Please tell me we aren’t the only family that sort of relaxes during the summer and crams the final week before school or so to get the kids caught up? To help my kids transition from summer mode to school mode, I had to come up with fun ways to help them learn words. Here are our five favorite.
1. Fly Swatter
I wrote out a bunch of words, then called them out one by one and had the kids try and swat the correct answer. Listen, smacking down a fly swatter is really satisfying. You can also use this to practice letters.
2. Scrabble Game
Why didn’t I think of this before? This twist on Scrabble is less about racking up points and more about practicing early spelling. But kids will be entertained by how satisfying it to line up those tiles on the stand. Adjust level of difficulty by which letters you put in the pile to choose from.
3. Type it Out
My kids love the rare moments they get to touch my beloved laptop, so it doesn’t feel like learning when Presley is typing out words and sentences or teaching her little brother how to spell.
4. Label the Room
Write on removable stickers that your kids can place around the room to identify their objects. Because they see them every day they’ll really start to remember them, or at the bare minimum, you’ll look insanely organized.
5. Word Sliders
Cut two parallel slits in a piece of cardstock. Cut out a longer strip. Write down letters that make different word families. And then you slide the strip through. It’s a really easy neat way to practice words.
