ActivityThe best way to fine tune your child’s reading skills is to find time to practice every day. And most kids learn better when they’re doing something they want to do, not because they have to. These kid-approved activities and games are fun and help build reading skills. They’re simple enough to make part of your routine: during playtime, at meals and snacks, or when you’re out and about.

These kid-approved activities and games are fun and help build reading skills. They’re simple enough to make part of your routine: during playtime, at meals and snacks, or when you’re out and about.

Recommended Activities

Letter Soup

Prep: 1-2 Minutes / Activity Time: 5-10 Minutes

Small details and shapes of letters are how we tell letters apart. Talk with your child about the characteristics of letters to help her learn to distinguish them. In this activity, children will compare letter shapes as they learn the names of letters.

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Name Dictionary

Prep: 5 Minutes / Activity Time: 5 Minutes

Children at this age will write more frequently, and they also will begin to understand letter-sound connections. Help your child learn more about words by creating a Name Dictionary. This activity may take several weeks.

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Comic Strip Writing

Prep: 5 Minutes / Activity Time: 10-15 Minutes

Comic strips often have appeal for children, even before they learn to read. The animation and fun characters bring out the best in imagination, and the short, simple stories are easy to understand. Use comic strips to encourage your child’s creativity.

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Journal Writing

Prep: None / Activity Time: 15-20 Minutes

Children at this age love to talk about themselves. Keeping a journal is one way to tap into your child’s world and special interests. Making writing a part of your child’s daily routine builds an important foundation for later writing needed for school.

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In-The-Car Talk

Prep: None / Activity Time: 5-6 Minutes

During your car rides, use the time for conversations with your child. Oral language skills are built much more through interactions between people than by watching TV, working on a computer, or listening to a radio. So, strike up a conversation!

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Spoon Island

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

Playing with dolls and puppets is a great way to build oral language skills in a fun way. Your child can make these spoon people talk with each other, with you or with his toys. All of that conversation will contribute to a healthy use of oral language.

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Pick, Tell, Pretend, Sort

Prep: None / Activity Time: 15-20 Minutes

Create a “Mystery Box” to explore oral language skills, develop vocabulary and just have fun! This activity is easy to assemble and is bound to give you some laughs while developing oral language skills at the same time.

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Fill and Dump

Prep: 5 Minutes / Activity Time: 5-7 Minutes

From 6 to 11 months old, your child’s fine motor development greatly improves. A favorite game during these months is “Fill and Dump”! It is these early experiences that prepare your child to have the fine motor and eye-hand coordination she will need later for drawing and writing.

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My Necklace

Prep: 5 Minutes / Activity Time: 5-7 Minutes

Your child at this stage of beginning writing may be able to grasp a crayon with her thumb and finger. To promote grasping and using the small muscles of the fingers, you and your child can make your own jewelry.

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Touch the Page

Prep: 5 Minutes / Activity Time: 5-7 Minutes

Your child at this age may begin to isolate fingers to perform different tasks and finger isolation helps your child develop fine motor and eye-hand coordination and increases strength in fingers for drawing and writing.

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