Most little kids hate to sit still. You can use this knowledge to your advantage, with this cute game that lets your child practice making words, while acting like a Mexican jumping bean!
Who are the people young readers meet in their books? How do authors help us know what these characters are like? This reading and writing activity will help your first grader build important comprehension skills that she'll need in second and third grade, too.
More activities for reading:
"Bump"! A Spelling Game
Students usually study for spelling tests by looking over the words and spelling them out loud. Here's a spelling game that gets the whole family involved!
16 Ways to Bring Books Alive
There are many ways to have your child respond to literature, including discussion, written expression, arts and crafts, and drama.
3 Ways to Practice Getting the Main Idea
Understanding the main idea of a paragraph is an important part of the third grade language arts curriculum, but if can be tough for beginning readers. Here's three exercises you can do at home to help your child to see the forest through the trees!
A Field Guide to Grammar
Appositives? Clauses? Huh? Here's a review of some common (and commonly confused) grammar terms, as well as a quick activity to apply them to real life reading and writing.
A Guide to Great Class Presentations
Giving a presentation puts butterflies in most students' stomachs, but you can set your child up for success by allowing her to practice at home. Here are some tips and tricks for bringing out the public speaker in your child!
ABC Treasure Hunt
Kindergartners love to play games. And this activity fits the bill. But underneath all the pirate booty and the thrill of the hunt, they'll get solid practice in learning to recognize letters and sounds.
Action! Make Movies as you Read
For a fun way to encourage your child to read, try this comprehension technique made to satisfy visual learners. It's imaginative, artistic, and best of all, uses movie-making visualization to get your child a ticket to the theater of reading!
Alphabet Hunt
Ask a child if he wants to practice his alphabet and you'll likely get snubbed. But ask if he'd like to play letter detective? You just might hook yourself a fish.
An Adverb Acting Game
Adverbs are all around us. Here's an adverb acting game that will have your child hungrily, unceasingly, enthusiastically learning!
Bake Alphabet Cookies
This cookie dough handles like modeling clay, but it also makes delicious cookies. Use this activity to strengthen your child's alphabet skills, to show him where to sit for dinner, or just to have an unexpected treat.
