Phonics Word Blocks: Craft #2

I mentioned in my first craft post that I amazed my uncrafty self by making three crafts in December. This Word Block Phonics game was a Christmas gift to all of the kids, but I was primarily aiming for a fun, sneaky way to get Caleb to practice reading. The game reminds me of a kid’s version of Boggle.

If you like the idea, but not with blocks, you could try out Paint Chip Phonics, a similar game recommended in Confessions of a Homeschooler’s blog post linked above. You could also adjust the sounds based on your child’s level, doing Consonant Vowel Consonant (CVC) words if just beginning reading. I made 51 blocks, instead of 9, which ended up taking me hours, since I also missed the vital instruction of painting the same color on opposite sides of the block, and so redid my first night’s work just to make it look right.

Seth got the blocks free from a company that makes wooden doors and window frames. (Thus the odd number of 51–that’s what we were given!) He needed to clean up about half of them with extra sanding, and then I did the painting and phonics portions.

The little ones love building with them, and they’re sturdy and indestructible (vs. some cheap plastic blocks I’d gotten here). I discovered that Carson needs the plain blocks though, as he gnawed a bit of paint off one on Christmas day. Caleb doesn’t quite get the game yet–he yells at me every few seconds, “Mom, is grap a word?” Okay, so we might need to work on vocabulary, but at least he’s reading! 😉

 

Stored in a photo storage box.

So far he likes building rather than reading!