Active for Life offers suggestions for active games that develop early reading skills for preschoolers from age 2.

This Active for Life article offers a number of ways to interest young children in early reading skills using physically active games, with the important note to customize the games for your child, noting that there are always ways to make games easier or more difficult depending on the child’s learning stage.

• Add more letters

• Use two-letter sounds (like ‘ch’ or ‘th’)

• Use entire words for children whose reading skills are more advanced

• For those just starting to recognize letters, start with one a couple of letters per game and review the letters and their sounds before starting.

• Play the game along with your child to model the skill when they are starting out with letter recognition. “The more you can help your child be successful when playing, the more likely they’ll be to want to play again.”

The games include:

• Chalk Jump: Write letters on the ground with chalk and then ask your child to jump to a letter by shouting out either its name or its sound.

• Body Letters: Standing in front of a mirror, challenge your child to see how many letters they can make with their body.

• Letter Scavenger Hunt: Write letters on paper or post-it notes and hide them around your home or yard. Let the child find the letters and bring them to you. Review the letter sounds together as they bring them back.

• Letter Walk: Search for letters as you go for a walk outside (on signs, cars, storefronts, etc.)

• Erase the Letter: Write letters with chalk (or with washable markers on pieces of paper) and place them around the yard, then give your child a spray bottle filled with water. Call out a letter or letter sound. The child finds the letter and erases it with the spray bottle.

• Syllable Hop: For slightly older children, help your child to learn to break down words into syllables by having your child hop while saying/counting the syllables in a word.

• Home Item Scavenger Hunt: Have your child bring you an item that starts with a specific letter. (Advantage: can be done spontaneously – does not require preparation!)

For more detailed descriptions of each game, and suggested modifications to increase the challenge as the child’s learning progresses, go to: https://activeforlife.com/7-active-games-that-develop-early-reading-skills/