of Use
  • Thematic Units
  • Concepts
    ▼
    • Alphabet
    • Number Recognition
    • Color Activities For Toddlers
    • Shapes
    • Reading
    • Science Experiments
    • Sunday School Activities
  • Holidays
    ▼
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • For Parents
    ▼
    • Gifts
    • DIY Ideas
    • Recipes
    • Photography Tips
    • A Lesson Learned
    • Tools
      ▼
      • Infant Percentile Calculator
      • Children’s Percentile Calculator
      • Children’s BMI Calculator
  • Shop
  • Birth-12 Months
  • 1 – 2 Years
  • 2-3 Years
  • 3-5 Years
  • 6+ Years
  • Blog