Many 4-year-olds have developed a basic understanding of rhyming words and can tell you whether two words rhyme, such as hat and bat. If your preschooler delights in all things silly and fun, he will enjoy this game. As you play together, you will be helping your child pay attention to the ending sounds in words, and helping him discover what it means when we say that two words rhyme.
- a bowl or basket
- a collection of four to six household items
Step 1: Have your child help you find four to five items from around the house to put into a bowl. Say the name of each item as you add it to the bowl.(Example items: fork, cup, marker, candle, keys)
Step 2: Make up a nonsense rhyming word to match an object from the bowl. For example, you might say yandle to rhyme with candle.
Step 3: Tell your child that you are going to say the name of something in the bowl in a silly way and you want him to guess the correct object. You might say: “Listen carefully and try to guess which object I am talking about. Find the object that rhymes with yandle.”
Step 4: Acknowledge your child for finding the object that rhymes with the silly word as you repeat the words together. “Yes! Candle sounds like yandle! These words rhyme. They sound the same at the end. Say them with me candle…yandle; candle…yandle; candle…yandle.”
Step 5: Repeat with all remaining items in the bowl. At this age, it is important to give your child lots of fun and upbeat experiences with rhyming. After many successful exposures, your child will be able to find the correct answer on her own. It’s about exposure, not mastery. After many exposures, your child will start to “get it.”
Step 1: To make it easier, use fewer objects. Have your child help you find three to four itemsfrom around the house to put into the bowl.
Step 2: Say the name of each item and a silly rhyming word as you place the items in the bowl. For example, you might say, “This is a fork. Fork rhymes with mork. Say it with me: fork…mork fork…mork fork…mork.” Or “This is a marker. Marker rhymes with parker. Say it with me: marker…parker, marker…parker, marker…parker.”
Step 3: Once all of the items are in the bowl, tell your child that you are going to say the name of something in the bowl in a silly way, and you want him to guess the correct object. You might say: “Listen carefully and try to guess which object I am talking about. Find the object that rhymes with yandle.”
Step 4: Another way to make it easier is to provide clues to help your child. It’s not “cheating” if you give your child a clue. It’s helping your child be successful! For example, you could cue your child by shaking your head no as you choose an item that does not rhyme with the nonsense word.
You might say:
“What sounds like yandle? Does fork sound like yandle? Say it with me: fork…yandle fork…yandle fork…yandle. Does fork sound like yandle? No, fork doesn’t sound like yandle. Fork and yandle don’t rhyme. They don’t sound the same at the end.”
Step 5: Shake your head yes as you choose the correct item and ask, “Does candle sound like yandle? Say it with me: candle…yandle candle…yandle candle…yandle.”
Step 6: Acknowledge your child for finding the object that rhymes with the silly word as you repeat the words together. “Yes! Candle sounds like yandle! These words rhyme. They sound the same at the end. Say them with me candle…yandle; candle…yandle; candle…yandle.”
Step 7: Repeat with all remaining items in the bowl.
Step 1: Have your child help you to find six or more itemsfrom around the house to put into the bowl. Say the name of each item as you add it to the bowl. Example items: fork, cup, marker, candle, keys, banana
Step 2: Make up a nonsense rhyming word to match an object from the bowl. (yandle; candle) You might say: “Listen carefully, and try to guess which object I am talking about. Find the object that rhymes with yandle.” (candle)
Step 3: To add some challenge, encourage your child to say the rhyming words with you and then ask your child to think of another word that rhymes. It can be a nonsense word or a real word. You might say: “Candle…yandle, candle…yandle, candle…yandle. What is another word that rhymes with candle? How about pandle, fandle, zandle, wandle?”
Step 4: Repeat with all remaining items in the bowl.
