Use rhyming games to help children become more familiar with the sound of language. Use classic nursery rhymes such as "Rain, rain, go away/Come again another day/Little Johnny wants to play," and "Jack be nimble/Jack be quick/Jack jump over/the candlestick." After children listen to the rhymes, recite them, and perhaps write them out, encourage them to create their own.
The game "I Spy" is another rhyming activity that supports language development. Prompt the child to come up with a rhyming word by saying, "I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with _____." If the word is "cat," the child would come up with a word like "bat," or "hat."
Counting rhymes are traditional favorites with children, and have the added advantage of teaching them to count. Based on an English nursery rhyme from the early 1800s, "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" is still popular today. The words are: "One, two/Buckle my shoe/Three, four/Shut the door/Five, six/ Pick up sticks/ Seven, eight/Lay them straight/Nine, 10/A big fat hen."
Create alliterations by using the same first letter and sound for animal names. Ask the child to make a list of animals --- horse, cow, dog, zebra --- and then invent a name for each animal using alliteration. For example, the horse can be named Harry, the cow Carlos, the dog Derek, and the zebra Zoey. For a twist on this game, ask the child to select the correct name from a couple of choices --- "Should the horse be called Harry or Larry?"
Encourage the child to come up with silly alliterative sentences, with all words (except for "and," "in," "by," and the like) beginning with the same letter. See how long the sentence can go. An example might be, "Shooting stars sit silently somewhere on the sound."