Suggest a fun reading game for Kindergartener

orangeluck

My niece is in Kindergarten and apparently is not doing well in school- she's not reading where she should be and has poor attention span.  BIL will only say she needs books for Christmas, which is fine but if the girl doesn't like reading now she isn't going to be very into a bunch of books for her gift.  I was thinking maybe a family game that BIL and his GF could play with her when she is at their house. 

Can you suggest a reading/learning game for a 5/6 year old?  I'm sure there are a bunch of choices in the toy aisle but since I'm taking DH shopping with me tonight he won't really let me spend time looking at all the different ones- I need to grab something and go  

 

KonnubialKat

What/Who is she interested in?  I would buy books/games with those characters as research proves that reluctant readers will show more interest with subject matter they are really into.

orangeluck

KonnubialKat:

What/Who is she interested in?  I would buy books/games with those characters as research proves that reluctant readers will show more interest with subject matter they are really into.

That's the problem- BIL and MIL won't give me a clue.  All I know is that she will ask to read the same books about haunted houses at MIL's house even though there are other new books she hasn't seen before there; and she is finally moved past princess stuff. 

I was origainally going to look for some sort of childs cook book that they could do as a family but that kind of thing might be too old for her yet.

jnk062602

Hmm, we used to make our own games out of big sheets of posterboard and markers.  We would draw out the board - kinda like candyland board - and made cards that would "quiz" you.  We made them often about the books we were reading.  Looking back, we were giving ourselves little reading comprehension tests haha such nerds.  If you don;t have time to spend doing it with her, you could always read the book ahead of time and make the game yourself.  Although making them was as fun as playing them.  I think it would make it more fun for her and then she could play it with her parents.

Would they let you talk to her on the phone to find out what she is interested in? 

Telyco

I'm sure the American girl dolls/books are out of a niece budget...but they have smaller ones at Barnes and Noble for $20ish. I remember my little cousin LOVING reading the American girl books and having the doll from the book.

Read2Me

Before having Eva I was a literacy specialist who spent a lot of time working with Kindergarteners who were struggling to learn how to read.  If you want to buy her books, look for ones that have some repetition so that she can join in reading them because she knows what's coming (ie- Brown Bear, Brown Bear; here's a great list: https://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/predict.html).  Or rhyming books like Dr. Seuss where she can predict the words that are coming based on the rhyme.  This list contains a ton of very easy books- the easier the better as reading books that are not frustrating leads to stronger skills and greater interest: https://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/booklists/verybegbib.html

As for games, anything that focuses on letter recognition or rhyming would be ideal for someone your niece's age.  Here are a few ideas:

https://www.amazon.com/Rhyming-Pictures-Listening-Lotto-Carson-Dellosa/dp/B000OFKAOC/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1260650861&sr=1-17

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Puzzle-Pairs-Rhyming-Words/dp/B000J3AO90/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1260650861&sr=1-1

If you go to Barnes & Noble and talk to someone who works in the children's section they should be able to help you find some good choices.  Good luck!