Rhyme Time

There is a general order for learning how to read. The first skill a child learns is usually alphabet recognition, then sound recognition. Then comes phonemic awareness, or the understanding that a word is made of different sounds. The first step to this is typically an understanding of rhymes and alliteration.

I bought some rhyme puzzles at Ross for $6.99. I can use them in a variety of ways. When first introducing rhyming, I just used the two rhyming cards. Delaney and I said the words together several times while she put them together.

Once she started to catch on, I used two cards that rhymed and one that did not, and asked her to find the rhyming words.

For instance, "Rug, Truck, Duck. Which words sound the same?"

Next, I made it a bit more difficult with two rhyming pairs that she had to match up.

Then, we played concentration with two rhyming pairs.
 

I liked the concentration game the best, using 4-8 pairs. There are a LOT of cards in this game, and she was distracted by all of the different pictures when we used all of them at once. (The dish ran away with the spoon, the kitten found its cat mama, etc.) I also liked the using one pair with other cards that did not rhyme, but had the same initial sound or final sound. This helps to identify if she is able to hear the rhyme, or if she is still looking for individual sounds that are alike. She is doing a pretty great job so far.