If You Can't Make a Rhyme

And sing it in time...

Then we will throw it out the window!

Y’all, I had to Google to see where that song came from, other than the depths of my magical lyric retaining brain. I can’t remember what we ate for dinner last night or attend the PTA meeting despite setting a minefield of reminders about it, but I can pull a lyric from a 1995 school playground out of my brain faster than you can say Miss Mary Mack. Magical, mysterious brain. Who gets to decide what sticks and what slips through the sieve? Certainly not I.

Speaking of things that get stuck in your brain, this is a post about RHYMES! The wonderful power and fantastical fun of rhyming. Rhyming is not just for kids. If there is a song I love to belt out in the car at top volume, it’s gonna have great rhymes in it. Also, while writing this, I couldn’t stop thinking of the rap battles in the movie 8 Mile. Could I age myself any more in this post?

I cannot emphasize how important and engaging rhyming is for pre-reading skills. Not only does every person love a good rhyme, but a rhyme builds confidence in pre-readers like WOAH. Here is the secret to why: you get to have so many wins when you start playing with reading and rhymes. The more wins a kid has, the more they want to keep playing the game. In this case, the wins are correctly guessing the word on the page (or in the brain, or floating around in the air, what have you), and the game is learning how to read and listen to sounds that make up words (that is phonetics). Let’s GO!

Why is rhyming awesome? Simple. Pimple. Dimple. Show your child that the first word is “Simple” and explain how all the other words have the same ending by covering the D or P (first letter) with your finger. Then add the first letters back and have them tell you what the word says based on the first letter sounds alone. They will feel such a sense of accomplishment knowing they “read” a big word by knowing the first letter sound and hearing the rhyme. Playing rhyming games helps introduce the idea that words, both big and small, are built from blocks of sounds coming together, which helps build confidence around the idea that even big, long words can be broken into small and easily decodable pieces.

You can play with rhyme all the time (see, look at me!), with or without books. What rhymes with “HAT”? Kids can yell out answers. Level up: tell them that HAT starts with H, have them come up with a rhyme, and ask them what letter their word begins with. Level up again: tell them HAT is spelled H-A-T, then ask them how they think SAT is spelled. Break it down by sound to help them while they take some guesses.

Another great way to play with rhymes and reading is a pause and guess game. Often, when you are reading a book, kids will hear the rhyme and know what word is coming next, or at least what sound the word will make. Pause and let your kid finish the rhyme while you point to the word on the page. If your kid doesn’t love this game or take to it right away, don’t pressure them, but don’t give up. A small window of pause is a great opportunity.

I suggest that with rhyming games, the most important thing to do is have fun, like a whole lot of fun, with it. Rhyme with real words and nonsense words. Move magnetic letters (or cut up letters or Scrabble tiles around) and make up new words. Language is more than just a tool; it is an incredibly fun game. When your kid is coming up with rhymes for words, don’t stick to known or real words. Let them make up all kinds of words and then figure out (with your kid) how you would spell them based on the letter sound at the start. One of my favorite games to play with kids who are learning to write, read, and spell is to have them write a string of letters together and then have me “read” it aloud. Watching me struggle to sound out a large nonsense word is not only funny, but it also helps kids connect letters to their sounds.

Lastly, nobody is going to NOT laugh when you start thinking of words that rhyme with “heart” and someone lands on “fart.” It’ll always be funny.

What are your favorite rhyming games you play with your kids?

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JUST ONE BOOK

OOK the BOOK and Other Silly Rhymes by Lissa Rovetch Illustrated by Shannon McNeill

Ook is a book, Ow is a cow, Eep is a Sheep, Ake is a Snake. With silly rhymes and words with bold, fun text, this book is a perfect way to play the rhyme game and help build confidence in your pre- or early reader. Especially since the book introduces readers to common word endings like “-ing” and “-et.” Alongside being a fun book for great rhyming games, the illustrations in this book are lively and captivating, with plenty of silly little nuggets to draw you in.

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Of course, thinking about word endings and rhyming only works when it works. Phonetically, rhyming always works. If something rhymes, it rhymes because rhyming is auditory. When your kid moves on from listening to find the rhyme to the actual reading and spelling, though? Things can get a little…muddled.

Let us have a laugh about it, shall we?

Thanks for being here, thanks for being you. I hope you keep on reading, rhyming, and laughing this week.

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If you know someone who likes to rhyme art with fart and class with…then:

xo