The first step in learning to read is learning to recognize the letters of the alphabet. Connecting the dots using letters instead of numbers will aid in learning the order of the letters. To add physical activity, secure construction paper letters on a carpeted area and allow the child to jump from letter to letter as he sings the alphabet. While on car trips, you can locate letters of the alphabet in billboard advertisements and signs, while trying to find the entire alphabet in order before you reach your destination.
Understanding that each letter makes its own sound is the next step in learning to read. The hardest letters to learn are the vowels, since they have both long and short sounds. This game can be made for any or all of the letters of the alphabet to help children recognize letter sounds. Divide a poster board into five columns and five rows. In the first column, list the vowels (or whichever letters you choose to use). Gather pictures that represent each short vowel, either from magazines or clipart. You should affix the images to thick paper, making sure that they fit within a single square on your poster board. Attach a hook and loop adhesive such as Velcro or Aplix to the back of each image and to the poster board, then encourage the child to match the picture to the appropriate short vowel sound.
Sample images for each letter:
A: apple, alligator, cat, man
E: eggs, elephant, net, web
I: iguana, ink, pig, sink
O: ostrich, dog, socks, frog
U: umbrella, butterfly, tub, sun
Learning different word families helps kids to recognize new words easily. Word families are groups of words that share similar endings, such as cat, hat and rat. Rhyming games help children to recognize these groups of words. One fun game is to print pictures or words of items that rhyme on thick paper. Cut them out and use them to play memory or Old Maid. Another fun idea is to print out pictures of three or four pictures of frogs. On their bellies, write word family endings, such as --at, --op or --og. Spread them on the floor. Then, draw flies on envelopes along with consonants, such as h, c, m or d. Stuff and seal the envelops to give them weight, then ask the child to toss a fly to a frog and see if she makes a word. For example, if a fly with a letter C lands on a frog with the ending --at, it spells "cat."
Paying attention to the beginning and ending sounds in words helps children see the word as a whole. There are games to help with this process. On the left side of an open manila folder, write down the beginning of several words. On the right side, write the end of the words, but in a different order. Affix pieces of yarn next to each word on the left side and the sticky side of Velcro beside each word on the right side. Ask the child to connect the yarn from the beginning of the word to its correct ending. The simplicity of this game is that it can be played again and again, yet stores easily.