2 - 4 Years Reading

There's no quicker way to add extra fun to at-home learning than to turn your lessons into a game. If you're working on sight words in your house right now, check out these fun games that turn sight word identification into a friendly, fast-paced competition for family members young and old. We've even got some suggestions for games you can make yourself with common household items!

Sight Word Bingo

Want an easy, free sight word game you can make at home? Try Sight Word Bingo! This customizable game helps you tailor your fun to your kids' ability level. Simply make some 5x5 grids (enough for everyone in the family to play a few games) and fill the squares with a random assortment of sight words. Have one family member act as the caller, and the rest as players. When the caller says a sight word aloud, look for it on your card; if it's there, mark it with a marker. The first person to make a straight or diagonal line wins!

Sight Word Memory

Here's another easy sight word game you can make at home! Grab a stack of sticky notes, and fill 20 of them with 10 pairs of sight words. Then, arrange them in a random order with the words facing. Have your kids flip over a card, say the word, and look for the match. The player who finds the most pairs wins! Want an additional challenge? Add more word pairs to accommodate extra players or advanced learners!

Pop for Sight Words

Our Pop for Sight Words game bundle helps you and your family discover snackable, munchable learning fun every time you spot a sight word! In this fast-paced game, players pull and read popcorn-shaped sight word cards from the popcorn box to see who can collect the most. Watch out for the POP cards, though; if you draw one of those, all of your pieces go back in the box! With two full game sets, the fun keeps popping!

Sight Words Swat!

Grab a swatter, listen up, and start learning sight words! During games of Sight Word Swat, plays have to pay close attention to the words called out by the reader. When they hear a word, they have to search the bug-shaped cards for the right sight word, and be the first to slap it with their swatter! The player who collects the most flies wins!

@mrs.ashleyann

Slam Ships! Sight Words Game

These sight words are out of this world! Early language skills go intergalactic with Slam Ships!, the sight word game where each player controls a super slammable spaceship. When they spot the right sight word, the race is on: the first player to grab the card with the spaceship's suction cup is one point closer to victory!  

@kbteacherstore

At Learning Resources, we’re here to help you make the best of this challenging time. Stay safe and healthy, and check back with our blog for more tips and learning ideas as the situation unfolds. 

Spring is here, which means plenty of chances to move and learn outside! As you stay safe and smart with your at-home learning plans, we've got a few ideas for incorporating outside exercise and play into your routines. Today's activity: Alphabet Hopscotch!

• On your driveway or patio, draw a hopscotch course with 26 squares using sidewalk chalk. The exact layout is up to you - get creative!
• Have your kids fill in each square of the hopscotch course with the different letters of the alphabet. For some extra fun, have them draw a picture of an object that starts with that letter, too!
• Once the hopscotch course is complete, begin by calling out letters and having your kids hop to the corresponding squares. Have them hop in order as you sing the Alphabet Song, then call out letters at random!
• For more advanced fun, have your kids spell out simple words by hopping from letter to letter on the hopscotch course. Start with three-letter words, then gradually work your way up. For a challenge, have your kids try to spell the longest words they know!

At Learning Resources, we're here to help you make the best of this challenging time. Stay safe and healthy, and check back with our blog for more tips and learning ideas as the situation unfolds.

Slip in some learning ABC games this National Cupcake Day with ABC Party Cupcake Toppers from Learning Resources! This sweet, award-winning set includes six colorful pretend play cupcakes with slots on top and storage inside, 26 double-sided letter toppers, and 26 picture toppers for some delicious learning and fun! Designed to guide your sweet-toothed sweetie from letter names and sounds to simple spelling, there are so many ways to play, like:

1. Learn Your Letters

Place a series of letters (experts recommend teaching S, A, T, I, P, and N first) on the cupcakes and ask your child to find a specific letter. Give them a broad hint, if need be, by telling them whether that cupcake has chocolate or vanilla frosting, or give a more particular hint by sharing the color of the frosting with that letter on top.

2. Learn Letter Sounds

Place a picture topper inside a cupcake and slot the letter topper with the first letter of that word on top. Ask your child to identify the letter, then ask what sound it makes. Pop the cupcake open to see the object starting with that sound. Or switch it up by placing the picture topper on top and asking what letter or sound it starts with.

3. Spell It

Several of the picture toppers feature objects spelled with just three letters. Choose one of these simple, sound-it-out words, and place it inside the cupcake. Then use the letter toppers to spell the word on top of the cupcake. Help your child sound it out, then open the cupcake to check their work!

4. Alpha Order

Place the toppers with the first six letters in the alphabet on top of the cupcakes and shuffle them around. Ask your child to put them alphabetically, singing the Alphabet Song for support. Continue with the rest of the alphabet, then pick letters at random for an extra sticky challenge.

After practicing with the ABC Party Cupcake Toppers, surprise your sweetie with an actual cupcake-making session! Cupcakes make the perfect Valentine’s Day treat, and your kids can help this year because we’re sharing some of our favorite, kid-friendly cupcake ideas to make together on February 14. Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled…

Mix! Start with vanilla frosting (homemade or store-bought), drip a few drops of food coloring, and let your little one mix it up. Dip! Once your cupcakes are cool and frosted, let your kids dip them into bowls of sprinkles and candy hearts. Top! Kids can randomly place Valentine’s candies on top of the cupcakes or make patterns like Xs, Os, and hearts. Make a Monster! Make a mushy Valentine’s monster cupcake using marshmallows or M&Ms for eyes and pretzel sticks for antennae. And don’t forget to practice! Practice your letters while you bake by asking your child what letter makes the sound “mmm” like a monster or “Kuh” like a cupcake! Learning Resources’ ABC Party Cupcake Toppers make the perfect Valentine’s surprise for your sweetie – place your order today!

At Rolph Literacy Academy at Fundamental Learning Center in Kansas, we teach our students — who have dyslexia or other reading difficulties — to read. Through the years, we have learned some tricks to engage kids who are not natural bookworms to look forward to story time.

We recommend parents and caregivers help readers select books that have subject matter coinciding with a child’s interests. Research also shows reading aloud to children helps build comprehension skills, develop positive feelings about books, increase their vocabulary and more. We love using Learning Resources Color Cubes to help children comprehend text.

Here are five ideas Fundamental Learning Center uses to aid comprehension using Learning Resources Color Cubes:

1. Before you begin reading, assign each character a different color represented by the Color Cubes. Each time you are introduced to one of the characters as you are reading, have your child pick up the appropriate-colored block. This helps your child understand the players in your story.
2. Before you begin reading, pull out 3-5 vocabulary words from the text. Go over them with your child before you begin. Each time your child encounters one of the vocabulary words as you are reading, have him or her add a block to a vocabulary tower he builds.
3. When you are reading with your young reader and encounter a multi-syllabic word, have your child pull down a color cube for each syllable, moving left to right. Segmenting words into syllables helps emerging readers understand how words are built. This can also be done while segmenting sentences into single words.
4. If you are reading a non-fiction book, assign one colored block to stand for main idea, and one block color to represent supporting details. As you read, come up with main ideas and supporting details for the subject matter, using the blocks to help you keep track.
5. Write the following words, one on each block: who, what, where, when and why. After you are finished reading the book with your child, use the cubes to ask him or her each question as it pertains to the plot of the story. Who was this story about? What happened? Where did it take place? Etc.

 As you can see, Learning Resources Color Cubes can help emerging readers engage with the words in books. For more specific training on how to assist your emerging reader, visit funlearn.org and check out our curriculum and training to assist emerging readers, “The Sound Case.”