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

Use common objects from around your house to play this simple rhyme game. Children benefit from fun and engaging rhyming activities to help them master this important pre-reading skill.

  • small basket
  • 5-6 items from around the house, such as:
    • spoon
    • marker
    • pencil
    • shell
    • glue

Step 1: Fill a basket with five to six common household items.

Step 2: Tell your child you are going to say a word that rhymes with one of the things in the basket. It might be a real word or it might be a pretend word.

Step 3: Tell your child:

Find something in the basket that rhymes with barker.

When she finds the marker, you can say:

You found it! barker/marker  barker/marker. They sound the same at the end. They rhyme.

Step 4: Continue to say rhyming words for the remaining items. Here are some examples:

  • toon/spoon
  • kensil/pencil
  • moo/glue

Give your child extra support by modeling. You might say:

Find the toon/spoon. Toon rhymes with spoon.

Ask your child to think of another word that rhymes with the object. It can be a real word or a pretend word.