We use a mix of phonics and sight words with our homeschooling kids. I have found that helping kids learn how to read with phonics gives them a foundation to recognize new words. BUT a crutch that has happened with my kids, when they focus on phonics-only, is that they lack the speed and confidence to read fluidly.
Time for sight words!
Here are some tricks that we have used (and some that we have discovered online) to help your kids enjoy memorizing words.

How to Read Games:
Play twister, only instead of colors for your child to “land” on, have them find certain words.
Create a story, only leave out the sight words… and put them on “orphaned” puzzle pieces. Watch your child “fit” the right word into the sentences.
Make a garden of related sight words – love how this family put a different word on each leaf of the flower. Add a flyswatter, and have your child swat the “bee” as it lands on the sight word you call out.
Create a print rich home with lots of “moveable alphabets” for your kids to manipulate and create the words on her sight word list this week.
Kids Learning Activity: put the words on the wall – have your child “slam” the word with a ball after they find it their word
Go Bowling for sight words. Here are some fun ideas on ways to incorporate words into your game.
Memorize your Opposite words with this reading activity for kids
Are you working with your child and a specific word? Try Word watches. Your child can raise their hand when they hear “the word”.

Words for kids Beginning to Read
Don’t know where to start? Here is the Dolce word list of sight words that kids should memorize.
Here are some fun sight word coloring pages. My kids loved discovering the word!
Instant word lists. These are words that your child should be able to recognize “instantly”. I like how the lists grow in complexity.
Our printable Sight Word Bingo
Review how to spell words that your child should know instantly with some of these spelling activities
More Games to Help Kids Read
- Flashcard games.
- Story Cubes.
- Beach ball sight word game.
- Number word matching.
- Tracing with sight words.
- Sight words with cards.
- We have so many great sight word activities!
- Let’s learn Easter words with plastic Easter eggs.
Come back this afternoon to see some of the best activities and games for kids – linked up from around the world.
We love the ideas above. We also have many games and resources you may like (home programs for students, IWB downloads, flashcards, worksheets, etc)
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So many great ideas and wonderful resources! Thank you so much for featuring our sight word watches:)
Annie:)
My granddaughter loves playing “sight word” Go Fish, and after each match she uses the word in a sentence.
So many great ideas – I pinned this to my sight words board.
some really fun ways to work on those sight words – pinning this to share! Thanks for including our Sight Word Bowling Rachel 🙂