Learning Games

When my foster daughter was still living with my husband and I, she was in her second semester of Kindergarten and struggling with reading. She had a hard time sounding out words and was frustrated with the idea of trying to read at all. I think she could only read the words, dog, cat and her own first name. Her teacher at the time, gave us "star words" to work on with her. These were words the children were supposed to know in order to pass on to the first grade, and she was way behind. So, I went to my favorite resource, the public library to see if I could find any resources to help her feel more confident in reading, and some way to help her learn her 'star words.'

We tried many different reading games, in many different books, but here I want to write you about the one that she liked the best. She actually would ask me repeatedly to play this game! :-) I do not remember the book it came from anymore, I will post it later if I am able to find it again.
Materials & Preparation:

* 2 pieces of paper
* crayons/ or markers (or dry erase markers, optional)
* index cards or similar (one for each word the child is learning)
* 2 clear plastic page protectors (optional)


Draw a pyramid on each piece of paper, similar to the one shown in my picture here. Then take the index cards, and on each one, write a word you want your child to be able to recognize/ read on sight. Start with words s/he already knows and add only one or two new words at a time. This keeps the game easy and fun for the child. If you choose to use the clear page protectors, place these over each of the pieces of paper, and use the dry erase markers (rather than crayons or other markers) for the game. The plastic proctors make your game boards reusable rather than repeatedly creating new pyramids for each new game.

How to play:

This is a two player game, your child and you. In order to win the game you must color in all of the squares in your pyramid before the other player. To start you give your child 10 seconds to look at each card you hold up. In that 10 second time frame they try to tell you what word is on the card. Count silently so your child can think, and not feel pressured. If the child is able to tell you the word in 10 seconds or less s/he wins a square on his/her pyramid to color in. If s/he does not tell you the word in 10 seconds or less, you get to fill in a square on your pyramid. Whoever colors in all their squares first wins the game! Make sure to tell your child the correct answer whenever s/he misses a word, or fails to tell you the word in 10 seconds. They might just recognize it the next time around!

My foster daughter loved this game, and would often say "I'm beating you!" with a huge smile on her face. I found it best to only add one or two new words at a time to keep her challenged. I also made sure there were enough words in the stack of cards she already knew so that she always beat me. ;-) When she learned the new words well enough that she recognized them most of the time I would add another new word. This made it fun and she did not get bored. By the time she went back with her mom she had learned to read about 27 new words! I am so proud of her for the progress she made!

Oh, one other thought, I noticed my foster daughter still had trouble recognizing her 'star words' in books. To help with this, whenever I read a book to her, if I saw one of her 'star words' on the page, I would point to it and ask her figure out what it was. This way she did not just learn to read words in just my handwriting but also on the typewritten page.

Do you have any learning games that your kids really enjoy? What are they? Thanks for leaving your thoughts!

Updated 1/29/08

If you would like more tips, visit Rocks in My Dryer for more great works for me Wednesday tips. :-)

What to "do with" Snow?! Part 1

I have met many people lately that have moved to Minnesota, from other warmer states, and as I was clearing snow off my car this morning, I was wondering how many of them know much about "what to do with" snow. So I thought I would share with my readers, a few tips what to do with snow. This is part one, fun things.

Today, fun things to do:

1. Sledding of course! When sledding, make sure the area you are sledding is clear at the bottom of the hill, at least 50 feet farther than you think you will need. You will be surprised how far you keep sliding before you come to a stop! Also, the warmer it is, the more slippery the snow. Hard packed snow is also more slippery.

2. Cross country skiing. This takes a bit of practice, but once you get it used to it, it is a great way to see the winter wonderland around you. There are lots of ski trails offered in snowy areas, such as MN. I have usually found them in state and county parks. But there are also groomed trails (this means the snow is packed for skiers) at golf courses and college campuses in the winter. These trails can be free, or cost a few dollars per person to use. Also, many sport shops will have rental skis and boots available. They can even wax the skis for you before you leave the shop.

3. Broomball! This is probably one of the more dangerous fun actives utilizing the ice. You might want to wear you knee pads for this one. It is a sport sort of like hockey, accept you use a broom balls stick, or a broom with its bristles cut off, or rapped tightly in duct tape, a ball instead of a puck, and you were street shoes or broom ball shoes instead of ice skates. You can find more information on this sport here.

There are other activities to do in snowy weather, but these are the 3 that came to mind for me today.

Do you have any favorite actives in the winter, inside or outside? I would love to hear from you, please send me your thoughts below. Thanks! :-)