Top literacy activities for kids to boost reading and writing skills

Literacy is about so much more than just getting good grades - it's the secret sauce that helps children communicate with others, form stronger relationships, and even explain their emotions without resorting to interpretive dance (though we wouldn't judge if they did!).

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Like most skills, kids are more likely to engage in learning to read if they’re given the chance to learn through play. These literacy activities for kids are designed to do just that! They’re fun, engaging, and give new ways to keep your kids occupied without the aid of screens.

(Now that’s a parenting win worthy of a victory dance.)

And who knows? You might just find yourself enjoying the process as much as they do! After all, nothing says “family bonding” quite like writing large letters in a tray full of salt or creating rhyming words during bath time.

So grab those washable ink pads and get ready for some fun – your child’s literacy journey is about to take off!

The importance of literacy activities for kids

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Literacy activities for kids are essential, and they’re not just about reading the fine print on cereal boxes! They help our preschoolers develop literacy skills that form the backbone of their communication and comprehension abilities. Think of it as building a strong foundation for a house – without it, you might end up with a leaning tower of Pisa.

Starting early with literacy activities for preschoolers can ignite a passion for reading that lasts a lifetime. Reading to babies may feel like chatting with a wall (or a very sleepy goldfish), but before you know it, they’ll be writing large letters spread across the fridge with magnets, proudly displaying their masterpieces.

Incorporating fun phonological awareness activities like rhyming games or sight word activities into everyday life makes learning feel less like homework and more like an adventure. Who knew that sorting magnetic letters during soak time in the bath could lead to such giggles?

In short, literacy activities are crucial for fostering vocabulary development, enhancing reading skills, and turning your child into a confident communicator.

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Literacy activities for young children

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One of the best things you can do to help your kids discover a love for literacy is to start reading to them during the baby stage, and don’t forget to sprinkle in some nursery rhymes!

When your child reaches the toddler and preschool stages, it is the perfect time to introduce letters with engaging activities.

Kick the letter cup

Take a stack of plastic cups and write a single letter on each. Then, give your child a small soccer ball and tell them to kick it towards the letters you yell out. This fun game keeps kids entertained while learning about the alphabet’s different letters.

Colour sorting letters

Grab some coloured circle stickers and use a marker to write one letter on each. Then, ask your child to sort them into different colours on a rainbow drawing.

Alphabet pillow jumping

Get a stack of paper plates and write one giant letter on each. It’s more fun when you involve other family members – so if there are siblings, get them to jump in the fun.

Have the kids start on one side of the room and try to jump to the other without touching the floor. It’s like a literacy version of ‘the floor is lava.’

Connect-the-dots with letters

Write a handful of repeating letters in random patterns down a length of butcher’s paper, then let your kids connect the letters in any way they like. After all, it’s all about following your child’s lead.

This simple game helps them to recognise letters and opens up conversations around words. It can also be fun to sound out real and invented words using the connected letters.

Salt tray writing

Dump a bunch of salt into a tray and create a few cue cards with letters, numbers, or whole words written on them. This fun literacy activity lets your child trace the shape with their finger or the end of a paintbrush, helping to increase their motor skills while strengthening their early writing skills.

You can also make it more fun by adding colour or patterned backgrounds to the tray, which can be revealed when your child writes.

Letter-matching archaeology game

Take a large tray, coloured sand, and a few magnetic letters and build a mini archaeology site for your kids to dig through.

As they find the hidden letters in this fun, dinosaur-themed game, you can practice letter recognition and ask if they can build words.

Mini alphabet sensory bins

For this literacy activity, grab a bunch of objects and toys that start with the same letter and put them in sensory bins. Depending on the kids’ age, you can either ask them to guess the letter or tape it to the front of the box.

Fingerprint letters

Grab a marker and write some large letters spread on a piece of paper. Then, using a washable ink pad, ask your child to make fingerprints along each letter.

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Everyday literacy activities for kids

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You don’t have to set up something complicated with a big clean-up. Here are some ways you can easily incorporate literacy activities into your everyday life:

Introduce new sight words/high-frequency words

Sight words are common words that, once learned, kids can recognise without sounding them out. At home, you can playfully practice sight words, such as sticking up in different places around the house and hunting for them. My personal favourite is to stick it on the door as a password. Everyone needs to read the password ( a.k.a sight word ) to pass through.

Rhyming

Phonological awareness activities revolve around the ability to recognise the spoken parts of sentences and words.

Recognising rhyming words is a basic level of phonological awareness that is also fun for kids. Start by saying two words and asking your kids if they rhyme or not, then ask them to think of another word that rhymes.

Literacy lessons with food

At the supermarket, you could ask your kids to name fruits and vegetables, then encourage them to draw them for you when you get home. While cooking at home, you could ask your kids to name different ingredients or tell stories about where your fruits and vegetables came from. This is a great way to build comprehension skills.

All these little, daily activities add up, helping your kids to improve their ability to read, build comprehension skills and write while inspiring their imagination.

Literacy activities for school-age children

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If you are looking to enhance your child’s learning experience, these literacy activities for school-aged kids are not only fun but also incredibly effective in building essential skills.

Practice alphabet letters at bath time

Distinguishing between lowercase and uppercase letters can be difficult for kids. Making it a fun part of bath time can help them master the skill. Grab some foam alphabet letters in the bath and ask them to put uppercase letters in one cup or bucket and lowercase in another.

Make letter shapes out of play dough

Who doesn’t love play dough?! When you’ve got the playdough out, draw some letters on a piece of paper and encourage your child to make letter shapes.

Word games

Play word games like ‘I Spy’ in the car or at the supermarket to help kids with their phonics skills. You can even incorporate elements from everyday life, like spotting words on a restaurant menu or reading street signs, as you play.

It’s a fantastic way to keep your little ones engaged while boosting their literacy skills. Plus, who doesn’t love a good game that turns a mundane trip into an exciting adventure?

Sound sorting

Sounding out words is a huge part of early literacy. Practice sound sorting with kids to help them recognise rhyming words. You can do this by cutting out pictures from magazines, old books, or printables, and then sorting them under each sound or letter. This literacy activities for preschoolers is a neat way to build language skills.

Alphabet songs

Simply adding alphabet songs to your repertoire of songs sung during time for bath, while brushing your teeth or getting dressed can help younger children recognise the alphabet more easily.

Alphabet puzzles

Kids love puzzles, and there are plenty of simple alphabet puzzles you can buy to help kids practice letter recognition in a fun way.

As kids get older, try puzzles with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, and ask them to spell words by placing just a few letters in their place.

Magnetic letters and writing activities

These are a great tool for teaching literacy activities (just watch out for tiny magnets and, if present, ensure they are properly secured and won’t get into any tiny mouths!).

Take a handful of letters and ask your kid to spell out a word on the fridge. You could also do this while you’re cooking, asking children to spell out ingredients you use as you go.

Alternatively, ask your kids to sort out letters by finding uppercase and lowercase letters, then put them together on the fridge or a whiteboard.

Letter-sound colouring pages

If you have a kid who loves to colour, grab some letter-sound colouring pages for them (or use any colouring-in book) and ask them to find a picture that starts with a letter, then colour it in. This is an easy way to incorporate literacy activities into something your kid already loves.

Story sequencing cards

Sequencing skills are about identifying the beginning, middle and end of a story to help kids understand what they read or hear. Story sequencing cards contain parts of stories that kids can piece together, a little like a story puzzle. They’re a great way to help build their sequencing and comprehension skills.

Additional literacy activities for kids

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If you’re feeling adventurous or have some time on your hands, these additional literacy activities for kids will up the excitement factor and give you some time back for other things.

Go on a scavenger hunt

Create a scavenger hunt including clues related to phonics skills, like looking for words with a particular sound or hidden letters, around the house.

Recycled Scrabble Play

Scrabble letters are a great tool for kids. Give kids a set of tiles on a Scrabble rack and have them spell out rhyming words or words related to a theme.

Word family activity

There are 37-word families that kids learn to help them sound out words and read. These include common sounds like ack, ink, ump, and ank.

With a group of kids, you can set up stations for a number of word families along with a toy box full of objects, toys, and words written on a page.

Set a timer and have kids run to place objects in the correct word family area, then count how many they get right as a group, in teams, or as individuals.

CVC word games for older students

CVC words have the consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. For example, map, dad, cat, and dog.

These are great simple words for kids to master early on, helping to practice their phonics skills and build their confidence.

You can recreate classic games like Snakes and Ladders, Connect Four, or Bingo using CVC words to make learning these simple words more engaging and fun.

Wrapping it up

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Literacy activities for kids help them unlock the world of words, and let’s be honest – who doesn’t want their little ones to be the next Shakespeare or Dr. Seuss? With so many engaging and educational activities out there, it can feel like you’re standing in front of a buffet of literacy skills, trying to figure out what to serve up first.

If you feel overwhelmed, just take it one day at a time. Remember, even the most seasoned parents were once just as bewildered by the thought of teaching their kids to write letters and recognise letter shapes!

Frequently asked questions

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1. What are the key literacy skills for children?

The key skills are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each of these skills is developed from the moment kids are born and hear your voice. They can be broken down into smaller skills that build on one another over time. For example, phonemic awareness, phonics knowledge, letter and letter-sound knowledge, word decoding, oral reading, spelling, and written letter formation. These are all difficult skills to learn, so patience and persistence pay off!

2. How can I make literacy activities fun for my child?

Lean into what excites your child, and weave literacy activities into that. This might be as simple as theming word association games or letter recognition activities around something your kids love. If you have a kid who struggles to sit down, you could add letters to more physical activities and games like scavenger hunts or kicking the ball to a letter. You can also take the pressure off by incorporating literacy activities into everyday life — talk to your child, speak about letters and words while out in the world, and sing songs together.

3. What are some no-cost literacy activities?

Many of the literacy activities listed above are no-cost or could be made at no cost with a little DIYing. For example, games like ‘I Spy’ are no-cost and great for teaching kids about words.

Rhyming or making up stories and songs together costs nothing and inspires their skills as well as creativity. With just a piece of paper and a pen, you can create fun activities from scratch. You can also look online for free, downloadable printables to use.

4. How often should I engage my child in literacy activities?

Every day! This doesn’t mean setting up a special activity station every day; it simply means making an effort to talk, read, sing, and rhyme with your child. When these everyday literacy activities happen in conjunction with weekly school work, dedicated activities, and homework, they help your kid develop their skills in a low-pressure, fun way.

5. Can digital games improve my child’s literacy?

Yes, there are plenty of digital games that can improve children’s reading/writing abilities, and if you are incorporating some screen time into your kids’ lives, they are a great way of entertaining while educating. Some skills, like learning to write, do require more hands-on activities, so just make sure digital games are incorporated into a wider set of activities. There are also great education shows for kids to help out.

6. What are some literacy activities for children with learning difficulties?

Many of the activities listed above can be adapted to suit kids with learning difficulties. You could simply “age down” on the activity you choose for older children, or you could adapt the activity to suit their needs – for example, using easier words or parts of words, speaking more slowly, or providing additional cues like pictures and objects. As always, skills are best learned in a fun, low-pressure, engaging environment — so even “sneaking” literacy activities into everyday life can be a wonderful way to encourage children with learning difficulties. As your kid gets older, ask their teacher or daycare educator to help with ideas for your children. They are experts with loads of experience, so lean on them for ideas!