I love to pick up ideas from families that I work with. This week I was doing therapy at a kitchen table when the little boy looked with interest at the paper napkin holder and asked what it said. Mom had put sticky notes on all 4 sides with a few sight words on them for practice. It seems to be the season of report cards and parents’ heightened interest in helping their kids’ reading skills. I have had inquiries on how to help improve reading comprehension and build letter-sound recognition and remember sight words. I thought I would give you some suggestions that I share with parents:
Zingo Sight Words by ThinkFun is a favorite with kids as they love the “Zinger” mechanism which reveals 2 tiles with sight words on them and they work to fill their Bingo-like cards.
uKloo Treasure Hunt Game is a wonderful early reading game designed by a mom whose child was struggling with learning to read. I have played it countless times with my grandchildren and they never tire of going on their treasure hunt, and using the chart to decipher words.
Write sight words on plastic eggs (may include a little treat for getting the right answer), plastic cups to stack, or tongue depressors to name as you choose one.
Write sight words on sticky notes and put them on spaces of a favorite game like Twister’s circles, Go Fish cards or Jenga‘s pieces. Have your child say the word as they touch or place the piece.
Here are some fun ideas from I Can Teach My Child which include Sight Word Bingo, using Fruit Loops as markers on your homemade cards, “Snowy Sight Words” where you write your word in glue and decorate it, and “Sight Word Smash” where you bake cotton balls (yes, there is a recipe included) , write a word on the balls in permanent marker and give your child a chance to name it, rewarding him with smashing it with a kid-friendly mallet!
Simple, but effective is to post a list of sight words where your child looks often like his bulletin board in his room or the napkin holder on the kitchen table!
