Reading: Ages 4-6
Picture Rhyme Book
Today's Snack: Whatever you serve for snacks, play at rhyming words.
"I will eat a carrot, if my tummy can bear it." "I will drink milk - goes down
smooth as silk." "Spreading jam on bread makes me want to go to bed." You get
the idea!
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Supplies:
Magazines or catalogs
| scissors
glue stick | stapler | several blank pieces of paper
markers or crayons | die
It's a big boost toward reading if you can get your
child constantly thinking about the sounds that the alphabet letters make.
Finding words that rhyme is a great way to build what we call "phonemic
awareness" in a young child - an appreciation for how the written symbols we
call "alphabet letters" stand for certain sounds we make when we say words
aloud.
Make your own rhyming book this simple way: first,
help the child or children to staple together several sheets of paper. They can
decorate the covers with crayons or markers.
Next, give each child a magazine or catalog. Ask him
or her to cut out a picture for each page of the book and glue it on the paper.
Help the child write the object's name under the picture.
When the book is ready, turn to the first page to
begin the game. Roll the die to determine how many rhyming words must be written
under each picture. The rhyming words can be real or made-up words. For
instance, if there is a picture of a car, you can write "bar,"
"far," "star," "zar," and so on. Help the child make as
many rhymes as necessary.
Continue until all the pages have been filled. Then
go back to the beginning and read the words together. Point out the different
starting letters, to help the child recognize how the patterns are the same
after the starting letter. That's a big clue toward the sound-symbol
correspondences that are so important in reading.
Keep the book and re-read it from time to time,
adding more rhyming words as you go. You'll be amazed at how many more rhyming
words your child will think of, as time goes by and reading ability grows.
