Fun Phonics/Spelling Activity for Little Ones

Holden will not be 5 until after Christmas, but I'm teaching him to read with Saxon Phonics K this school year.  I'm pleased that his reading is coming right along!  His Caterpillar Word Wall is growing by leaps and bounds.
 
 

Learning to read naturally lends itself to learning to spell.  So in this morning's phonics lesson, it had him practice spelling some of the words he has learned to read using a game called Spelling Jump.  This was a lot of fun for Holden!  Instead of writing letters on sheets of paper and laying them on the floor, I remembered I had a foam alphabet puzzle mat that I could use.  So I took it apart and used only the letters we needed. 

I read a word to him, had him sound it out and identify the letters that spelled the word, and then he got to jump onto those letters in the right order to spell out the word.  He had so much fun with this activity!  I got to thinking that this would be a fun, active way to practice any spelling words for slightly older children, as well.  Anything to get them out of a chair and actively involved in practice!  I was ready to toss the puzzle mat, but it has officially been rescued for school so we can do this fun activity again and again.