Playing Games with Books

In addition to their parents reading to them, children enjoy and learn LOTS when their parents use books to PLAY games with them.

Here are some examples of games you can play while reading with your child.

• Rhyming. Example: "Hmmm... Fox Lox. Those rhyme! They end the same. What else rhymes with goose... how about socks. Can you think of one?"


• Letter spotting. Example: "See this line with a dot on top... that is the letter 'i.' Can you find another 'i.' Here's one! Let's count all the 'i's on this page."


• Comprehension games. Example: "What do you think is going to happen next?"


• Empathy building. "Oh... look at that little girl's face. I think she is sad, happy, surprised, etc." OR "How do you think she is feeling? Why do you think she feels like that? Let's read and see if we can find out."


• Silly games. Example: When reading a book about trucks... "Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess."

While the story is important to your child following a fun (and/or educational) tangent can actually enhance reading time. This works especially well with familiar favorites.

If you have any fun games, traditions, or ideas please share by posting a comment.