Phonogram Games

We would like to introduce to you to Michelle, one of our amazing, creative homeschool moms.  She too, is all about making learning phonograms fun and is sharing her ideas and play-filled activities with us.  We thought this was especially fun and can't wait to see what she comes up with next!  Be sure to follow Michelle under our Phonogram Games Category.

My name is Michelle. I homeschool 2 smart and very active little boys..  We have recently started using the Raising Robust Readers program and I can't say enough positive things about it!

I would also like to take a moment and mention the amazing staff at Raising Robust Readers. These ladies have been INCREDIBLY helpful!  I honestly feel their desire for my children to succeed!  I'm so glad to have found this program and these wonderful ladies!  Thank you!

With my oldest son, I made the mistake of teaching sight words. While he is a fabulous reader (despite being taught sight words instead of phonograms), his spelling needs work. I can already see this program making a difference for both of my children!  I'm using this it to teach my oldest to spell and my youngest to read!

We are embracing the best part of this program by making learning fun.  I would like to share a fun game from time to time to help other families have fun gleaning from the Raising Robust Readers program too!

Introducing Ping Pong Basketball (phonogram style)!

Today I would like to share a fun game we like to play that involves our phonograms. This game has also become a fun way for me to "quiz" my kiddos in order to identify which phonograms may need a little extra work.

Materials

I purchased a pack of 100 colorful ping pong balls from Amazon for about $10.  On each ball (using a Sharpie), I wrote a letter or phonogram, for a total of 72 (this of course left extras).  I store our "phonogram balls" in a small container WITH A LID (Disclaimer: I do not recommend a container WITHOUT a lid if you've grown accustomed to your sanity.)  For the basketball portion, we used a round laundry basket at first but really, any basket or container will do.

Game Basics

I tossed my children the ping pong balls, being sure to choose some easier ones first to build confidence.  If they could tell me the sound(s), they got to try for a basket.  If they couldn't tell me the correct sound(s), I had them toss it back to me after telling them the correct sound(s).  I let them try the ones that weren't correct again at the end. This helped me identify any phonograms that may need more attention.

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This game was a "slam dunk"!  My boys thoroughly enjoy this.  I will be recycling the ping pong balls for future games, maybe even a hungry hippo version of phonogram review!

Stay tuned and see what we come up with next!  If you have any ideas to make this more fun or you try it and want to share your experience, let us know!