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Reading Activities for Kids

Easy Word Family Match Game

May 2, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Word families are one of the building blocks for learning to read.

If you have a good grasp on word families, you’ll be well on your way to decoding words. And, the more words you can decode, the better you can read.

Word families are that important.

This simple word family match game is easy to make and a fun way for your child to practice recognizing and reading word families.

Practice reading and rhyming with this simple word family match game for kids. It's easy to make and can be used for any set of word families.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Word Families, sometimes known as phonograms, are the one syllable endings of a group of words. For example, the -at family would contain the words hat, cat, chat, that, sat, etc.

This game supports any group of word families. Select the ones that your child is working on in class or any that you see your child struggling with. I do like this list to use for reference. You can find the most common word families and many examples of each at this link.

Supplies Needed

2 different colors of construction paper
Ruler
Scissors
Black marker

How to make your word family match game

Begin by cutting off enough extra paper from each sheet of construction paper to turn it into a large square. My squares were 9 inches by 9 inches. Divide each large square into 16 equal-sized smaller squares (2-1/4 inches each). You’ll have 32 total squares. (I know, that’s a lot!)

Next, choose your words. You will need eight different sets of word families, each set will have four words. Use two squares of one color and two squares of your second color for each set.

For example, in the above picture, I used the -en family: den, men, when, then.

Put words on each of your squares.

How to play this word family match game

Mix up all your word family and spread them out.

Challenge your child to create eight different four squares of words by sorting the squares into word families.

This words best as a single-player game. But, two kids can play together. Just have them take turns putting together their four squares.

When you’re done, you’ll have eight different larger squares for each word family. If you put them all together, you’ll have a larger word quilt.

Practice reading and rhyming with this simple word family match game for kids. It's easy to make and can be used for any set of word families.

Extend the fun with some more versions of this game

Practice reading the words out loud after you create a four square.

Can you name even more words for each word family? After your child makes a four square, challenge them to name two more words for each word family.

Choose one of the word family squares and see if you can find more examples in a favorite book.

How would you add to the fun?

Practice reading and rhyming with this simple word family match game for kids. It's easy to make and can be used for any set of word families.

If you liked this word family match game, you may also like one of these reading games:

Stacking Rhyming Words

AD Word Family Activity: Highlighter Words

Word Family Slam

Sight Word Tallies

LEGO Word Family Sorting at This Reading Mama

More games to make reading fun

In addition to this fun word family game, here are some other fun options to help your child practice their reading skills.

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words

April 24, 2019 By Terri Thompson

How many ways are there to practice word families?

I can’t even count them all. The possibilities for word family games are endless.

We’ve done some Highlighter Words and even made an AT Hat. This time, we’re going to play a fun IN word family game: Hide and Seek Words.

Hide words, find them, and read them with this fun IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words. Post includes printable word cards.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Prep your IN word family game

Before you begin, you’ll need a set of words. I’ve prepared a batch of IN words family printable flashcards you can use. Click here to download and print.

There are 15 words that print on two pieces of paper. Print them out on regular paper or card stock for durability.

Cut apart all the cards.

It’s time to play hide and seek words!

You need at least two people to play this game.

You need one person to hide the words. (This is a great job for a parent!) And, you need at least one other person to find the words. You can have as many seekers as you would like.

Take all the IN words and hide them. You can play this game indoors or outdoors. Anything goes!

Play hide and seek words outside with your kids to help them learn word families.

Once all the words are hidden, it’s time to seek. The job of the seeker is to find a word, read the word, and say the word. Can you find them all?

This IN word family game can be played over and over until you’ve mastered all the words. It’s such a fun way to practice reading.

More fun variations of this IN word family game

Are you working on a different word family? You can just print out a different set of cards to use with this game. You can go here to find all my word family flashcards.

Try this game with sight words or spelling words instead of word families. Just write your your words on index cards to hide.

How would you play this game?

Hide words, find them, and read them with this fun IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words. Post includes printable word cards.

You may also like one of these fun reading games:

Word Family Game: Four Square

Stacking Rhyming Words

Valentine Word Families

Ice Cream Word Family Craft at Sight and Sound Reading

Sight Word Sea Shells at NurtureStore

Do you want to do more activities with your family?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Word Family Sort Game

March 8, 2019 By Terri Thompson

Learning to read is a bit part of the early elementary years. My kids tackled sight words, phonics, reading comprehension and word families.

I like to help support this learning at home, so I made a simple word family sort game to help us review at home.

This fun word family sort game takes just a few minutes to make and it's a fun way to help your kids practice word families.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

How to make your Word Family Sort game

My first grader and her class have been reviewing the short “a” and long “a” vowel sounds, so I set up our game using a few short “a” word families; -ad, -an, and -at.

(I found a comprehensive list of word families at Enchanted Learning. I plan to reference this again and again.)

Next, I drew three large circles on a sheet of construction paper and wrote a separate word family at the top of each.

Then, I used my circle punch to create many smaller circles. Using the lists at Enchanted Learning, I wrote about 10 examples for each word family on the circles.

How to Play Word Family Sort

Start by reviewing your word families. Practice the sounds and read the word families on your game board.

When it’s time to play, mix up your piles of circles with words. Set them next to your game board.

Now it’s your child’s turn. My daughter’s task was simple. She needed to say the word out loud and place it in the correct circle.

This game was not too difficult for her, but since my goal was to increase her comfort level with the short “a” sound, it worked perfectly.

You can make many variations on this game. If you plan on using it over and over, laminate the game board before you write your word families in the circle. Once laminated, you can write and erase many word families as you go along.

Other ways to play Word Family Sort

Use blank circles and have your child write their own words on them to increase the difficulty of this game.

Use beginning sounds instead of word families for a child that needs a different level of review

Make it more challenging by leaving the word families off the game board. Have your child sort the words then determine their word family.

This fun word family sort game takes just a few minutes to make and it's a fun way to help your kids practice word families.

You may also like one of these word family games:

Word Family Four Square

IN Word Family Game: Hide and Seek Words

AT Word Family Game

Word Family Flags Activity

Word Family Spinners at Playdough to Plato

Must Have Reading Resources

In addition to this DIY game, there are some other great reading games you may want to have one hand for practice at home. Here are some I recommend:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

Punctuation Stickers Activity for Kids

February 8, 2019 By Terri Thompson

I’m a writer, so punctuation comes naturally. It seems like it’s something I’ve always known.

But, I know that’s not the case. Once upon a time way back in elementary school, I learned the basics – how to end a sentence.

Do you use a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point? The choice is important.

If you’ve got a child working on these basic grammar rules, I’ve got an easy DIY punctuation activity you can make in minutes, Punctuation Stickers.

This grammar activity, Punctuation Stickers, is a fun way to practice adding the correct punctuation to the end of a sentence.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

You only need a few simple office supplies and about five minutes to prep this game. Trust me, it’s easy!

Supplies Needed:

White printer paper
Dot Stickers
Black marker

How to make your Punctuation Stickers game:

Start by coming up with a few sentences. I only planned on six sentences, two for each type of punctuation.

Make the sentences simple and obvious. For example, start your questions with a question word like who, what, when, where, or how.

Write down each of the sentences on your white paper. Leave enough room to add a sticker at the end.

Next make your punctuation stickers. This step couldn’t be easier.

Add the punctuation marks you need on the dot stickers. I had two periods, two question marks, and two exclamation points.

Your game is done. See how easy this is?

Play this punctuation activity:

Game play is simple. Just choose the correct punctuation sticker and place one at the end of each sentence.

This missing punctuation game is most beneficial for kids who are just beginning to learn about punctuation and need some additional practice. It’s also an easy at-home check-in so you can see if your child has mastered this skill.

Extend the fun:

If you child is beyond the basics but still needs practice, extend the difficulty of the sentences. Or, you could even offer them a paragraph. Just make sure to leave enough room for your stickers.

Make it bigger! Tape a piece of brown wrapping paper to your wall and cover it with sentences. This is also a fun way to learn when your child is tired of sitting.

If you don’t want to (or don’t have time to) write your own sentences, just download and print the sentence strips from this Cut & Graph Punctuation Game. Use your punctuation stickers to put at the end of each of the sentence strips.

With a little practice, it won’t be long until your kids are completely comfortable choosing punctuation to end a sentence.

This grammar activity, Punctuation Stickers, is a fun way to practice adding the correct punctuation to the end of a sentence.

You may also like one of these fun reading games:

Word Family Four Square

Stacking Rhyming Words

Sight Word Tallies

Punctuation Hunt at Imagination Soup

30+ Grammar Games Kids Will Love at My Joy-Filled Life

Fun reading games for kids:

If you’d like to work on more reading at home with your kids, your best bet is to pick up a book. But, sometimes it’s fun to play a game! Here are some reading games I recommend:

Do you want to do more activities with your kids?

Join our fun Facebook community, Creative Family Fun for Busy Families, for daily activities that are great for kids and families. We’ll chat, share, and have fun. It’s a safe and private place to share ideas for family and kids activities.

I’d love for you to join me! Just click the link below, request to join, and answer the questions (they’re easy, I promise). Come join the fun! Join the Creative Family Fun for Busy Families community here.

School Supplies Word Scramble Printable

August 13, 2018 By Terri Thompson

Do you love shopping for school supplies? I do!

If you do, you’ll love this fun School Supplies Word Scramble printable for kids.

It’s a perfect boredom buster for back to school time.

If you love school supplies and word games, you'll love this awesome School Supplies Word Scramble printable for kids. It's a great boredom buster!

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

School Supplies Word Scramble

Do you know how to work a word scramble?

All you do is look at the letters and try to rearrange them to spell a word.

All of the words in this word scramble are common school supplies, such as pencil, ruler, and backpack.

Can you figure out all ten words?

This quick and easy boredom buster will get kids thinking and solving puzzles. It’s great for the classroom, an afterschool wind-down, or to take along while waiting in a restaurant or doctor’s office.

If you love school supplies and word games, you'll love this awesome School Supplies Word Scramble printable for kids. It's a great boredom buster!

In order to have some fun, all you need to do is download and print this school supplies word scramble. It prints in black and white on one full sheet of paper.

For your convenience, I’ve also provided an answer sheet.

Download and print your word scramble here.

Download and print your answer sheet here.

You are welcome to print as many copies as you need for home or classroom use only. Please do not distribute for free or pay on your own website or business. Please do not include as part of a paid product. If you would like to use this for any purpose beyond classroom or home, please contact me here.

If you love school supplies and word games, you'll love this awesome School Supplies Word Scramble printable for kids. It's a great boredom buster!

You can find all my word scrambles for kids at this link. You’ll find holiday and other fun ideas for all year round.

 You may also enjoy one of these back to school activities:

Printable Apple Writing Paper

Apple Print Mini Notebook

Lunchbox Jokes That Will Make Your Kids Giggle

Back to School BINGO at Wondermom Wannabe

Simple Apple Cupcakes for Back to School at Rainy Day Mum

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