Back to School – Outdoor Reading Games

Earlier this week these words came out of my six-year-old’s mouth, “I don’t want to read. Reading is boring.”

Gasp! As a child I carried a book wherever I went and could not get enough of the library.  How could I give birth to a child who doesn’t like to read (or at least tells me so in a frustrated moment. This too shall pass, I know)?

My husband or I read several books a day to our children and we listen to classics like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe while we fall asleep at night. But how to encourage my little socialite to independently read on her own?

Time to make reading fun!

I busted out the sidewalk chalk, leftover pop-it’s from the 4th of July, bikes, and water balloons. Covering the driveway with a mix of site words and easy to read words, I also mixed it up by using different colors and shapes. This way, my four year could participate a little easier as well.

The kiddos were quite excited when they came outside. I could see it in their eyes, “what has crazy mommy been up to now?”

We turned reading practice into 5 easy and fun and outdoor games.

1. Pop its! My children love pop its. I passed out several to my six year old and four year old. As I called out a word/shape/or color, they would find it and toss down a pop it like the word was a bulls eyes. Reading + noise = fun!  (please only use pop-its with adult supervision.)

2. Bikes and wiggle cars. I also had the children drive or ride over words as I called them out. Another fun idea would be to have your child ride over certain words to make a sentence!

3. Modified hop scotch. The kids came up with this idea on their own. They would jump from word to word reading each one. They had fun seeing how many words they could read in a row.

4. Writing practice. My daughter got in on the fun by using the chalk to write her own words. She wrote out words and her little brother wrote out letters.

5. Water balloons. Clean up is easy with water balloons! The chalk will stay on your drive way for awhile, but if you want a quick clean up – bring on the water balloons! Just like the pop its, have your child toss a water balloon at the word. Washes the chalk right, off!

We will definitely be bringing out more chalk, water balloons, and pop its for future spelling practices. The children loved it and mommy liked that they were learning, too.

What is your favorite learning activity to do with your children?

Are your children back in school yet?

How do you prepare for the school year?