It really upsets me that a lot of parents and nursery school teachers are pushing 3 and 4 year olds into academics. Preschoolers learn so much through play. Why rush them into worksheets when they'll be exposed to so many of them once they start elementary school?
That's why I'm always happy to find educational games. Children learn valuable skills by playing with a wide variety of board games, cards, dominoes, etc...But today, I'll be giving away a game specifically for children, between the ages of 4 and 6, who are learning to read.
Please keep in mind that while I did teach both of my children to read (before this game ever came out), the most important thing I ever did to raise my two advanced readers was to constantly read with them. That's why I want to stress that parents should focus on making reading fun and enjoyable rather than presenting it as a dreaded "technical skill."
Do yourself a favor and enjoy immersing yourself in picture books with your child, and leave the actual reading instruction to a qualified teacher. Believe me, teachers can tell whether or not a child has been read to! It makes a significant difference.
If you spend at least 30 minutes per day reading with your child, a great supplemental activity would be to play a game for an additional 30 minutes a few times a week. It could be any kind of game, but if your 5 to 6 year old child is learning sight words in school, there is a specially designed game which can make it easier for your child to learn these words and have fun at the same time!
What are sight words? They're high-frequency words, many of which are hard to sound out phonetically. Some examples are: the, of, a, to, is, you, was, are, as, his, have, and from. If you go through this list, you'll notice that many of the vowels (and the 'f' in of and the 's' in his) do not sound like they should. So, while it's important for children to learn to sound out words phonetically, there will always be words that cannot be sounded out because some of the letters do not sound like they typically would.
It can be extremely frustrating for emergent readers to come across a word that they can't sound out. it stops the flow of their reading, and comprehension can be lost. That's why, if they are able to immediately recognize sight words, their reading will flow more easily and will be more of an enjoyable experience.
I used to tell my children that there are some very weird words that just don't make sense, but that we have to just remember them. When you think about it, it's so true in life that for every rule there's an exception. Why should reading be any different?
Did you know that Dr. Seuss wrote many of his books, such as Cat in the Hat with common words? My children both loved Green Eggs and Ham when they were learning to read. The book contains some sight words that can be sounded out and some that can't, so it really is a great book for new readers. Read more about how this book uses high-frequency words here.
Okay, so back to the game I'm giving away. Er-u-di-tion is a sight word game that children between the ages of 5 and 7 can play together (see *note below for younger children). There are five pawns, a die, 4 different levels of cards, and a game board which children play like they would read a book - top to bottom and left to right.
The levels of cards are as follows:
Blue cards: One for each letter, showing capital and lowercase, as well as some examples of words containing that letter sound. (For example, "Aa" has 'apple' and 'snack.'). See *note below.
Green cards: Beginner level sight words - some that can be sounded out and some that can't. When you first play, you should use only the easier words, and you can gradually add words as your child progresses. You could even ask your child's teacher for a list of sight words for the grade and specifically work on those. These cards also have the definition and the syllables for each word (great for early dictionary skills).
Yellow cards: Intermediate level words. Contains words like above, answer, and night, that cannot be sounded out phonetically, as well as words like cut, if, and less, that can. Also includes syllables and definitions.
Red cards: Advanced level words, like laugh and because, as well as definitions and syllables.
*Please note that a 4 year old will need to be able to recognize capital and lowercase letters and their sounds in order to play. I do not recommend that you use this game to teach these skills - there are other activities you should do with your child before you let him or her play this game. That's a post for another day...
Here are some things I like about this game:
- Children at different reading levels can play together by using different colors of cards.
- You don't have to use all of the cards in any given set - you can select appropriate words for your child, and even work with your teacher to do so.
- There are sight words that can be sounded out phonetically and ones that cannot. Your child can identify the "weird words," as well as the ones that do sound like they should.
- You can encourage your child to define words, to spell them (without looking at the card), and to make sentences with them. These tasks can be done verbally or through writing and even drawing!
- You can keep a dictionary handy and let your child look up the words, which is another valuable skill.
- Many children find it hard to identify syllables. It's great that these cards enable you to work on this essential skill as well.
So, while reading with your child is still the number one way to help your child develop a love of reading, playing a sight word game like this one can be a great supplemental activity. Just remember to keep it fun, though. There should be no pressure, anxiety, or competition when playing this game. If your child does not want to play, please do not force the issue. Children have enough work to do in school, so it's important to keep it fun at home!
Do you, or someone you know, have a child between the ages of 4 and 6? The creators of this educational game have so generously offered to donate one to a family who lives in the USA! If you leave a comment (including your email address, which is never shared with outside parties), you might win this game! Please do so by Thursday, July 9th.
Also, there's another giveaway going on for babies! You can find more information at this post:
You may also be interested in these other posts relating to games and literacy:
There are so many ways to raise readers and lifelong learners. Would you like to share any other games or activities with us? Also, if you're familiar with Er-u-di-tion, we'd love to hear from you!