We are on Unit 2 of Grow a Reader. Already, I have seen improvements in Hayden's reading!!! It is the MOST exciting thing in the world to see reading click with your child. When I started teaching Hayden to read, over a year ago, I couldn't find the resources I wanted, so I created it myself. Grow a Reader is intended to help YOU teach your child to read!!! Grow a Reader Each week, four new sight words are introduced. There are fluency sticks, a sight word reader, and three games to help practice the sight words. The first game we played was catch a sight word. I got ping pong balls at the Dollar Tree, and threw them in a tub of blue water! Crayola bath drops are AWESOME! Hayden scooped out the balls with the net, and read each word. Beginning sounds is a skill he mastered awhile ago. However, I feel like it is valuable to keep reviewing this skill. I filled a bag with play food. He would pull out a toy, and trace the letter it started with. The word family focus this week was the -ig family. You can spell each words with stickers, stamps, or letter beads. Last week was the first time I introduced syllables to Hayden, and I have been surprised at how well he has picked up on this skill. We counted syllables in each word using tiny blocks from the Target Dollar Spot. MY FAVORITE. Fluency sticks. The goal is to see how many he can read in a minute. He LOVES the challenge and beating his previous scores. THIS is where I have seen the greatest improvement in his reading. Another activity to focus on the -ig word family. He put the puzzles together and read each word. Sight word practice should be FUN! We traced each word in glitter glue, and then let it dry. We placed it under a piece of paper and make rubbings! Rhyming is such a fun skill for beginning readers. For this game, Roll & Rhyme, Hayden rolled the dice. He picked up the card on that number and we thought of words that rhymed with the picture. Lastly, we played with sight word tunnels! This was a fun week of games and activities and I love how much Hayden's reading has progressed! Grow a Reader For more activity ideas, follow along with us on Instagram @michele_dillon