Chances are, your kindergartener is less than a perfect listener. But given a fun listening game, your child will be hanging on to your every word! This simple game isn't just a diversion, it teaches your child to identify the incorrect word within a familiar verse. This provides important practice in how to contextualize what they're hearing, which is a great step towards reading and writing.
What You Need:
- A song, rhyme or verse that your child is familiar with
What to Do:
- Choose a familiar story, song, or rhyme that your child has heard often.
- Read or recite the story, song, or rhyme but substitute wrong words or names in obvious places. For example: "Old McDonald had a car" or "Mary had a little dog."
- Have your child listen for the incorrect words and say "Beep!" when he hears one.
- When your child can quickly identify the incorrect word try making the game more challenging by inserting a word that sounds like the one being replaced, or has a similar meaning. For example: "Old McDonald had a barn" or "Mary had a little man."
Don't remember the classics? Here's a few to get you started:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, Life is but a dream.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout. Down came the rain, and washed the spider out. Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain So the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again.
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky! Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!
Recommended Reading
By Trish Kuffner
Adapted with permission from "The Preschooler's Busy Book" by Trish Kuffner (Meadowbrook Press, 1998).
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