For a whole month I haven’t posted about words and sounds. For those of you who check-in regularly, you’ll know that one of the consistent suggestions for kindergarten readiness activities is to play word games with little ones. Why do I mention this so often? Because the understanding that words are made up of sound pieces or bits is such a very important skill for later learning to read. It’s called phonological awareness and, like other readiness for kindergarten skills, develops from play–in this case language play.
For instance, back starts with a ‘buh’ sound. What else starts with ‘buh’? Bake, ball, bug, bear, broccoli, basket, beep, and berry. As you and your little one get a backpack ready for going out, you can just suggest some words that start like back and list them off. If your child is a little older you can ask you if back and berry start the same. Try some more that are the same and some that are different: back and red or back and carrot. Some kids may be able to think of words themselves.
Not all children will have developed this concept before school but all of them can benefit from lots and lots of exposure to language and playing with language just as they play with toys. Backpack is for learning. What other kindergarten readiness activities can you suggest for backpacks?