“Won’t my child learn to read in kindergarten?”
That’s the question on many parents’ lips when faced with advice to teach reading skills to their small children. Sure, children will develop their reading ability in kindergarten and throughout the rest of their education, but the truth is that most of the underlying skills they need for full literacy develop way before then. And, sadly, reading instruction in the U.S. fails most kids.
So don’t wait until they go to kindergarten or even preschool to intentionally impart key early literacy skills your children will need to thrive in formal schooling. The great news is that, with the right information, you don’t need lots of time to teach what they need to know—and it can and should be fun! Even some of the simplest things can help your child develop reading skills early on. (For example, see How to Maximize the Benefits of Reading Aloud to Your Kids for some easy tweaks that will make a big difference.)
This is where educational games come in! There are many fun board games that help teach reading skills—without hours of instruction or practice. We’ve narrowed down the list for you to our top five best literacy-building board games for children five and under. So go ahead and get in some laughs and quality time connecting with your little one (or ones), and help them get kindergarten-ready at the same time! Then consider leaving the games available for your child even when you aren’t: More often than not, kids can play with these titles independently or with another child and still benefit from them.
Teach Reading Skills with these Fun Board Games
Tall Tales is a storytelling game recommended for ages three and up. There’s no reading required in this game, but it helps kids build early literacy skills by fostering imagination and important oral language skills. From a young age, most children understand the wonder of hearing a story and love to make up their own. This game allows them to do so. (Related: See our post on How to Use Storytelling to Build Joy, Connection, and Literacy with Kids.)
Sequence Letters is a letter matching game for kids ages four to seven. One letter of the alphabet is on each card in both uppercase and lowercase, and the child playing matches the letter with the beginning sound of a picture. This is a great way for kids to practice sounding out letters and making connections between images and words.
Boggle is already a well-loved game, and now your young kids under five can join the fun by playing Boggle Jr. It’s a great fit for kids three and up who have already begun learning the letters of the alphabet. There are two levels of play so the game can grow with your child. Younger children can play with the letter cubes and practice matching the letter shapes with the picture word cards. And when your little one is ready for more of a challenge, they can play the second level of the game, which creates opportunities to sound out short, simple words.
Bob Books Happy Hats Board Game
This game is designed for beginning readers ages four and up, and is made by the creators of Bob Books, a series featuring sparse illustrations and simple, decodable words. In our household, we’re currently using Bob Books to teach our preschooler early literacy skills—and they’re the same books I learned to read with when I was a preschooler, as well! This game is highly rated by parents and allows the player to create more than 16o words.
Zingo Word Builder is perfect for kids about five years old, or younger children who have already developed early literacy skills and are ready to learn more. This game allows the player to build vocabulary and reading skills by challenging them to create three-letter words. There are two levels of play for this game, which makes it perfect for beginning readers and more skilled readers, as well.
Designed for kids 4 to 9 years old, This goofy game teaches children to read common words as they compete to be the first kangaroo to get some pizza. What’s really nice about this game is that there are three levels with increasingly difficult words. This means the game can grow with your kids, and it also means that if you have multiple children at different reading levels, they can still play together, each with their own personal set of challenges. Another fun aspect is that the players can compete against one another OR you can play a cooperative mode, where everyone works together. The flexibility and fun is really what puts this game on the list. And, after all, shouldn’t reading be fun?
Over recent years, fidget toys, especially pop fidgets, have become incredibly popular, and you’ve probably seen them everywhere! The Fidget Game cleverly combines the fascination of pop fidgets into the practice of learning high-frequency or “sight” words. The game includes word cards for pre-K to 3rd grade, so you can tailor the game to your child’s specific reading level. You can support your little one’s reading journey while having fun with colorful pop fidgets and spending bonding time together. Your child learns to read, and you both get to enjoy the experience.
If you’re familiar with the best-selling game Bananagrams, you’ll love the small-child version, My First Bananagrams. It has lowercase, color-coded tiles that brilliantly adapt it for little ones, promoting early literacy in a playful manner. The game’s simplicity keeps the kindergarten set engaged, fostering vocabulary and spelling skills about as effortlessly as is possible. The vibrant colors and tactile experience enhance the overall enjoyment. It’s a delightful way to bond with your children while witnessing their language skills blossom. Highly recommended for both educational and family entertainment.
Bonus: If your family enjoys playing board games together, check out our tutorial on making your own personalized DIY alphabet board game!
No matter what stage your child is in when it comes to reading skills, using games as a way to help develop early literacy can be really successful for many children (and lots of fun!).
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“No!” “Stop!” “Don’t!” Kids hear these words every day. There are rules for bedtime. There are rules for playgrounds and classrooms. There are rules for how we treat our friends and family. Sometimes you even have to set rules you never thought you’d set, like We don’t lick spiders.
But what about a set of rules for what kids can do? A set of rights that are protected and that they always get. Even if they bite their sister, throw a tantrum in the grocery store, or color on their bedroom walls—again. What would those rules look like? How would your family decide what those would be?
This is how I explain the Bill of Rights to my preschool class. The Bill of Rights promises people in the United States that, no matter what, they are allowed to do certain things or have permission to act in certain ways. And kids love it! The American ideal of protected rights is easily understood by children as young as three and four. So this Fourth of July, I want to show you how to create your very own Kids’ Bill of Rights!
In addition to being a great social-emotional learning experience, this Bill of Rights activity for preschoolers gives children the opportunity to improve their writing. They will be able to practice their pencil grip, sounding out words, and letter formation. It’s also a chance for beginning writers to use a skill called “invented spelling.” Invented spelling is when kids take a stab at writing a word using their emergent knowledge of letters and sounds. For example, a little one might spell people as pepul.
Invented spelling is a natural part of the process for children learning to write and allows even the youngest children to begin expressing themselves in writing. Think of these early efforts as precursors to conventional spelling, not misspellings alone. Let kids express their ideas and grow as readers and writers without the start-and-stop of being corrected along the way.
In this activity, you and your child will think about your values for your home. You’ll be able to discuss what is important to them and why it matters. Let’s get to learning and growing!
Materials:
- Copy of the Bill of Rights (Print it out or bring it up on a computer.)
- Paper
- Pens or Markers
Cost: Free
Step 1: Review the Bill of Rights with your child. Some of the rights are complicated to explain to kids, so gauge what your child and family are comfortable discussing. I always make sure to cover the First Amendment, because children can really connect with those concepts.
Step 2: With your child, discuss what they think should be in their Kids’ Bill of Rights. Remember: These are rights that are protected, not limitations on behavior!
Step 3: Here’s where the writing kicks in! Let your child write out the rights that your family has decided on. You can do this in a number of ways. You can let them trace your writing. You can work together to sound out words and write with guidance. Or you can let them write independently, using invented spelling.
Step 4: Hang your Kids’ Bill of Rights in a place of honor! Now everyone can be reminded of how much you love each other and what you cherish about your family.
As children learn to define their needs, wants, and emotions, it is important that they also learn how to communicate them. By creating a Kids’ Bill of Rights, that communication will be both verbal and written. Children come up with really beautiful and equally hilarious choices. I’ve had responses from “We all have the right to be treated nicely” to “Everyone is always allowed to act like a dinosaur.” (Though you might have to turn down a few “We can have chocolate for breakfast every day” suggestions, as well.)
*Photos by Chrysta Naron.
Juneteenth marks the day that word of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached enslaved black people in Texas, two years and six months after President Abraham Lincoln ordered it. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in the state and announced the terribly belated news that “all persons held as slaves” within areas of the Confederacy “are, and henceforward shall be free.” Texas declared Juneteenth a statewide holiday in 1980 and several other states have followed suit over time. In 2021, the work of activists like Opal Lee was rewarded when President Joe Biden designated it a federal holiday.
To remember and celebrate the freedom the day commemorates, check out our list of inspiring and informative Juneteenth picture books to read with your children. Since many of the books were published prior to 2021, it’s important to share with your little ones that Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. Additionally, note that Juneteenth is one of many milestones on a long road to freedom for black people in America. The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to those enslaved in Confederate states, and many people remained in bondage after Juneteenth. The 13th amendment, which ended slavery in the nation, was not ratified until December 6, 1865—three years after Lincoln’s Proclamation and half a year after Juneteenth.
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It’s time for the Fourth of July. A day of flags, picnics, parades, fireworks, and, now, books! After all, what better way to introduce your child to the significance of this holiday and what it means to you than through the written word?
This list of picture books for the Fourth of July gives families the opportunity to explore different ways people love America and a variety of American experiences. Granted, we’re certified book lovers, but we think these books will light up bedtime as much as fireworks!
Teaching our children about the Fourth of July is important. It’s so much more than just a single day when a document was signed. It is the neighborhoods we create, the schools we attend, the relationships we build, and the love we share. This year, may your family celebrate those beautiful parts of America with a good book, and hopefully a slice of apple pie.
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The idea of recorded stories is not a recent one. In fact, in 1877 Thomas Edison recorded what we could think of as the first partial audiobook on his new invention, the phonograph—a machine he dreamed would help bring storytelling into every home. His choice of material? One for the toddlers: the nursery rhyme Mary Had a Little Lamb.
But it wasn’t until more recent decades and technological advances that audio stories truly took off, gradually with books on tape and MP3s, then exponentially with smart devices and speakers. Today, their remarkable popularity shows no signs of waning, and the kids’ segment of the audiobook market is the segment predicted to grow most rapidly over the coming years.
And with good reason: Parents value kids’ audio stories for keeping children entertained, helping them fall asleep at night or naptime, and helping active little ones settle down and sit still for a spell. Plus—while audiobooks shouldn’t replace hard copies or shared reading between parents and children—their value in boosting literacy and helping kids build a love of reading is increasingly recognized.
The benefits of using kids’ audio stories to support literacy
According to a literature review exploring their role in supporting children’s literacy, audiobooks can boost key skills, such as:
- Language comprehension
- Word recognition
- Vocabulary
- Pronunciation
They’re also rewarding in other literacy-relevant areas, sparking a love of stories and motivation to read, enhancing wellbeing, and boosting emotional intelligence and imagination.
While most of the research to date has focused on the benefits of audiobooks for older children, even very young readers and listeners should be able to learn from them. So, if you haven’t tried using them with your toddler, and want to complement your reading activities, there’s no better time than now to press play. Here’s how to use them for maximum benefit.
How to Use Toddler Audio Stories at Home and Beyond
One of the appeals of audiobooks is how easily you can incorporate them into everyday family life and routines. Yes, they’re handy for car journeys or longer trips. But you can also build them into mealtimes, bath times, and bedtimes, not to mention use them as a (much-needed) alternative to screen time.
Parents and caregivers can even still take part in story time while performing other tasks by listening in with their child. Preparing dinner with a squirmy kid around? Set them up with an audiobook in the kitchen with you. It shouldn’t replace shared reading from a physical book, which is crucial for building print awareness, but you can still engage with your child around the story, asking and answering questions or chatting about the plot—which is also critically important.
For parents with toddlers going through a less enthusiastic phase when it comes to reading, or who may be having a hard time sitting to look at books, audiobooks can also be a useful way to keep up their exposure to stories and children’s literature.
From trying and testing audio stories with my own daughter, I found it can take a little time for a toddler to get interested in them. After all, toddlers aren’t yet reading and still rely heavily on the pictures in a book to engage them and help them follow a story. So, try starting out with stories they know and love already, ideally paired with a book they can look at and follow while listening.
Also seek out short audiobooks that won’t tax a limited attention span. Stories with musical elements, sound effects or child narration can be big hits. Another fun idea is to give them toy figures or storytelling puppets, so they have an activity to occupy busy hands, help hold their focus, and kindle their imagination as they listen.
Where to Find Audio Stories for Toddlers
If you’re ready to try audiobooks with your toddler, the quality of many of today’s choices is impressive. Take a look at the winners and finalists of the Audio Publishers Association Audie Awards or the yearly list of notable children’s recordings from the Association for Library Service to Children to get started with some great titles.
Here are tips for where to find engaging audiobook titles and audio stories:
- Check out your local public library for read-along book and CD sets, or audiobooks pre-loaded onto MP3 players.
- Check your library’s website for audiobooks to download onto your smart device. Other online libraries may also allow you to download digital content online.
- When shopping for books, keep a lookout for publishers that include an audiobook—CD or QR code—as part of their offering. Or look for titles that have been recorded as audio stories since publication. You can read the story with your toddler first, knowing that you can introduce the audiobook version once they’re more familiar with it.
- Browse audiobook apps or apps with audio story content—music streaming services often include stories. There are numerous podcasts with read-alouds or original stories for kids.
- Consider borrowing or investing in an interactive kids’ story player that allows children to choose and play audiobooks or stream storytelling radio shows. These can be a fantastic alternative to letting toddlers listen to audiobooks on a tablet or phone, where the temptation to stray into videos or games is all too present.
- Get creative and record your own audio stories. You could read your toddler’s favorite, so they can hear it over and over again, or invent a new tale. This is a lovely way for grandparents and relatives to get involved, too!
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By Chrysta Naron
Scavenger hunts are a really dynamic way to get your children involved in the learning process. You can use them to teach math, vocabulary, science, colors, and reading! One of my favorite scavenger hunts to do with kids is an alphabet scavenger hunt. It’s free, fun, takes no prep work, and you can do it anywhere. How can you beat that? What’s more, it needs little to no adaptation for children with limited mobility.
With this particular scavenger hunt, your child will choose a letter and you’ll be searching and listening for that sound. This teaches children phonics as well as what we call phonemic awareness. Phonics is the skill of matching a letter to a sound: For instance, knowing S makes the sounds /s/. Phonemic awareness is being able to hear individual letter sounds within a word. That means being aware that the word sat starts with the sound /s/.
But why are phonics and phonemic awareness important? Both of these skills are important building blocks to becoming a reader. They are the major skills that allow children to hear a word, pick out each sound, and correlate the sound to the letters that make up that word—which is what much of early reading and writing is about!
Read on for teacher-approved and parent-tested tips on how to get the most out of an alphabet scavenger hunt with your young child.
Step 1: Pick out a “letter of the day” with your child. Review the most common sound that letter makes. For example, O as in octopus rather than oval, or C as in cat rather than cent.
Step 2: With your child, create a list of 5 to 10 things that begin with that sound and that you may encounter during your day. Your list can include anything from objects to colors to names, etc. You can even include the lowercase and uppercase versions of the letter itself, so that you and your child can find it on signs, books, or packaging.
Allow your child to illustrate the list, help you write, or write the list independently. This will strengthen their familiarity with the letter and its sound. Plus, it’s fun! Put a checkbox next to each item, so you can mark it off when you find it.
Tip: I like to make sure to include a freebie spot too, in case we come across an unexpected item during our day.
For example, for the letter P we might make a list like this:
- pink
- pillow
- pan
- park
- Peter
- P
- p
- P word freebie
Step 3: Now, the scavenger hunt has begun! Take your list with you throughout the day and ask your child to keep an eye out for the items on the list. Where will you find all these items? At home? At school? At the dentist? You never know where a surprise might pop up.
Bonus: If you feel comfortable letting your child use a camera or borrow your camera phone, I find that taking pictures can be a fun addition. Whenever your child spots the letter or something on the list, have them snap a pic! When you get home, you can sit and look at all the things you found. It gives ample time for bonding and helps deepen their understanding of the letter sound.
How do you keep letter learning fun in your home? Let us know in the comments.
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I love glitter. Like seriously, l LOVE glitter. In my classroom there’s almost always a reason to add a little sparkle to our learning experiences. And because kids love glitter, too, I’ve developed a great Fourth of July reading activity that incorporates loads of it. We’re going to learn our letters with the sparkliest way of celebrating the Fourth—fireworks!
For an extra learning boost (and extra fun), we’ll add in my favorite Fourth of July book, Apple Pie 4th of July by Janet S. Wong. This book features a young girl, the children of Chinese immigrants. She spends the day working in her parents’ store instead of at the parade, and eating noodles instead of apple pie. Feeling like her parents don’t understand what it means to be American and to celebrate the Fourth, she becomes downcast. But soon enough she learns that there’s no right way to be American, and not one way to celebrate, either.
In this fun Fourth of July firework craft for kids, we’re going to focus on reading what are called consonant-vowel-consonant words, or CVC words. CVC words are words like mad or big. They’re easy to sound out for early readers, and children are often familiar with them. CVC words are a big part of learning to read, and this craft gives young readers a fun way to interact with them.
Materials:
- Glitter
- Kids paint (one color or multiple)
- Plate(s) (to hold the paint)
- Paper towel / toilet paper tube(s)
- Scissors
- Marker
- Paper
Cost: $5-$10 for glitter and paint (or free if you have them on hand!)
Kick off your Fourth of July firework craft with story time: Read Apple Pie 4th of July together (or any Fourth of July book that mentions fireworks!). This is a great opportunity to talk about the ways your family celebrates and ways that other families might celebrate. You can also take a moment at the end to admire the firework illustrations. They’ll make great inspiration for our craft!
Step 1: Write out a selection of around eight CVC words on a piece of paper. Choose some words that use the same letters, to challenge your child to pick the right word among multiple similar options. For example, fin and fun or cat and cut. See the picture for more examples.
Step 2: Cut slits into the ends of the toilet paper tube, sort of like the petals of a flower, then bend the slits outwards, so they splay open. Now you have your classic fireworks shape! Use more than one tube if you’d like to use multiple colors of paint.
Step 3: Squeeze out some paint onto your plate (or plates if you’re using more than one color). I typically choose red or blue, but fireworks come in almost every color, so feel free to be as playful as you like!
Step 4: Have your child press the toilet paper tube into the paint. Make sure to cover as much of the slits in paint as possible. Squish it around!
Step 5: Call out words that are written on the paper. Have your child take the time to sound out the words and find the right one. Then they can stamp the word with their firework!
Step 6: When they’ve found all the words, it’s time to pour on the glitter. You can use a little or a lot! (I tend to vote for a lot.) The paint acts as glue and keeps the glitter in place.
Then tilt the paper and let the excess glitter slide off. Ta da! You’ve got a star-spangled spelling lesson!
What I love about this activity (aside from the glitter) is that it scales really well. Whether you’re doing it with one child, in a small group, or with a whole party, you can do this craft! For children who might struggle with art due to sensory processing issues, this allows them to make art without having to get the paint on themselves.
Adaptation for younger and older kids: You can change the target from CVC words to letters of the alphabet for younger children or high-frequency words for more experienced readers.
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*Photos by Chrysta Naron.
Summertime is almost here! Whether for your family that means hitting the road, getting outside, or lounging at home, we have some tips to keep your little ones learning at the same time. Hint: The key to summer learning is the same as the key to all learning with preschoolers—keep it fun. With that in mind, enjoy this roundup of fun summer learning games, activities, and more for preschoolers and young elementary school children.
Mix Summer Learning into Your Preschooler’s Outside Time
Getting your child kindergarten-ready (like helping your child succeed once they’re in school) requires a year-round commitment. But this definitely does not mean dark days drilling at a desk while your child pines for some play time. With just a little creativity, you can fit lots of letter learning and reading skills into outdoor play.
Try this easy DIY letter sounds soccer game, or check out our post about alphabet hopscotch and letter scavenger hunts for more inspiration. A nature walk story time is also a fun and special way to build literacy while enjoying time outside together, and has the added benefit that time in green spaces may help active kids focus.
Play Board Games and Card Games for Fun Letter Learning
So many board games include letter learning and simple reading skills. Sitting down to play any game that involves recognizing letters or words is excellent for building some learning fun into your summer. Check out our list of good educational board games to get you started.
You can even help your preschooler make your family’s own alphabet board game to maximize the learning and customize your fun. If your little one loves card games, you’ll also want to try this teacher-created rhyming version of Go Fish or our fun letter-learning adaptation of the favorite kids’ card game of War.
Do Summer Learning Crafts with Your Preschooler
Young kids love crafts! Whether your child is more into drawing, gluing, cutting, or building, there are endless super fun activities you can do with them that will also teach them crucial pre-reading skills. Our literacy activities and book crafts sections include loads of ideas.
For a start, check out our post on using playdough to teach letters. This fortune-teller craft is a perennial kid favorite, too, and crafty kids will like making word-family flowers as well. You can also help your child make an adorable little DIY accordion book to fill with an illustrated story of their own invention.
Take Summer Learning on the Road
If you’re going to travel this summer, you’ll need a plan to keep your child entertained in the car or plane. And guess what? It’s a great time to sneak in some more educational fun. From 20 Questions to Mad Libs, lots of favorite travel games can pack a powerful learning punch. Read our tips for educational road trip games for ideas and advice.
You can also help your child make a DIY activity book to keep them busy (and writing!) on the go. And we have some tutorials to make super cute and easy pencil cases to take with you, too—like this popular recycled pencil case and the convenient duct-tape pencil bag. We also recommend delving into the power of storytelling to build oral language skills for when you’re behind the wheel or otherwise unable to engage your child with books and paper. Audiobooks for kids can be a lifesaver on long drives, too, and add in more story time to your travel.
Read, Read, and Read Some More
And, of course, don’t forget to read and read some more, all summer long! Our post on how to keep kids reading over summer vacation is full of teacher-recommended, parent-tested tips. You’ll also want to scroll through our kids’ books section to find curated picture book lists on a whole range of themes. And our literacy activities section has a number of fun story time games and crafts paired with fabulous preschool reads.
In particular, don’t miss our lists of awesome alphabet books and precious picture books about puppies. Just make sure you check out our science-backed advice for maximizing the benefits of reading out loud to your kids for some simple hacks you can use to get more learning out of story time.
