Build a word...

Get some magnetic letters or bath letters. Have your child stick them up so he can see them all. Start by you, the parent, posting a word on the fridge:

Cat

Have your child sound out the word or read it. (Make the word fit your child's ability...you could even just do letters).

Then either:

1. Tell your child to change the word cat to....bat, mat, sat, etc. A sequence of words might be : cat, sat, mat, map, cap, lap, tap, top, etc....

2. Or let your child build a word and challenge you to read it. Then go back and forth taking turns building and reading. When I do this Charley I usually build off his word to make a word that rhymes his by just changing a letter.

* Please note that I do these things with Charley because he LOVES it. He begs to play school and enjoys sitting and doing things like this. If he didn't I WOULD NOT force it or shove this down his throat.