Listen, ladies. I’m busy, I’m tired, and I am NOT Pinteresting. Mix that with the fact that I was a kindergarten teacher and a reading tutor for 7 years and my best advice to parents was to enjoy reading with their children and let the teacher handle the teaching. So while I may not have the time or desire to spend hours on creating adorable reading games for my little people, I can’t completely take off my reading teacher hat.
So today, let me share the little things I AM doing with my children. . .
Sight Word Passwords
I choose a sight word, write it in nice handwriting, and tape it to a doorway. I introduce the words to the kids- pointing out each letter- and have them repeat it multiple times. This word becomes their password to get through the doorway. I start with one password and once they have it down, I add another one. They get a huge kick out of having passwords to get into the bathroom. Wait a minute- maybe I should put a password on MY bathroom.
Finding Sight Words
Believe me, if you’ve had the password “STOP” taped to the pantry doorway for a week, your little one might start finding the word in his/her books and out in the environment. The moment your child starts to recognize these words is also a moment when your child becomes pretty darn excited about reading.
And if you have a little more time and are the creative type, go ahead and search “Sight Word Activities” on Pinterest and you will be in Heaven. Lots of cute ideas that would be big fun for kids.
Bulletin Boards
I currently have two bulletin boards in our playroom- one for learning and the other for their artwork. The learning board features my kids’ names (their names are their first sight words), family member sight words (aka Mom, Dad, and dog), as well as retired passwords. I don’t teach formal lessons, instead just review the words occasionally and return our focus to building super tall Lego towers.
And if you find anything that is simple and doesn’t take a lot of materials or time, share them with me too.
i saw a cute idea sally that i was thinking about trying. you take legos and write a full word on one lego (maybe more mega blocks than legos) and then individual letters on individual blocks. then the kids have to line up the letters to make words. i thought this looked simple and fun.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/488781365787703714/