4. 1. Sidewalk Chalk and Sight Words {learn letters or add a hopscotch game like Mom to Post Lil Divas}Sidewalk Chalk and Sight Wordshopscotch game 2. ABC Puzzle RacingABC Puzzle Racing 3. Spelling with LEGO LettersSpelling with LEGO Letters 4. Sensory Play/Bins- hide objects that start with the same letter, magnetic letters, sight words, or phonics patterns in there {1+1+1=1}hide objectssight words 5. Counting syllables or phonemes with objects {snap together Unifix cubes, links, or LEGOS for each one you hear}; Elkonin boxes or Learning Resources Sound Boxes are great, too! You can even clap, stomp, race, or integrate toys into phonemic awareness. {I Can Teach My Child}Learning Resources Sound Boxesracetoys 6. Sight Word Twister {Mom 2 Post Lil Divas}Sight Word Twister 7. Write letters and words in shaving cream, oatmeal, or cornmeal or look at this great list of 9 multi-sensory ideas for teaching sight words {Make, Take & Teach}9 multi-sensory ideas for teaching sight words 8. Sandpaper letters {Living Montessori Now}Sandpaper letters 9. Manipulating Words with magnetic letters, bottle caps, letter tiles, stamps, or puffy paint {123 Homeschool 4 Me}bottle capspuffy paint 10. Glue a Bumpy Alphabet {Education.com}Glue a Bumpy Alphabet

5. 11. Roll It with Education Cubes-We use ours A LOT. This is a purchase I would highlyrecommend! They work not only for literacy, but for other content areas as well. {I also have a FREE 68-page “Roll-A” activity pack for all Facebook likers!}Education CubesFacebook likers 12. Scavenger Hunts to spell words or find lettersScavenger Hunts 13. Physically matching or sorting words / pictures on a pocket chart or work surface of some kindmatchingsorting wordspictures 14. Stack the Blocks- for each rhyming word your child can say {or words with a particular phonics pattern, such as long a}, stack the tower one block higher. How high can the tower be built? {from Phonics Instructional Activities pg. 66, The Struggling Reader}The Struggling Reader 15. Magnetic Letter Builders {Confessions of a Homeschooler}Magnetic Letter Builders 16. Integrate the Nerf gun {shoot letters or words on a dry erase board} 17. Integrate water {Hands on as We Grow}, get in the TUB {Bath Activities for Kids}, or wash those letters! {Little Bins for Little Hands}Integrate waterget in the TUBwash those letters

6. 18. Alphabet Bowling {Toddler Approved}Alphabet Bowling 19. Create motions to go with the letter sounds or phonics sounds {such as pinching or gently slapping your hand for the “ow/ou” sound} 20. Learn the letters in sign language and sign the letters in words 21. Race to spell words {Playdough to Plato}Race to spell words 22. Promote Early Literacy with ACTION- there are a TON of ideas here that can totally be adapted for other literacy skills {Playdough to Plato}Promote Early Literacy with ACTION 23. Act out the story after listening to it 24. Facial Expression- re-read passages, select a few sentences to ask the read to re-read, using various facial expressions as they do {Fluency Instructional Activities pg. 63, The Struggling Reader}The Struggling Reader 25. Use puppets to re-enact the story or a scene. This can also be a GREAT way to build fluency, especially if the child needs to practice his lines for it to be performed for others. {Comprehension Instructional Activities pg. 15, The Struggling Reader}The Struggling Reader

7. 26. Create a comprehension ball with a beach ball {super easy AND cheap}. Throw it to your child and have your child answer the questions one at a time on the ball.comprehension ball 27. Rainy day? Use your stairs to move it and learn, too! Letters can be replaced with various phonograms {such as ai or ea}, sight words, or comprehension questions.stairs 28. Clipping rhyming words, syllables, phonics sounds, or sight words with clothespins {great for fine motor as well}rhyming wordssyllablessight words 29. Write- When kids write {especially when they are allowed to invent their spellings}, they can “feel” the letters in their mouths, helping to stretch their phonemic awarenessinvent their spellings 30. Swat the Word {or sound, letter, etc.} Write words or letters on a piece of chart paper or dry erase board. Give your child a {clean} fly swattter. Say the sound/word and have them swat the word.Swat the Word 31. Spell words out of playdough; stamp words {with cookie cutters} in playdoughplaydoughstamp words

8. . Lively Letters- a great program for teaching letter sounds, based strongly on auditory activities, such as songs and rhymesLively Letters 2. Create and use your own sound tubs. The School Supply Addict has a great tutorial on DIY sound tubs.sound tubsThe School Supply Addict 3. Pull out toys and manipulatives for the letters you’re studying {visit my 5-day serieson this one for ideas for each letter of the alphabet}. Over emphasize the initial letter sounds as you’re playing together, like this /m/-/m/-marshmallows.5-day series 4. Play a game while cleaning up toys: Can you pick up all the toys that start with /l/ {make the sound of l}? 5. Songs, especially rhyming songs- We love Dr. Jean, Steve & Greg, and Go Fish at our house. It’s also great when you can find books that correspond with songs you’re singing. Growing Book by Book shares even more. Debbie also has some great resources on her blog with rhyming and using music as a motivator as it connects with reading.books that correspond with songsGrowing Book by Bookrhymingmusic as a motivator 6. Integrate rhyme into your routineIntegrate rhyme into your routine 7. Read poetry and rhyming books- there are TONS of rhyming books out there. Listening to the fun rhymes helps develop that ear to hear and eventually produce rhymes. 8. Create songs together based off of tunes you already know 9. Play phonemic awareness games- I love Buggy and Buddy’s post. It’s full of ideas!phonemic awareness games 10. Picture sorting {no text included} with letters or phonics sounds, you can try thisWhich Sound Doesn’t Belong? Gamelettersphonics soundsWhich Sound Doesn’t Belong? Game 11. Listening for onomatopoeias {or create your own onomatopoeia story togetheronomatopoeia story

10. 12. Tongue Twisters- reading tongue twisters or books that focus on alliteration 13. Get out the drum {or a pot and pan} and pound syllables and phonemes as you count them in words 14. Writing- allow invented spelling. When a child invents a spelling, he s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s out the word and listens to as many sounds as he can hear and writes them down, somotorcycle may look like MOTRSIKLinvented spelling 15. Musical Sight Words {Mom 2 Posh Lil Divas}Musical Sight Words 16. Spell sight words through song, like the sight words from Reading The AlphabetReading The Alphabet 17. I Spy Sight Word Game- although this game is quite visual, the child needs to LISTEN to the clues to guess the right wordI Spy Sight Word Game

12. 18. Sight Word Guess Who? is another game that requires the auditory intake to figure out the word {free printable included}Sight Word Guess Who? 19. Go on a sound walk {Bug and Buddy} Go on a sound walk 20. Practice the Art of Storytelling {Simple Kids}Art of Storytelling 21. Listen to books on CD or the iPod 22. Read aloud are great for so many reasons. Just one of the benefits is you’re helping your child develop listening comprehension. Instead of getting tied up in decoding and saying all the words correctly, he can simply focus on comprehension. 23. Model reading with expression {how did it really sound when the character said that?}, let your child echo read after you 24. Focus on the punctuation when reading, as it will help you know how to read it with expression.Focus on the punctuation

13. 25. Play punctuation games, for reading with expression, based on the punctuation; like the Tic-Tac-Toe game mentioned in The Struggling Reader’s Fluency Instruction book, pg. 67The Struggling Reader’s 26. Choose texts with lots of dialogue. We LOVE Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka as well as Mo Willems’ Pigeon books and Elephant and Piggie books. Kids can act out the voices of the different characters or listen as you read them aloud.Yo! Yes?Pigeon booksElephant and Piggie books 27. Repeated Readings are a great way to build fluency {I share more ideas about repeated readings in this post}repeated readings 28. Record your child’s repeated readings and let rate his fluency, based off of a scale from 0-3, with 3 being very fluent 29. Read a text in different voices {Can you read in your daddy voice, baby voice, sad voice, silly voice, etc.?}silly voice 30. Limit auditory distractions- find a quite place to read, as loud noises and distractions take away from good comprehension

15. 1. Label your house- use the labels to help them with reading and writing, we use our labels A LOT {I think I’m actually going to be adding Spanish labels under each label next year as well}Label your house 2. DVDs- some of our favorites are LeapFrog, books related to movies {like Charlotte’s Web}, 3. Youtube- here’s a link to some of our favorite ABC youtube linksfavorite ABC youtube links 4. TV Shows- we mainly stick with PBS and love Sesame Street, Word World and SuperWhy. Older kids {through 2nd grade} may enjoy Between the Lions, Word Girl, and Electric Company. All these shows teach reading/phonics concepts. 5. Reading apps- you can visit my app Pinterest board to find someapp Pinterest board 6. Display and use a word wallword wall 7. Use a spelling dictionary {The Measured Mom}spelling dictionary

16. 8. Jot down and pre-teach words before reading that you know may be tricky for your child to readJot down and pre-teach words before reading 9. Play classic games such as dominoes {No Time for Flashcards}, Go Fish {Teach Mama} or Memory MatchdominoesGo Fish 10. Start with Word Families- word families are a great way to help kids SEE the shared pattern between wordsWord Families

17. 11. Word Study- If you’ve followed me long enough, you know I’m head over heels in love with word study. Kids can SEE the relationship between words and their patterns {you can find more word study/phonics activities on my Pinterest board}Word StudyPinterest board 12. Sight Words You Can See- what a great sight word program for kids that are visualSight Words You Can See 13. Sight Word Racing GameSight Word Racing Game 14. Word-Wac-Woe {like Tic-Tac-Toe}Word-Wac-Woe 15. DIY Sight Word MosaicsDIY Sight Word Mosaics

18. 6. Ready-Made Color by Sight Word- I have one for lessons 15-31 of Reading the Alphabet.Reading the Alphabet 17. Secret Sight Word Game- great for those sight words that are visually similar and confusing for kidsSecret Sight Word Game 18. Sight word puzzles- You can find sight word puzzles- BOB Book Set 2 Printables,Reading the Easy Way, and Reading the AlphabetBOB Book Set 2 PrintablesReading the Easy WayReading the Alphabet 19. Making WordsMaking Words 20. Flip a Word {like the ones from my Set 1 BOB Book printables}, Spin a Word {The Measured Mom}, Roll a Word, Slide a Word {I Can Teach My Child}, or Build a Word{Make, Take & Teach}; just make it visual! Set 1 BOB Book printablesSpin a WordSlide a WordBuild a Word 21. Rainbow Write words 22. Take a picture walk through the book- great for supporting comprehension and predicting {Teach Mama}picture walk 23. Use pictures to create stories or make predictions, which is similar to a picture walk, but can be done with a single picture from a magazine or painting {Stay at Home Educator}single picture 24. Encourage learning about environmental print for those younger kids {Pre-K Pages}environmental print 25. Point out letters and words in real life situations- Point out the T in Target or help your child figure out the meaning of a word from its context when watching a show on TV 26. Use Big books- We have a good collection of big books. My pre-kinders especially love to look through them.

19. 27. Give them visual aids, like this list of question words posted in my homeschool room or a chart to help them read directions {free printable}read directions 28. Use graphic organizers to help with comprehension and retellinggraphic organizersretelling 29. Use anchor charts {My Comprehension Pinterest board is full of these!}anchor chartsComprehension Pinterest board 30. Make sure they can see the pictures when reading a book 31. Read poetry together, help them make mental images in their heads {Teach Mama}mental images 32. Have them create a comic strip as they listen along to the book being read aloud {Comprehension Instructional Activities, The Struggling Reader} 33. Teach concepts about books {front, back, etc.}concepts about books 34. Teach them concepts about print {try this list from A to Z}this list from A to Z 35. Use a craft to teach them concepts of print {Enchanted Homeschooling Mom}craft 36. Concept of print/word- help them rebuild sentences from a text, pointing to the textas they readrebuild sentencespointing to the text

20. 1. Learn your name {or sight words} with chocolate pudding {Learn to Play At Home}chocolate pudding 2. Eat your sight words {School Time Snippets}sight words 3. Our grocery store has started carrying cheese crackers with Scrabble letters on them. We use them to spell names, sight words, and phonics patterns. Then we eat them! 4. Learning the Alphabet Sensory Style {Growing a Jeweled Rose}Learning the Alphabet Sensory Style 5. Spell words with pretzels. The bigger ones are easier to break apart and they’re great because they have curvy and straight parts; perfect for building any letter!

21. 6. We like to use Cheez Whiz to spell words on crackers. It is required that the words are read before they are eaten. You can also have your child spell various words, one letter on each cracker. I will say that this one is harder for my younger children to do. ALuv {age 7.5} is the only one who can handle this activity without assistance. 7. When reading about a particular subject, find food that goes along with theme and eat it together {Crystal’s Tiny Treasures}find food 8. Using scented candles to feel and smell words. Make sure that mama {or dad} is the only one preparing this activity with the lit candles! {Laughing Kids Learn}scented candles 9. Find food that starts with particular letters of the alphabet you’re working. For example: p is for pineapple, pumpkins, pepperoni pizza, or pancakes 10. Use smelly markers {Many Little Blessings}smelly markers 11. Spell words with scented playdough {Growing a Jeweled Rose}scented playdough 12. Add scented bubble bath to the bubble bath letter pit {Bath Activities for Kids}bubble bath letter pit

22. 13. Write words in whip cream or chocolate pudding- Smear some on a cookie sheet and spell away. Be sure to lick fingers afterwards! 14. Use glue to make letters or create words and sprinkle on dry jello mix for a yummy smell. 15. Smash your sight words. I LOVE this one as it incorporates all of the senses, especially if you put pudding or whip cream under the sight words! The words could be replaced with word family words or words that share a common pattern. The pumpkins can also be traded out for other themes. So many adaptations! {School Time Snippets}sight words 16. Candy Comprehension- This one works particularly well for those kids who struggle with thinking about what they’re reading. Ask them to read a section of text, then suck on a chocolate candy {or another kind of candy that melts quickly}. While the candy is melting, they should take that time to think about what they just read before moving on to read more. 17. Make a scratch and sniff book with stickers- This terrific idea came from a FB reader. She says, “I let them pick a few colors of construction paper that I cut down into smaller pieces. I staple them together to make a spine, but if you don’t like staples with kids, you can poke some holes and lace the pages together with yarn or ribbon (and you may want to use something a little sturdier like cardstock that can withstand the tugging at the strings when pages are turned). I ordered a unit of scratch-n-sniff stickers from a website called www.everythingsmells.com.”FB readerwww.everythingsmells.com

23. 18. Get outside! Reading {and writing} outside uses so many of our senses! 19. Go on a field trip. Smell the goats. Taste the honey from the hive. Field trips have an added bonus: They make learning tangible, which increases reading comprehension because it builds prior knowledge.prior knowledge 20. Cooking together incorporates ALL of the senses and is great for integrating reading. We did a writing/reading lesson this year using popcorn and the five senses.popcorn and the five senses 21. Planning learning around units and themes helps to integrate all kinds of learning about the same topic. This creates a natural atmosphere for multi-sensory learning.

25. 1. Salt on a lightbox – from Train Up a ChildSalt on a lightbox 2. Painting play dough letters – from Train Up a ChildPainting play dough letters 3. Salt tray writing – from Rainy Day MumSalt tray writing 4. DIY Salt tray and alphabet cards – from This Mumma’s LifeDIY Salt tray and alphabet cards 5. Q-tips on a paint bag – from Scribble Doodle and DrawQ-tips on a paint bag 6. Shaving cream – from Scribble Doodle and DrawShaving cream 7. Shaving cream on a window – from Putti’s WorldShaving cream on a window 8. Writing on a craft canvas – from Make, Take & TeachWriting on a craft canvas 9. A stick and some dirt – from The Golden GleamA stick and some dirt 10. Inexpensive and DIY sandpaper letters – from Living Montessori NowInexpensive and DIY sandpaper letters

26. 11. Stamping letters - from Creative PlayhouseStamping letters 12. Cornflour paste writing – from Blog Me MomCornflour paste writing 13. Chocolate sensory salt tray – from Growing a Jeweled RoseChocolate sensory salt tray 14. Writing in craft sand – from Make, Take & TeachWriting in craft sand 15. Resistive writing with non-hardening clay, short pencil, and beads – from PinterestResistive writing with non-hardening clay, short pencil, and beads Writing with multisensory materials: 16. DIY Montessori-inspired sensory letters – from Train Up a ChildDIY Montessori-inspired sensory letters 17. Toothpicks and upcycled styrofoam trays – from Train Up a ChildToothpicks and upcycled styrofoam trays 18. Building letters with blocks, bodies, shadows, and fabric letters – from Royal Baloo and Logi Bear TooBuilding letters with blocks, bodies, shadows, and fabric letters

27. 19. Vanishing words – from Nurture StoreVanishing words 20. Finger-pen-paint – from Nurture StoreFinger-pen-paint 21. Writing with glue and puffy paint – from Make, Take & TeachWriting with glue and puffy paint 22. Building letters with pencils and pipe cleaners – from Nurture StoreBuilding letters with pencils and pipe cleaners 23. Building letters with play dough – from Nurture StoreBuilding letters with play dough 24. Building shapes and letters with Wiki Stix – from Scribble Doodle and DrawBuilding shapes and letters with Wiki Stix 25. Building letters with yarn – from Scribble Doodle and DrawBuilding letters with yarn 26. Building shapes and letters with Q-tips – from Putti’s WorldBuilding shapes and letters with Q-tips 27. Building shapes, letters, and pictures with colored craft sticks – from Putti’s WorldBuilding shapes, letters, and pictures with colored craft sticks 28. Building shapes and letters with blocks – from Putti’s WorldBuilding shapes and letters with blocks 29. Building shapes and letters with crayons – from Putti’s WorldBuilding shapes and letters with crayons 30. Sensory letter journal with glue, sprinkles, tea leaves, coffee grounds, dirt, garlic, and more – from Growing a Jeweled RoseSensory letter journal with glue, sprinkles, tea leaves, coffee grounds, dirt, garlic, and more