Goal
Build an ear for rhyme and sound patterns — one of the earliest and most important stepping stones in learning to read.
You'll need
Nothing needed — works in the car, at bedtime, waiting in a queue, anywhere.
How to do it
Say a simple sentence and leave the last word blank: "The cat sat on the ___" or "I see a frog sitting on a ___". Your child fills in the rhyme. Start with familiar, obvious words and build to trickier ones.
You can make it sillier as you go — "The queen was eating a big bowl of ___" opens up a lot of options. Nonsense words count too, as long as they rhyme. "Queen" and "splordeen" is absolutely fine.
This one's great because it doesn't feel like phonics practice. It just feels like a game — which is exactly the point.
