The Reading "Game"

When kiddos first begin to notice the printed word all around them, it is a GREAT time to tap into their natural curiosity and begin to name the letters for them to learn. Making it into a game makes it that much more fun and appealing :)

When the kiddos ask about signs or symbols, challenge them to tell YOU what it means. Follow their lead to gauge interest and start with letters that are part of their world - letters they see every day and ask about! "What does that say?"

Point out letters casually - and make the primary sound the letter makes, as well as naming the letters. This connects sounds to letters and sparks more connections and interest. 

Play games with their beginning name letters and then words that are important to them, like Mom or Dad. When the sound/letter has more meaning to them, they will likely be more interested. Interest leads to retaining information, as well.

Call attention to words in your everyday life .... Muffin! That sounds like mom at the beginning ... mom, muffin, .... what else?

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Then, over time:

Make a word collector ... Draw boxes on a big sheet of paper or make a notebook. Add drawings or clippings from magazines with pictures of words that start with different beginning sounds.... label them and repeat them in groups, mom, muffin, mop, mountain. 

We had fun making matching cards for beginning sounds, using magazines and index cards - got in a little cutting and gluing practice, too! Car and candy are a match for beginning sounds, so are bed and bathroom! These were easy to find in brochures that came in the mail!

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Keep the format loose and don't try to make perfect letters at first - there's time! Make sure when you do, that you are teaching them the right way - make your letters from the top ... pull down from the top to make tall or other letters (b, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, r, p, t, etc.) start with a letter c to make others (c, a, o, d, g, q). Making letters this way helps them later on, when they are learning how to write cursive.

Remember, have fun!

 

Remote Learning: Look for Sight Words All Around!

Part of learning to read is to quickly recognize some words - the words we call "sight words." Each grade level has an expected list, and each class does things a little differently, but there are lots of small, simple words your child will begin to recognize, especially with fun ways to practice them :)

One resource that is available to you at home is the use of what we call "environmental print." It's the print that you see on packaging, newspapers, magazines, signs, etc. Before you throw away your recyclables, I have a fun "game" for you to play at home :)

Show your child the box or paper, and see if they can find any words that stand out, either alone or as part of (a chunk of) another word .... let's call it a WORD HUNT! Once you've found something, cut it out! I found all these words on my Raisin Bran Crunch box this morning, before I recycled the rest  :)

For another step, you could tape or glue these words onto index cards, or cut up cardboard (use the flip side of the box!) and you have brand new sight word cards! If you find matching pairs, you could do WORD MATCH! I found all of these - I know there are some matching words in this pile!

SILLY SENTENCES is the next game ... arrange the words in sentence lines to try to make sentences. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they are just silly!! You might have to make some additional people, place or thing (noun) cards or action (verb) cards to form some complete sentences. Let your child draw pictures and help them sound out the corresponding words, so then they can use these when they have sentences to write for assignments.

Most of all, they will get used to looking for these words in the environment, tuning into literacy all around, and having fun with it!