Alfred Butts who was born on this day in 1899 invented Scrabble, the game that uses letter tiles to spell words. As soon as children learn to read and spell they can play an easy version of Scrabble. You may have a regular Scrabble set or even a Junior Scrabble game that you can play with the children. For very beginning readers you can create your own simple game by making letter tiles from index cards for each letter that is used in the words the child knows. Be sure to make extra vowels (a, e, i, o, u) as they appear most frequently. Uses these letter cards together you can help strengthen the children’s reading and spelling skills while having fun.
Pretend you are all on a desert island looking for treasure. Make a map or place clues around the house leading the children through the hunt. This can be done with pictures for non-readers – draw a picture of the television, then at the television place a picture of the stove. At the stove place a picture of a bed, and so on to the end. The “treasure” can be a treat to eat, or a new game to play.