Prep: None / Activity Time: 3-5 Minutes

Helping your child become more sensitive to sounds in words is an important skill needed for future reading success. In this activity, your child will have practice identifying and isolating rhymes using a very special word – her own name!

Step 1: Provide a series of word pairs in which one of the words, your child’s name, is always the same.

Step 2: Tell your child to clap two times whenever she hears a word that rhymes with her name. Tell her to put her hands in her lap if the word does not rhyme with her name. Remind her that the words could be real or silly.

Step 3: Give your child a word pair. For example: “Lemma - Emma. Do they rhyme? (Pause). Yes, they do. Clap two times.” Encourage your child to repeat the rhyming pair and say it together.

Try saying a pair of words that do not rhyme, for example: “Line-Emma. Do they rhyme? (Pause). No, they do not rhyme. Put your hands in your lap.”

Step 4: Provide four rhyming examples for every non-example. This will give your child more exposure to rhyming examples.

Provide only rhyming pairs. Encourage your child to repeat the rhyming pair. Model clapping two times and ask your child to imitate you.  

Ask your child to think of a word that rhymes with her name. When she does, you can clap two times. Don’t forget to say the rhyming pair together!