How to Make Vocabulary Building Games for Children
It is never too early to work with your child on vocabulary at home. A good vocabulary helps your child become a better reader and writer, and will give your child the tools he needs to succeed later in life. Building vocabulary does not have to be boring, either.
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Instructions
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Play "first word," a game that will help your child understand rhyming words, the difference between real words and made up words, and how words relate to one another. Saying a word out loud, and tell your child to say the first word that comes to mind in response. You then say another word, and so on. For example, if you say "cat," your child might say "mouse," you might say "cheese" and your child might say "sandwich." It is interesting to see how your child's thought process works. You also can play this game by stipulating that only rhyming words are used, but they must be real words, not made up words. This game is easily played in the car or at home, since there are no special materials needed.
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Play "scrambled words." Come up with a sentence of six or more words, such as, "When I feed my dog, he quickly runs to his bowl," and write each word on an index card. Mix the cards up and have your child see how fast she can place the sentence back in order. You can add to this game by making up several sentences and mixing all the cards up. See how many sentences your child can put in order.
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Make a word find. Word finds will help your child learn new words and their spellings. Several websites, such as FunBrain.com, will allow you or your child to make up a word find. You can choose skill level and type in the words you want to include. To challenge your child, pick new vocabulary words and have your child find the definition of each one before using the word search. After you have made the word search, print it out.
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Play "real or not?" Go through the dictionary and pick out five or six words your child might not know. Try to find words that sound silly and write them on a sheet of paper. Add in three or four words that you make up. Have your child read each word, decide which are real and which aren't, and try to come up with a definition and a sentence for the real ones. Your child can then use the dictionary to locate the meanings of the real words.
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