Lovevery has released a new set of toys called the Lovevery Reading Skill Set focused on developing reading skills through play and we were one of the first families to try it out. Our 3.5 year old Theodore has played extensively with these toys over the past few weeks, and what I’ve learned is that there are so many steps and precursors leading up to your child actually being able to read.
Watch on Instagram: How I’m Teaching my 3 Year Old to Read:
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There are three kits in the Lovevery Reading Skill Set. Part 1: Sounds to Reading, Part 2: Words to Books, and Part 3: Advanced Rules to Chapter Books. With my three year old, we began with Part 1: Sounds to reading.
Lovevery Reading Skill Set Part 1 Review
Teaching a young child to read isn’t just about recognizing letters or words. It’s also understanding the rhythm and cadence of speech, recognizing sounds, and the components of what makes up each word, which is the main focus of Part 1: Sounds to Reading.
“In this motivating introduction to reading through phonics, your child will learn the most common sound of each letter and how to break up words into sounds.” – Lovevery
From the toys, games and books included in Part 1 of the Lovevery Reading Skill Set, here are some of the skills we are working through:
- Understanding Compound Words through Compound Word Pairs – The activity is a set of interlocking cards that display the two separate words that make up a new compound word. (SUN + FLOWER = SUNFLOWER)
- Counting Syllables through the Syllable Race Game – The game premise is racing wooden dogs around a track. The number of spaces each player moves is dependent on the number of syllables of a word shown on a picture card. (POTATO = 3 STEPS)
- Learn about rhyming words through the Rhyming Leaves Game – The game is to flip over “leaves” with pictures. If the two words rhyme, the player can add the leaves on a tree. If not, try again. (RAKE, SNAKE, LAKE). There’s a second version of this game too with removing the leaves of the tree. (They’ve thought of everything, haven’t they?!)
- Sounding out Letters through the Follow the Sound Maze – Reveal pictures that start or end with the same sound (ie. snake, spoon, etc.) and practise sounding out letters. The correct pictures will reveal a path through a maze.
Lovevery The Syllable Race Game
One of our favourite toys from the Lovevery Reading Skill Set is The Syllable Race Game. It’s a fun, simple, and straightforward turn-taking board game with a great learning component that helps with building foundational skills for reading through recognizing and counting syllables.
Watch us play The Syllable Race Game on Instagram:
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The game premise is racing wooden dogs around a track. The number of spaces each player moves is dependent on the number of syllables of a word shown on a picture card. (HEL/LI/COP/TER = 4 STEPS). There are a few small surprises along the way (wildcards and ‘skip a turn’) to keep the game interesting. The game takes less than 10 minutes to play, and is perfect for bite sized, engaging chunks of learning through play. From playing this game over and over again, we’ve found that The Syllable Race Game also helps with counting, turn-taking, vocabulary, and more.
Lovevery Reading Skill Set: Is it Worth It?
My 3 year old already showed a high interest and curiosity in books, reading, and recognizing letters and numbers so as soon as Lovevery released their Reading Skill Set, I knew it’d be perfect for him. I think the games are age appropriate, easy to follow, and fun. As a parent, I enjoy playing them with my son. I’m also impressed by the longevity of the kit. We’ve had it for six months now, and we are still working though the items in the set.
How do we know the toys are actually helping Theodore develop foundational skills for reading? How do you know the toys are working? Well, as a personal anecdote – Theodore saw a bulldog in our building’s elevator – pointed to it and said HE’S A COMPOUND WORD.
Click here to buy the Lovevery Reading Skill Set.
