Learning to read can be a little difficult. In those early days literacy development just seems (and feels) like such a huge jump from where the kids are at, to where they need to go. So by incorporating learning to read games into your day it can easily extend on their reading skills (while having fun too!!) And one thing that has been proven time and time again by researchers is that fine motor play can really build and extend on the learning that is taking place, because it is FUN! But also because it allows the children to use their brains in a different way so the learning that takes place isn’t needed to be as repeated to remember the skill.
So, I am ALWAYS looking for ways to extend on literacy and fine motor at the same time, by making it play-based and of course fun!! When I first saw this activity set up by @misslearningbee I knew that I needed to give it a go! I found these fun egg grabbers from Kmart and they just add that little bit of extra fun to the learning that’s taking place!! Plus, any excuse to head to Kmart, right?
To set up this activity, you will need:
- Ball pit balls (which you can find at Kmart or Target)
- A sharpie
- Muffin pan
- My Decodable Blending and Segmenting Pack
- And the egg grabbers!!
To set up, print off the decodable blending and segmenting cards, and write letters/sounds on the balls. When I did this, I only wrote the ones that matched the cards that we were using and did vowels one colour and the consonants the other 2 colours.
Then using the egg grabbers the kids tried to find the letters/sounds based on the card they had picked. While this extends and builds on their developing literacy skills, it also extended on their hand/eye coordination and problem solving abilities too!
One of my biggest tips when it comes to literacy skills, is that making it fun is super important! And by finding learning to read games that can be used in your home or classroom will help making the building of those early literacy skills fun!
My name is Sommer. I am a mum of 3. A resource creator. A Prep teacher in Queensland. A lover of play-based learning. A special needs advocate. A creative thinker. A believer that learning should be fun.. so fun that they don't know they're learning!
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