Value Bookshop's Reading Notes

Here in Malaysia, the muslim celebration of Hari Raya Aidilfitri has begun. Hoards of people travel back to their home town or what we call “balik kampung.” If you have a long way to go and are traveling with your kids, I’m sure your greatest hope is that they sleep most of the way. Hahahah. But you know what, car trips is one of the best times to hone your children’s reading skills. You can play phonic games with them.

• The rhyming game — What rhymes with hat? or dog? or man?
• I spy — I spy with my little eyes, something that begins with the sound /b/
• The guessing game — I’m thinking of a red fruit that begins with the sound /a/, or an animal that ends with the sound /t/.
• For those just learning to blend sounds, why not say the segmented sounds and see if they can put it together — /b/ /a/ /t/, what do you think I’m saying?
• Phonics bingo — make several bingo cards but instead of numbers in the squares, write in alphabets. Then, cut up the 26 alphabets and put it into a container or zip lock bag. Draw them out randomly, don’t say the name of the alphabet but rather make the sound. Have your kids check their bingo cards to see if they have that sound. If they do, they color the square that has that particular alphabet. The person that colors an entire row (or entire card) wins the game.

These are just some ideas to make your car trips fun and educational. It’s also a relaxed way to learn phonics. I’m sure if you put your thinking cap on, you’ll come up with more phonic car games.