Reading is an essential skill for children to learn. Not only do good reading skills help kids communicate effectively and entertain themselves, the University of Michigan Health System says kids who read well are more successful at school and work than kids who have trouble reading. Make reading fun by playing reading games with your little kids to get them excited about reading.
Read Your Mind
Encourage your child to master simple reading skills by playing on-the-go guessing games in the car or while you're waiting in line at the store. Take turns thinking of a word and giving each other clues to figure it out, like "It means cold" or "It starts with the letter F" or "It makes an EE sound in the middle." Choose words your child knows, and give him clues that challenge him to think but aren't too difficult for him to figure out.
Word Scavenger Hunt
Make a list of words that you expect to run into on your next errand, and have your child search for these objects and cross them off on her list. For instance, if you're going to the grocery store, you might include words like "cart," "banana" and "shelf," while words like "red," "stroller" and "swing" might be good choices for a trip to the playground. If you want to boost the challenge level, ask your child to find the actual words on the list by reading signs, packaging and advertisements.
Hangman
This pencil-and-paper word game is a classic because it's easy enough for beginning readers to play and challenging enough to keep them interested. Draw a line for each letter of a secret word, then fill in the blanks with the correct letters as your child guesses them. Each time your child guesses a letter that isn't in the word, add a body part to a hangman's gallows. If your child guesses the word before the little man is finished, he wins. Switch roles after each round so your child gets to practice reading and writing.
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