Ps and Qs
Telling apart the letters children reverse most — p, q, b and d
How it plays
The screen splits into patches, each one labelled with a letter. Letters drift about; your child drags each one into the patch it belongs to. When every letter is home, the level is won and the next one starts — a little gentler, in fact, because the drifting slows every five levels.
What it's for
Telling apart the letters children reverse most — p, q, b and d. It adapts as your child plays: after a few rounds that go well it steps up a little, and after a couple of hard ones it quietly steps back. The level number only ever goes up. You can also set it up on the first screen: “How fast they wander”, “How many of each”, “Keep them where I put them”.
There is no score to lose and no way to fail. A wrong move is met with a gentle nudge, and a level ends when it's won.
Away from the screen: Letter bodies
About two minutes, with things most homes have.
- Stand up together and make a b with your bodies: one arm straight up for the stick, the other curved in front of your tummy for the round bit.
- Now turn round so the round bit is on the other side. What letter is it now? (d)
- Try p and q by pointing your stick arm down to the ground.
Three questions to ask while they play
- Which way is the round part facing: towards the stick's left, or its right?
- Where does the stick go on a p? Up to the sky, or down into the dirt?
- Can you trace that letter in the air with your finger?
Play together
Things to say or ask
- Which way is its tummy facing?
- Let's say its sound together before you sort it.
- That one's tricky. Turn your head and look again.
Taking turns on one device: Take a letter each. Before you sort yours, say its sound out loud; the other player checks.
Talk-about cards: a question a day for a week, for the car or the dinner table. Print them, or read them from your phone.
If they find it hard
On the first screen, turn "How many of each" down to 1 and "How fast they wander" down, or tick "Keep them where I put them". Or try A Shape in its Place first: the same sorting, with shapes that can't be flipped.
A sheet to print
One A4 page, in black and white or colour.
What it practises
- Telling look-alike letters apart. Knowing b from d, and p from q: the letters children flip most.
AC9EFLY11 (English, Foundation); EYLF 5.4 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0) - Knowing the letters. Recognising each letter and knowing its name.
AC9EFLY11 (English, Foundation); EYLF 5.4 (Early Years Learning Framework V2.0)
The codes are from the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0 (for children from birth to five) and the Australian Curriculum v9 (Foundation to Year 2). Each links to the official wording. Every skill, and the games for it.
What it costs, and what we collect
Nothing, and nothing. There is no account, no advertising and no tracking of any kind. Which games have been played is remembered on your own device and is never sent anywhere. The full version is here, and it's short.
Where it lives
Ps and Qs lives in The Rustly Bush — letters and phonics. It works on a phone, a tablet or a classroom screen, and once it's been opened it keeps working with no signal at all.
Updated