Word Games - Sensory Word Hunt

Welcome to week 4 of Get Ready for K Through Play, a series that I am taking part in with some of my favorite kid bloggers. Our goal is to help you prepare your child to start Kindergarten. Last week I shared a Bubbling Addition Kindergarten Math Game, and this week we are all sharing ways to work on literacy skills. Last year for the series, I shared Sensory Sight Words as part of the Literacy component. We are playing more word games today with this Sensory Word Hunt.

This is a great game for kids to work on that will help them improve their early reading skills. If your child is not a fan of reading be sure to check out How to Help a Struggling Reader at Home from A Heart for All Students.

You will need:

• Plastic bin
• Lentils or other beans
• Magnet letters
• Index cards
• Marker

Go through your magnet letters and make up some simple to sound out words. My daughter is familiar with upper and lower case letters but if your child is not, you can stick with letters they recognize. Once you have your words, write each of them down on a separate index card.

Fill up a bin with lentils or whatever bean or sensory material you happen to have on hand. Beans are a great sensory bin filler because they are inexpensive and last a long time. We have had our sensory beans for years. When the kids are not using them, I store them in large zip top bags.

Hide the letters that make up your words in the sensory bin.

Have your child pick one word card at a time and try and sound out the word.

When they are done, they can search for the letters that make up the word.

My daughter had so much fun searching for all the letters. She noticed that each time she made a word there were less letters in the bin and they were easier to find.

When she had made all the words, she practiced reading them again. Word games are a wonderful way to get kids to work on phonics and literacy concepts. This word hunt combines the fun of a sensory bin with learning.

Be sure to visit the following bloggers and check out their Literacy posts:

Coming soon from The Pleasantest Thing
Books Your Kindergartener Will Love from Mama Smiles
Books for Beginning Readers from Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
What Do Phonics, Phonemic Awareness and Decoding Mean from Coffee Cups and Crayons
Letters in the Air from Rainy Day Mum