Four-year-olds love all sorts of games. This is one reason that word play is such a powerful teaching tool for preschoolers. We can teach little ones all about segmenting and blending sounds within words long before they learn to read. Having this knowledge now will benefit your child when she begins to read and write.
- puppet with a mouth that opens (could be store-bought or handmade)
- if you do the easier version of this activity, you will need to find visual representations (objects or pictures) of the words you use.
Step 1: Invite your child to play a guessing game with you. Introduce your puppet (you may want to give it a name), and explain that you want your child to help figure out what word the puppet is trying to say. Choose a word with more than one syllable and pretend to whisper it into the puppet’s ear.
Step 2: Tell your child that the puppet is going to say the word slowly, one part at a time, and that you want your child to guess the word. Have the puppet open its mouth once for each syllable in the word.For example, if you chose the word flower, you would open the puppet’s mouth two times, as you say the word.
Step 3: You can play this game for as long as your child is interested. Use a variety of words with varying numbers of syllables.
Step 1: To make it easier, provide visual support. Before you begin, gather objects or pictures that have more than one syllable.
Step 2: Invite your child to play a guessing game with you. Introduce your puppet and explain that you want your child to help figure out what word the puppet is trying to say. Place the objects or pictures on the floor in front of your child. Say the name of one of the objects and whisper the secret word into the puppet’s ear.
Step 3: Tell your child that the puppet is going to say the word slowly, one part at a time, and that you want your child to guess the word and choose the object. Have the puppet open its mouth once for each syllable in the word.For example, if you chose the word flower, you would open the puppet’s mouth two times. You might say:“Listen carefully and show me which word I am trying to say… Listen: flow…er.”
Step 4: If your child is unsure of which object to choose, provide a clue. For example, as the puppet is “saying” the word, give your child a hint by holding up the object or picture so she can see it.
Step 1: Tell your child that you’re going to see if the puppet can guess the secret word. Whisper a word into your child’s ear while you hold the puppet off to the side so it can’t “overhear” you!
Step 2: Invite your child say the word slowly, one part at a time, while you make the puppet look as if it is listening very carefully to what your child is saying. If your child is struggling to say the word slowly, one part at a time, you can ask her to clap the word as she says it.For example, you might say, “Clap and say your word slowly like this: marsh…mal…low.
Step 3: Have the puppet excitedly shout out the word and then play it again!
