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The Name Game
Knowing the names of things is important to learning about the world. Children learn the names of things mostly from their parents and teachers. One of the first things children can learn is their own name.
What you'll need:
What to do: - Ask your child, "What's your name?" If your child
answers correctly, say, "Yes, that's your name. Your name
is Calvin." If your child doesn't know his or her name, say,
"Your name is Calvin. What's your name?" and repeat it until
your child says it correctly.
- Once your child knows his or her name, you can have fun with it. Look at your child. "What did you say your name? Calvin? I thought your name was Snicklefritz." You can also say, "My name is Mother Goose. Is that my name?"
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Your Story Ending
An important part of reading and listening to stories is learning that they have endings. Sometimes the end of a story is a surprise, and sometimes it is not. Once children become familiar with stories, they can help
create their own ending to a story.
What you'll need: - A story your child does not already know. A pencil and paper.
What to do:
- Read the story to your child. When you are close to
the end of the story, stop reading. Ask your child how he or she would complete the story. Let your child say the
words to you as you write the ending. Then finish reading the story. Talk about how the story's ending and your child's ending for it are different or the same.
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Sounds Around
The sounds of words are very important to reading. One way to help children learn the sounds of words is to introduce them to real sounds in the world around them.
What you'll need:
- Knowledge of the sounds of animals, objects, and the
letters of the alphabet. A picture book of animals, objects,
and letters.
What to do: - Find a picture of a dog. Point to the picture and say, "The
dog says, Woof, woof, woof." Find a picture of a cow.
Say, "The cow says, Moo, moo, moo." Repeat this with pictures of other animals or birds. Then point to an object that makes noise, such as a car or a motorcycle.
- Once your child knows some sounds that animals and
objects make, show your child the sounds for individual
letters. For example, write the letter m on a piece of paper,
and say, "This is the letter m. When we see this letter, we
make the sound, mmmmmmmm. What sound do we say
for this letter? Yes. Mmmmmmmmm."
- As your child learns the sounds associated with some objects and animals, you can introduce more letters.
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Rhyme Time
Children love words that rhyme. Rhyming words are important to reading because they call
children's attention to the sounds inside words.
What you'll need:
What to do:
- Think of words that rhyme. Say two words that
rhyme, such as cat and hat. Then say, "Listen to these two words that
rhyme, cat (pause) hat." Then say, "Now I'm going to say other words that rhyme with cat and hat. Here's another one, rat. Now you tell me another word that rhymes with
cat, hat, and rat (such as fat)."
- Repeat this game with other words that rhyme, such as:
pot, tot, lot, hot
pin, tin, fin, in
tag, rag, sag, bag
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Now About Books
Children first learn to read from books. It is important for children to know how books "work."
What you'll need:
What to do: - Show the book to your child and talk about what a
book is. "I'm going to read this book to you. As you can see,
it has words and pictures in it. Some books have make-believe stories in them. Other books tell us about real life."
- Then show your child that books are made up of words. "I can read this book to you because the words (point to them) tell me what to say. When you read, you say these words out loud or to yourself."
- Then show how books are read. "When we read a book, we start at the front of the book (point to the front) and we read through to the end of the book (thumb through all the pages until you are finished with the book)."
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Stories Come to Life
Reading stories is important, but creating and acting out a story makes it come to life. This activity will
keep children interested as they listen to stories.
What you'll need: - A book or story that is familiar to your child, and room to move about.
What to do: - Select a story that your child knows. Tell your child that you will read the story out loud. As you read, find one word such as HOPPED, and say it in a loud voice. Ask your child to act out the "loud" word when he hears it (by hopping).
- You may then choose words to say loudly that show emotions ("John was SAD"), or words that are nouns ("Bart saw a DOG" or "The LEAF fell to the ground"), or words that show action ("The leaf FELL to the ground").
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Alphabet Picture Book
Knowing the alphabet is a key to successful reading in later years. There are many ways to learn the
alphabet and have fun in the process.
What you'll need: - Magazines, large index cards, a card box, scissors, glue, a marker.
What to do:
- Ask your child to help you cut out magazine pictures of objects with names that start with the various letters of the alphabet (for example, an apple = A). Glue each picture onto a large index card and write on the card the uppercase (capital) letter of the word that describes the picture. Keep the index cards of letters in a card box for your child to look through.
- When your child has learned the uppercase letters, write each uppercase and lowercase letter of the alphabet on an index card.
- Then ask your child to look through magazines to find pictures of objects with names that begin with one of the letters of the alphabet. Let your child cut out the pictures and glue one picture onto each index card. Under each picture, write the word for that object in large letters. Keep the index cards of words in a box for your child to look through.
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Sound Clapping
Listening to sounds in words is important. Knowing where sounds of words begin and end is also important to reading.
What you'll need: - A list of two- or three-syllable words.
What to do:
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I'm Thinking of a Sound
Playing with the sounds of words will help your child listen to sounds and words, and
understand the importance of language.
What you'll need:
What to do: - Say to your child, "I'm thinking of the sound
sssss as in sat. Can you tell me another word that begins with
sssss?" Your child names one word. "Can you tell me
another word that begins with sssss?"
- Repeat this game using different sounds.
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Guess the Rhyme
Children love to guess at words that rhyme.
What you'll need: - A book of nursery rhymes. Books with repeated
phrases or short rhyming poems.
What to do:
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Picture Play
Listening to a story for what happens is an important part of enjoying reading.
What you'll need: - A story that has pictures on each page. A piece of paper to cover the pictures.
What to do:
- Select a good story with colorful pictures. Cover the
picture on the first page and read the page. Stop reading at the
end of the page. Ask your child to tell you what the page
was about. Then ask your child to guess what the picture
will show. Show the picture and talk about it. Then go to
the next page and play "Picture Play" again.
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Ask a Question
You can help your child develop early reading skills by reading stories out loud and asking your child to
think about what is read.
What you'll need:
What to do:
- Have your child select a storybook. Sit so that your
child can see the print and pictures as you read. Read a page of the story, then stop and ask a question. For example, "How do you think the little train felt in this story?" "Why was the elephant sad?" "What do you think the silly monkey will do next?" Encourage your child to talk and relate what you've read to the child's own life. "How are you like the little train?" "Have you ever done anything like what the silly monkey did?"
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Story Smarts and Parts
Do you remember that favorite story you had as a child "Cinderella" or "Jack and the Beanstalk"? Children develop favorites early in their lives and want to hear the same stories over and over again.
What you'll need: - Interesting stories in which it is easy to tell what happens first, next, and last. Fairy tales like Goldilocks and the Three Bears or The Three Little Pigs are good for this purpose
because they have easily identified parts.
What to do: - Read the story. At the end of the story, ask your child what happened at the very beginning of the story. Then ask what happened next, and next, and next. Then ask what happened at the end of the story.
- Praise your child for remembering part of the story, and help your child remember other parts when necessary.
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Preview Time
Use television to learn what your child already knows about a subject and to help your child develop
new knowledge.
What you'll need: - An interesting television program about an animal, a sport, or a place familiar to your child. A piece of paper and a pencil.
What to do:
- Find a program in the television schedule that interests
your child.
- Before you and your child watch the program (suppose it is about elephants), ask your child, "Tell me what you know about elephants."
- Make a list of all the things your child knows about elephants. For example, your child might say, "They are
big. They are gray. They live in the jungle." To which you can say, "That's great. You know a lot about elephants."
- Then tell your child, "When you watch this program, I want you to try to remember the new things you are learning about elephants. When you hear something new, tell me, and I'll write it down."
- After the program, read the list of new things your child learned about the subject (elephants) and add the things your child already knew. "See how much you know about (elephants) now."
- Repeat this routine as often as you can whenever your child is watching an educational program
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