Word Fun

Are you having fun with words today?

Magnet Board Words

Here the set up for an activity that we did today.

We have a magnet board with magnetic letters and cards with words written out. We also have a dry erase marker. We have a small subset of letters placed in a tray, all of which will show up on our cards.

This activity has 3 levels.

Level 1: Look at the word on the card and find the magnets that match each letter. Put them in the correct order. This was something our 3 year old could enjoy with a bit of fun help. We sound out the letters as we go, and find the right ones to match with the words we have in front of us. 

Level 2: Match like level 1. Read each word. Sound it out if it isn't familiar. Then write each word with a marker. This was something our 7 year old easily accomplished. She had some trouble with mixing up the direction of each letter at first, so we traced the magnetic letters with our fingers to make sure we felt the right direction.

Level 3: Do the tasks for level 1 and 2, then craft a story with the words as they appear. You can add more words along the way. This was the variation that our 9 year old came up with to make it more fun for herself when it was her turn to explore the materials.

3 kids. 3 different levels. 3 hands-on activities to practice reading, writing, and spelling.

We used filler words for this activity. Words like the, to, be, and a. These words are short and show up in everything we read. If we get these words easily, we can race through our reading faster, no matter the topic.

Word Ball

Let's have a ball - with spelling!

Here is a picture of balls with these words.

Toss a ball between yourself and your child. Say a word, then they say the first letter. Keep passing the ball back and forth, each saying one letter at a time. When you finish the word, cheer!

If you make a mistake, spell it for them really fast and then see if you two can remember it.

You can keep track of the letters on a blackboard if you'd like! Turn it into a cheer or a song.

For a bonus level, try spelling it by saying the sound of each letter instead of the name of each letter.

Encourage the child to stump you with an impossible word!

Chalk Word Hop

Write out the whole alphabet with sidewalk chalk!

Next, hop or run to each letter as you spell each word.

Do you have a list of words you're trying to learn?

You can make a giant hopscotch crossword with your word list! We used our bird word list to make our crossword.

Here's how we made it: start with the biggest word, write it out nice and big. Look at your word list. Do any of the other words start or end with any of those letters? Write it out, too! Find ways to join words. When your crossword is complete, toss a pebble or piece of chalk on your crossword and practice spelling the words as you hop from one letter to the next. 

Thankful Alphabet

Can you think of 5 things you're thankful for that start with A? How about B? And C? Go through the alphabet laughing and being thankful for goofy things. Try spelling each word as you go!

#activelearning

#preschoolactivities 

#storytelling

#reading

#writing

#spelling