6×6 Skills: Take Time to Rhyme, Sing and Play Word Games
Children love to play, and rhyming and singing are like playing with sounds and words. When we sing, we break the words up into syllables. Understanding how words are broken up is one of the skills your child needs for learning to read.
Read rhymes and sing with your children – help them sound the words out properly. Playing word games with them will improve their language skills and be fun at the same time!
Activities to help take time to rhyme
Sing, sing, sing
Even if you can’t hold a note!
Choose a sound of the day
Name your child’s stuffed animals with names that begin with that sound.
Clap!
Clap out words into syllables so your child can hear how the word is broken up. For example, tractor would be two claps.
Make a sound collage
Find pictures that all begin with the same sound, no matter how they are spelled. For example, take words that begin with the ‘kuh’ sound – cape, cup, key, kids.
Play word games
Create rhymes by putting different letters on the same word ending. For example, words ending in –ing could be zing, ping, ding or thing. It doesn’t even matter if they’re nonsense!
Information on this page was adapted from the 6 by 6 program developed by Johnson County Library.