My 6 year old has been off sick today and we’ve been playing hangman to pass the time and keep her mind off her poorly tummy. Do you remember playing this as a child? If not you can read a guide on the rules here. It’s a good game to practice the alphabet and spelling.  Some tips for playing with children:

1. Obviously use words that they know. The idea to start with is to get their brain working and thinking of possible words – you’re not trying to beat them!

2. Write out the alphabet on the paper to help them out. If they get stuck help them to go through the alphabet trying out each letter for a possible match.

3. We identified the vowels by using a dot rather than a dash for them. For example ‘CAT’ would be _ . _ rather than _ _ _

4. If they’re really stuck and getting frustrated, give them a clue (e.g. this word might say ‘meow’). You’re aiming for a enjoyable game to get them playing with letters – not giving up because it’s too hard and no  fun.

5. You might want to re-think using a hangman picture – you could use a face instead.

6. Take turns guessing the word and let them catch you out sometimes.