The Rhyming Race

I know Dr. Seuss is either a love or hate relationship for teachers and parents.  All of that endless rhyming, and sometimes made up words, just to create a rhyme.  But children love a good rhyme, and will repeat it over and over.  Personally, I don't mind the rhyming, it's catchy, like a song with a great beat.  So we have our share of Dr. Seuss books; they are great for word play and vocabulary building.

Rhyming games are great fun as well, especially for times when waiting is required of us.  A friend of mine and I came up with a rhyming movement game that I like to call...

Depending on where you are, draw or tape out shapes of your choice as marking places in two or more rows.  The number of rows depend on how many are participating in the race.  Have one child stand in front of each row of shapes, and call out a word that can be rhymed multiple times; can, sat, and stop are great starter examples.

Each child will take a turn calling out a word that rhymes with your starter word.  If they do say a word that rhymes, they move a space forward by stepping, hopping, skipping, or what ever suits them.  Whom ever gets to the end of their line first wins!  The winner gets to come up with the next new starter word to race for!

This game is most appropriate for preschool aged children, but can be modified for younger and older ones.  A twister mat works great if you are in a place where you can't mark the floors.  You can also make it a true race by letting children move a space if they are the first to call out a rhyming word, but it's up to you and your kids to come up with the right pace!

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