Syllable Blending and Counting Activity for Families
Literacy skills are important predictors of children’s later achievement. For this reason, it has become a key component to kindergarten readiness. But, just as important as reaching prekindergarten goals, literacy development can also be a joyful experience for young children.
That’s why Connect4Learning provides daily activities that always promote development of language and literacy skills. As you know, language is woven throughout the curriculum as children hear—and are invited to use—rich vocabulary in context.
You can help families continue this learning and development while at home! Share the following syllable blending and counting activity with families today.
Syllable Blending and Counting Activity for Families
Learning to detect, blend and count parts of words (syllables) is an essential precursor to learning to read. Think of this skill as a stepping stone to sounding out individual letters in words. Keep this activity light and fun, offering support, demonstration, and encouragement as your child practices this skill.
- Start with a short list. Make a list of several family members’ and friends’ names, including your child’s name.
- Add words with syllables to your list. Add several words that have one, two or three syllables. Examples: one syllable (bear); two syllables (pencil); three syllables (potato). Try to have at least 10 names and words in your list.
- Start guessing. Say to your child, “I am going to say a word slowly, in parts. I want you to guess the word. Here’s an example: ta-ble; ta-ble. [Pause for about one second between word parts.] What word is that?” If your child answers correctly, say, “Yes, I said ta-ble, and you guessed that it’s the word table!” If your child doesn’t say the correct answer, say, “I said ta-ble, and that’s the word table!”
- And repeat. Continue with the other words on your list, demonstrating and helping your child when needed.
Extend the Learning:
With your child, clap once for each syllable in the word and count the claps. Example: Ba-na-na has three syllables, so you would clap three times. Ask your child how many times he clapped for the word. Example: “How many times did we clap for ba-na-na? Yes, we clapped three times, because ba-na-na has three syllables!”