Reading: Ages 4-6

Rhyme Time

 

Today's Snack: Would your happy little belly like some bread that's spread with jelly? And smooth as silk, drink some milk.

 

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Supplies:

Pairs of household items selected because they rhyme

You can get a rhyming dictionary for just a few dollars

 

Look around your house to collect pairs of rhyming objects that you can show your child or a classroom full. Find toys, knickknacks, recyclables, pictures from books, magazines and the newspaper - anything that's easy to transport.

 

Nothing builds phonemic awareness like rhyming. "Phonemic" (pronounced foe NEE mik) refers to the sounds that the English alphabet letters make in combination.

 

When you rhyme two words, it helps kids distinguish different starting sounds with the same ending sound. That is a good trigger for reading, and, later, spelling. Show how a rhyming dictionary works, if you have one.

 

You can hold up the pairs of objects and let the kids guess how they rhyme. Always leave time for the kids to offer their own rhyming pairs, too:

 

A pot and a knot

A mouse and a house

A vase and some lace

Goal / boat

Ant / plant

Clock / block

Pig / wig

Car/star

Dog / frog

Cat/hat

Book/hook

Bee/key

Moon/spoon