Prep: 15 Minutes / Activity Time: 10-15 Minutes

Rhyming is a skill that takes a lot of practice. Your child can practice rhyming through this fun game that incorporates music, movement and rhyme.

  • pictures that represent rhyming words (examples shown below)
    • cat, mat, hat, rat, bat
    • frog, dog, hog, log
    • star, car, bar, jar
  • paper (8.5 x 11 copy paper works well)
  • glue
  • scissors
  • lively music with a fun beat (preferably without words)

Preparation

circle-aroundStep 1: Find pictures that represent simple rhyming words. See examples shown under Supplies.

Step 2: Cut and glue the pictures onto 8.5 x 11 blank paper, one picture per sheet.

Step: Pick out some lively music that can easily be turned on and off.

Activity

Step 1: Place 3 sets of rhyming words in a circle on the floor (e.g., cat/bat, frog/dog, star/jar). Walk around with your child and say the name for each picture. That will avoid confusion of using puppy, for example, instead of dog.

Step 2: Start the music. Tell your child to walk around the outside of the circle when she hears the music playing and to freeze when the music stops.

Step 3: When you stop the music, ask your child to pick up the picture in front of her and to tell you what the picture is.

Step 4: Ask her to walk around the circle and find a picture that rhymes with the one in her hand. Once she finds the matching pair, she can name them and place them inside the circle.

Step 5: Start the music again and continue playing until all of the pictures are inside the circle. 

Play the game using four pictures of things that rhyme. For example, you could use log, dog, frog and hog. This will give your child failure-free practice with rhyming as she picks up any two cards and names the rhyming pairs. You might say a little rhyme each time she matches pictures. For example:

dog/log, dog/log, dog/log. Do they rhyme? Yes, they do! All the time.

After your child finds a matching pair, see if she can think of another word that rhymes with the ones in her hand.