25 Interesting Reading Games and Activities for Children

Language forms an essential part of our lives, and learning the basic concepts of it can be quite challenging for kids at an early age. Parents try to enforce them as a duty or a thing to be taught, which can sway some children from reading or writing altogether. However, certain reading games for kindergarten kids can teach your kids the same concepts in an entertaining way and improves their interest in getting to know a language better. Prepare to embark on a delightful journey where books come alive, and imagination knows no bounds. In this article, let us explore a captivating collection of games and interactive adventures that will spark your child’s love for reading. From word puzzles to interactive storytelling, prepare for endless fun and learning! 

Video: 8 Fun Reading Games and Activities for Kids

Why is Reading Important for Young Children?

Focusing on reading in young children from an early age is quite important since it has its advantages over the time.

1. Improved Writing

By reading better, your child will be able to form sentences correctly and write them easily.

2. Improved Grammar

The rules of grammar can be absorbed easily by exposing the child as early as possible to grammatically correct sentences.

3. Enhanced Imagination

Reading stories and other articles can stoke their creativity and get their imagination flowing.

4. Future Success

Children who can understand what they read can excel in studies quickly.

5. Real Life Safety

The importance of reading safety signs or road rules in the world can be pretty much a lifesaver for your kids in the long run.

6. Infuse Confidence

A child who can figure out things on his own can build his confidence rapidly.

7. Improved Elocution

Reading from the book helps streamline thoughts and be a better orator ahead in life.

8. Better Vocabulary

There’s simply no other way to improve your collection for words apart from reading as much as you can.

15 Reading Games For Kids

There are numerous fun-filled and exciting reading games for preschoolers that you can opt for and help your child start developing the fascination for reading books.

1. The Treasure Hunt

Start off your child on discovering the magic of reading, by introducing him to the happiness of solving a riddle and getting a prize.

What You Need

• A bunch of paper cards
• Pencil
• Various objects or gifts

How To Play

Rather than turn reading into a job, let your kid start finding out how reading is so integral to any part of their lives. Hide his toys or even new ones along with a few chocolates or gifts in different parts of the house. About those locations, write down simple clues on a piece of paper. Even a simple line as “where do you water the plants” can be enough. Make your child read it out loud, answer it and then find the hidden object.

2. Word-Based Snakes And Ladders

Here’s a twist on your child’s favourite game, by replacing the numbers with easy words.

What You Need

• A snakes and ladders board
• Game-related items
• A felt pen

How To Play

You can purchase a special board of this variation, too. Or else, you can use a pen and write simple words that your child can read on all the 100 squares of the board. Play the game just the way you’d play on any other day. Your child can count the squares and say the words aloud as he passes them. By referencing different areas of the board, your child can learn to scan the words by visual identification.

3. Guess The Word

This game requires larger participation from your end, but it directly helps the child comprehend complex questions easily.

What You Need

• A dictionary
• Paper cards
• A Pen

How To Play

Either use a dictionary directly or write various words on flashcards and put them all in a bucket. Let your child pick out a word and tell you the number of letters in it. You now end up asking him questions that can be answered either in a “yes” or a “no”. Ask questions such as “does the word have vowels” or “is it an animal” so that your child also has some thinking to do at his end, before he answers your question.

4. Young Scrabble

As a parent, you would have some wonderful memories of playing Scrabble with your family and friends. Use the core concept of the game to come up with a variation for your little one.

What You Need

• Letters from the scrabble set
• A pen and paper

How To Play

Instead of the usual seven letters, give your child a wider variety of letters to use. Make sure vowels are provided aplenty. Ask your child to come up with as many words as he can using those letters. You can provide a guiding list of sorts, by starting him off with three letter words, and then ramp it up to words with more letters. Let him write down each word that he makes on the piece of paper.

5. Connecting Letters And Sounds

The core formation of speech revolves around the connection of letters with typical sounds of speech. Use this game to match the right ones together.

What You Need

• A large whiteboard
• Markers of various colours

How To Play

Start by dividing the board into two columns. On one side, write a bunch of rimes, which would generally be the letters such as b, h, m, y, l, k and so on. In the other column, write as many onsets as you can. These could be anything from an, on, at, or, and many others. Ask your child to assign one coloured marker for each rime and connect them to as many onsets as possible to form legible words. Let him say the words aloud once he connects them.

6. A Word Flip Book

Experimentation is a great way for kids to discover and learn new things. The same can be achieved with a flip book game for reading words.

What You Need

• Tiny flipbook diaries
• A Pen

How To Play

Prep the diaries by writing the alphabet on each page of it. Let your child do this as a warming up of sorts. Once all the diaries have a letter on each page, tell a word to your child and let him figure out how many letters there are in it. Based on it, he needs to use those diaries as flip books, arrange them linearly, and flip each one of them to the letter that can spell the word when reading together. You can start off gradually with simpler words and then ramp up to complex ones that can get him racking his brains.

7. Hopscotch Spelling Bee

This game is best enjoyed in a group of children where everybody can work together to achieve a singular objective.

What You Need

• An open area
• A piece of chalk

How To Play

Make around four hopscotch maps in an open area, with each of them having seven letters in them. Each kid is responsible for the letters in his hopscotch map. Now, when you pick a word, the kids have to work together in hopping to the letters in the word in sequential order. For example, if the word is “apple”, the kid with “a” on his map needs to hop there first, followed by the kid with “p” who needs to hop twice, and so on. This can get quite exciting, and you can set a time limit as well to ramp up the drama.

8. Bringing Stories To Life

The benefit of reading can be achieved only when it is read out or experienced again. Let your child do the same by being a storyteller himself.

What You Need

• Simple storybooks
• Some props or interesting clothes

How To Play

Pick out a story that your kid usually loves or has read multiple times. This could be either from a storybook or in any subject of their curriculum as well. Let him make some props that might be required in the story or wear the clothes of a character. Set the mood, prop yourself up on a sofa, and ask your kid to enact the story for you. Ask him to combine storytelling with any actions described in the story itself.

9. Playing I Spy With Words

Haven’t we all enjoyed playing I spy when we go on long drives or picnics? You can do the same with your kids at home using simple words, too.

What You Need

• A good vocabulary
• Interesting objects

How To Play

Put together various objects that might be available at home. Or even take your kid out for a walk in the park or supermarket. Play I spy by saying “I spy something we can drink which begins with m” and let your child decode it and get a can of milk for you. Numerous variation of the game can be achieved. As he grows up, you can replace the simplicity with the concept of rhyme saying “I spy something that rhymes with a mouse”, and your kid can point at a house in the neighbourhood.

10. Taboo Voices

If simple reading is what your child finds extremely boring, spice it up by making it into a game and blending them with some strange voices.

What You Need

• Two copies of the same book

How To Play

Sit with your child and start reading the story. Choose a word frequently occurring in the book, such as a character name or a place, and assign a specific voice to the word. As you read the story, whenever that word occurs, it should be read in the voice you’ve assigned to it. This can work beautifully for character-driven stories, but you can do the same with random words, and make squeaky voices for them as your child laughs in delight.

11. Story Starter Hat

 Here’s an interactive and interesting reading game for your kind.

What You Need

• A hat or container
• Small pieces of paper or index cards

How To Play

Write down different story starters on each piece of paper. Then fold the papers and place them in the hat. After this, each child takes turns picking a story starter from the hat. Using the story starter as a prompt, they continue by adding their own sentences or paragraphs. Encourage creativity and imagination as the story unfolds with each participant’s contribution.

12. Alphabet Treasure Hunt

Here’s a reading game that can take your child to the peak of curiosity and learning.

What You Need 

• A collection of small objects or pictures representing each letter of the alphabet
• Timer or stopwatch

How To Play

Hide the objects or pictures around the playing area. Set a time limit for the treasure hunt. Each child searches for objects that start with each alphabet letter in alphabetical order. They must find and present the object before moving on to the next letter. The child who finds all the objects in the shortest time wins the game.

13. Word Detective Challenge

Do you want to channel the inner Sherlock homes of your child? Here’s another interesting way to do so:

 What You Need

• A selection of books or printed reading materials
• Sticky notes or bookmarks

How To Play

Choose a specific word or set of words for the challenge. Give each child a book or reading material. In a given time limit, they must find and mark as many instances of the chosen word or words) as possible using sticky notes or bookmarks. The child who discovers the highest number of occurrences becomes the word detective champion.

14. Character Charades

Here is an excellent game to channelise your kid’s interest in action and role-playing and make them learn new things.

What  You Need

• Small pieces of paper or index cards
• A hat or container

How To Play

Write down the names of different book characters on the pieces of paper. Fold the papers and place them in the hat. One child picks a character and acts out their traits, actions, or mannerisms without speaking. The other children try to guess the character within a time limit. Rotate roles so that each child gets a chance to act and guess.

15. Book Title Mad Libs

Here’s one of the most unique games to help kids read.

What You Need

• Blank slips of paper or index cards
• Writing utensils

How To Play

Each child writes down a noun, adjective, or verb on paper without revealing it to others. Collect all the slips and shuffle them. Distribute the slips randomly to the children, ensuring everyone has a mix of nouns, adjectives, and verbs. Read a book title aloud, leaving the chosen word types blank. Children fill in the blanks with their assigned words individually, creating hilarious and unique book titles. Share and celebrate the amusing combinations that arise from this collaborative storytelling activity.

10 Reading Activities For Kids

Turning the act of reading into a game can be quite fun for you. But for other times, we have developed some interesting reading activities for kindergarten kids that can keep your child engaged.

1. Reading Photographs

Simply reading words is not enough. Comprehending their meaning and expressing what isn’t written goes a long way in a child’s language development, too.

What You Need

• A book of pictures
• A family album

How To Play

Open any page of the book or a nice photo from the family album that is quite descriptive. Ask your child what he thinks is going on in the picture and let him describe it to you. Nudge him to form complete sentences when he explains what he sees.

2. Personal Diary

You might think that kindergarten is too young for a child to have a diary. But this is a perfect age for him to start reading his activities.

What You Need

• A decorated diary and a pen

How To Play

Depending on how old your child is, either you can ask him to write down in the diary at specific intervals, or you can write what your child did in a day as well. Then, on the following day, ask your child to read the entries of the previous day.

3. Put The Story Together

Along with reading, children also need to be introduced to the concept of causality and the sense of a story. This activity can help them with it.

What You Need

• Multiple flashcards
• A Pen

How To Play

Pick a simple story that your child has read and split into different sections by writing them down on various flash cards. Shuffle them and hand them to your child. Let him arrange the cards in a manner that it reads like a proper story.

4. Picture And Word Association

For the ones that are just beginning out, this simple activity can help assign meaning to words.

What You Need

• A collection of pictures
• Flash cards and a pen

How To Play

Arrange all the pictures around your child and write their names on the flashcards. Ask your child to place the correct flash card on the matching picture by reading it aloud.

5. Word Search

As children grow up, they can engage in activities to find recognisable words from a jumble of gibberish.

What You Need

• An activity book

How To Play

Start by either using solved crosswords or existing word search puzzles to give to your child. Ask him to find specific words in the jumble and circle them with a pencil.

6. Storytelling Relay Race

Children enjoy storytelling, and what’s better than this activity that engages them in reading through their favourite pass-time.

What You Need

• A collection of story cards or slips of paper with different story elements written on them (characters, settings, conflicts, etc.)
• Stopwatch or timer

How To Play

Divide the children into teams and have each team stand in a line. Give the first player in each line a story card or slip of paper. When the game starts, the first player from each team must quickly read the story element on their card and pass it to the next player in line. The next player reads the element on the card and passes it to the next player. This continues until the last player in each line receives the card. The last player must then use all the story elements they have received to create and tell a coherent story to the rest of the team. The team with the most creative and well-structured story wins the relay race.

7. Word Treasure Hunt

Hone your little spelling bees right from their childhood by engaging them in a reading activity like this one. 

What You Need

•  Designated space for the treasure hunt

How To Play

Hide the word cards or slips around the designated space. Divide the children into small groups and give each group a list of words they need to find. Start the timer and let the groups search for the hidden word cards. When a group finds a word card, they must read the word aloud and place it in their group’s collection. At the end of the designated time, gather all the groups and have them share the words they found. Encourage the children to create sentences or a short story using the words they collected.

8. Character Costume Parade

This is an interesting reading activity that shall help your child learn reading in a fun way.

What You Need

• A collection of children’s books with various characters
• Basic costume materials (hats, scarves, accessories, etc.)
• Space for a parade or runway

How To Play

Ask each child to choose a character from one of the books. Provide the children basic costume materials to create a costume representing their chosen character. Once everyone has their costumes ready, organise a character costume parade or runway. Each child can take turns walking down the runway, showing off their character costume, and briefly explaining who their character is and what book they come from. Encourage the children to be creative and enthusiastic in their presentations.

9. Poetry Slam

Here’s one of the most interesting children’s reading activities. Awaken their inner Wordsworth and Emily Dickinson and help your child unravel the beauty of literature at a young age.

What You Need

• A collection of children’s poetry books or printed poems
• Microphone (optional)
• Stage or designated performance area

How To Play

Introduce the concept of a poetry slam to the children. Provide them with a selection of children’s poems to choose from or allow them to write their own poems. Divide the children into small groups or pairs, depending on the number of participants. Give each group or pair time to rehearse and practice their chosen poem. Set up a stage or performance area and have each group or pair take turns performing their poem in front of an audience. Encourage the children to use expressive gestures, voice modulation, and creativity to bring the poems to life. Consider providing a microphone for the children to enhance their performance experience

10. Book Cover Redesign

Here’s an interesting activity to channel your kid’s creativity and interest in art and craft.

What You Need

• A selection of books with interesting covers
• Art supplies (coloured pencils, markers, paint, etc.)
• Blank paper or cardstock

How To Play

Provide each child with a book and ask them to examine the cover design. Explain that their task is to redesign the book cover using their own creativity and

FAQs

1. How to Encourage Your Child to Read?

To encourage your child to read, create a reading-friendly environment at home. Have a variety of books available, including those that match their interests. Read aloud to them regularly, show enthusiasm for reading, and set aside dedicated reading time. Make reading a special and enjoyable activity by creating cosy reading nooks and participating in reading challenges together. Celebrate their reading accomplishments and provide positive reinforcement.

2. How Can I Make Reading Practice More Fun for Children?

To make reading practice more fun for children, incorporate interactive and engaging reading materials. Use pop-up books, interactive e-books, or books with colourful illustrations. Let them use technology like tablets or e-readers for reading. You can also make reading a social activity by organizing book clubs or reading groups with your peers. Additionally, consider incorporating games, puzzles, or activities related to the books they read to enhance their engagement and enjoyment.

3. How Do You Encourage a Reluctant Child to Read?

Encouraging a reluctant child to read requires patience and understanding. Start by identifying their interests and finding books that align with their preferences. Allow them to choose their reading material to make it more enjoyable. Offer a variety of genres and formats to keep them engaged. Read aloud to them and discuss the stories to spark their interest. Find real-world connections to the books they read, such as visiting related places or engaging in related activities. Finally, be a role model by showing your own enthusiasm for reading.

4. How Do I Increase My Child’s Reading Skills?

To increase your child’s reading skills, provide ample reading opportunities. Encourage daily reading and set aside dedicated time for it. Offer a variety of books at their appropriate reading level to develop their vocabulary and comprehension: practice phonics and word recognition through activities like word games or flashcards. Engage in discussions about the books they read to improve their comprehension and critical thinking. Consider enrolling them in reading programs or working with a reading tutor if additional support is needed.

Putting together some interesting reading activities for preschoolers doesn’t seem tough once you know the basics your child needs to adhere to. By utilising these activities, your kid can be well-prepared to handle the demands of the school curriculum easily.

Did you know that all children have eight smarts, one of which is Word Smart, which focuses on vocabulary building, which these reading activities will do. However, it is also essential that your child’s other smarts are boosted for all-round development. The Intellikit (also based on the Multiple Intelligence theory) is a one-of-its-kind activity subscription box for kids, that promotes learning through fun activities. Based on a unique theme each month, each box comes packed with worksheets, calendars, cards, and, storybooks that promote the development of all 8 smarts in your child. Simply pick your subscription duration or opt for a trial box to get started.

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