Do a Dot Activities

I've seen Do a Dot markers on several blogs and there were lots of great learning activities you can do with them but  I never could bring myself to spend the $15 plus shipping on them.   I ended up just using bingo markers that I found at Meijers instead.  The bingo markers worked okay but often times left a mess on my table and my kids.  Yesterday I was at Home Goods and I stumbled upon some Do a Dots!  I had to get them and I'm glad I did!  This morning the kids had a race to see who could make different letters the fastest.  For my three year old I wrote the letter on his paper for him to trace and my five year old did it on his own.  This worked great and seemed to keep the game even.  Once they tired of that my five year old made his own pictures while my youngest wanted to make some numbers.  After making numbers I wrote the alphabet randomly on a sheet of paper and then called out different letters for him to find a put a dot on.  He really liked this game and it helped him with his letter recognition.  I love that the markers didn't leak through the paper like the bingo markers always did and that they are washable when they get on the kids.  Overall I would recommend getting the Do a Dots if you have the money but if not be on the lookout for a good deal on some.