Age guide: 3 to 8 years. Pick the games that suit your child’s stage.
Rhymes, matching sounds and playful word swaps are part of getting ready to read. These six games do that without flashcards or screens. They fit into walks, bedtime and meal prep, and they tend to produce plenty of giggles.
1. The silly shopping list
Time: 5 minutes. You need: paper to write on, if you like.
Write or say a short list with two items: “bread and pie”. Now change each item into a word that rhymes: “red and cry”. Take turns changing the list again and again. Nonsense words are welcome. For younger children, change the words so they start with the same sound instead: bread becomes berries and pie becomes potatoes. Write down the final list and see how far it travelled.
2. Rhyme to finish
Time: 5 to 10 minutes. You need: nobody else, if you like.
Start a sentence and let your child finish it with a rhyme: “I once met a mouse who lived in a… house! blouse! grouse!” Accept silly or made-up words. What matters is the sound. Write down your favourites, add drawings and staple the pages into a book.
3. Sound-match cards
Time: 10 minutes. You need: picture cards of everyday things such as a cat, hat, sun and sock.
Lay the cards face down. Take turns flipping one, naming the picture, and then trying to find another card whose name starts, or ends, with the same sound. Listen for the sounds the children say aloud. In a group, each child gets a card and walks around to find their partner.
4. Picnic packing
Time: 5 to 10 minutes. You need: a circle of players.
“I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing…” Choose a rule: all items must start with B, or rhyme with “bat”. The first player adds an item, such as bananas. The next adds another: a bucket. Keep going around the circle. If an item does not fit the rule, say “That one can’t come, can you think of another?” Change the destination to a camping trip or a trip to the moon.
5. Word chain
Time: 5 minutes. You need: a circle of players.
Say a word and ask the next person to say a word that connects to it in some way: “pool, swim, wet, cold.” If you can’t see the link, ask the player to explain. Help younger children by choosing a theme, like summer or the kitchen.
6. A name poem
Time: 15 minutes. You need: paper and pencils.
Write your child’s name in the middle of a page. Around it, brainstorm four sets of words: actions that start with the same sound, things that start with the same sound, describing words that start with the same sound, and words that rhyme. For Sam, you might get “swims, skips”, “sandwich, sock”, “silly, sleepy” and “jam, ham”. Then string some together into a silly sentence: “Sleepy Sam skips along with a sock and a jam sandwich.” Let them draw the picture.
Keep it light
If your child struggles to find the rhyme, give a choice of two. For more on supporting early language, see Everyday moments with young children.
