Reading Games

Favorite childhood memories are the games I played. Let's see: tic tac toe, my ship sails, freeze tag, red rover, sticks and stones, jacks, dominos and marbles. What games do you remember?

I don't recall reading games, however, unless I count the ABC game while traveling. Reading games for little ones can be so, SO much fun for them. After all, their favorite people, their parents, are playing with them!

But when you think of reading games, think basic. Very, very basic. I'm not talking Monopoly; slap jack is more like it.

Here's a reading game for you called Slap That! Start with your child's name on a paper or card. "This is your name, 'Kaitlyn.' Can you slap your name before I slap it?" After several slaps with you and your child taking turns winning the slap, add your name, "Mom." Lay both names up on the table in front of you and let your child slap the name that you say. For a change, let your child say the name and you slap it. Yes, this is a very simple game. But it is a perfect game for any beginning reader. Laugh together and enjoy it!

Now move on to Slap That!, level 2. Add three more word cards. They can be the names of siblings, Dad, or Grandma. They could even be the words, "cat" or "dog." All the words together make a small deck of five word cards. Turn one over at a time. Your child can only slap his or her own name . Then play again slapping only the word, "Mom," or another word. This game can be repeated often. Give your child the cards to play with alone, and you will hear lots of slapping going on!

When a child knows a word we say he or she "owns" that word. Your child now owns words. What wealth!

Jodi Heaton Hurst