Words are what we string together to form meaningful sentences, which help us communicate clearly. They’re the building blocks of language. A good knowledge of words is a great asset that comes in handy all through our lives. But a good vocabulary cannot be built overnight. It takes time, patience and lots of effort. So, it’s important to start teaching words to kids right from childhood.

But kids are very playful and easily distracted. Vocabulary lessons to learn more words is probably the farthest thing from their minds. So, how do you get a reluctant child to build a large vocabulary? Simple, teaching words for kids becomes easy when you involve them in activities and games. Kids love participating in anything fun, so they’ll eagerly take part in word learning activities and games. Additionally, they stay engaged in the lessons, which helps them learn better.

Try these 5 ultimate activities, which will entice even the most reluctant kids to learn words.

5 Activities To Help Kids Learn Words

Here are 5 amazing activities you can do with your child to build their word skills.

1. Word Hunt: Kids love a scavenger hunt. So, turn their favorite game into a word learning activity. For this activity, write several words like sight words, three letter words, simple four letter words etc on pieces of paper. Stick or hide them around the room. Then call out clues to help your child find the pieces of paper. Once they find them, ask them to pronounce the words and explain its meaning to them. 

For example, if your child finds a paper with the word cup, ask them what they drink from.

1. Word smash: This is a fun game for your little bundle of energy. Write words in large letters on large pieces of chart paper. Lay the chart paper on the floor and hand your little one a cushion. When you call out a word on the chart paper, the child needs to find the word and smash it with the cushion. The child gets one point for every correct word they smash. This could get a bit rough, so you might want to do it in an area without fragile things. 
2. Word walk: A great activity to help kids learn new words and practice words that they’ve learnt is to take them on a word walk. Take your little one for a walk around the neighborhood. As they walk, ask them to describe the surroundings or point out words that they know. You can help them by demonstrating. For example, “This pink ice cream is delicious.” Or “That blue butterfly is beautiful.”
3. Word catch: Is your little one a baseball lover? Then, this word learning activity is perfect for them. Label a few baseballs with different words like flower, four, feet, ball, bat etc. Then pitch the ball to your child. Each time they catch the ball, they should read the word on the label and toss it back to you. Repeat as many times as you like with as many words as you want.
4. Matching words: Matching words to its corresponding images is a great way to help your child understand the meaning of the words. For this activity, you’ll need two sets of flashcards, one set with words and another set with corresponding images. Shuffle the cards and place them before your child. Then ask the child to match the word to its correct picture. This activity will also help you gauge your child’s progress. 

Learning new words doesn’t have to be difficult. All you need is some patience and some fun games or activities to make the lesson more interesting for children.