A scavenger hunt on a grocery shopping trip keeps preschool kids entertained and helps them develop reading skills. Create a list of about ten items for them to find. Include a picture of the item as well as its name printed next to the picture. Add a check box at the end of the line. As you cruise through the grocery aisles, your child is responsible for finding her items. Once she finds them, she places them in the cart and fills in the check box. This helps improve attention to detail and allows the child to see the letters that make up different words.
This educational game uses sets of letter and picture cards to create a game for the refrigerator. You'll need 52 cards. You can use index cards or card stock cut into squares. Write a letter on each square. On the remaining 26 squares, draw a picture that corresponds with each letter. For example, you might draw a ball to go along with the letter B or a zebra for the letter Z. A strip of magnet tape placed on the back of the cards lets them stick to the refrigerator or a metal cabinet. The child matches each letter with its corresponding picture.
Depending on the ability level of the pre-K students, choose about ten letters or words to use during the reading game. Hold up a card with the letter or word and have the kids look through a magazine or newspaper until they find it. You can either have them cut out the letters or draw a circle around them. Another option is to set a timer for a certain length of time and see how many of the specified letter or word they can find.
The sequence of stories plays an important part in developing reading skills. After reading a story, help the child retell the story. The kids then draw a picture for each part of the story. Another option is to create the cards yourself before the activity. The kids place the cards in the correct order to depict the correct order of the story.
This preschool reading activity helps kids improve their letter recognition. Several letters are taped to the floor. Choose letters the child is familiar with and include at least four different letters. You can include more if the child is ready. Give the child directions for identifying different letters. For example, you might tell him to dance on the letter R or hop over the letter C.