Back to School Series: Toys and Tools for Building Literacy Skills

Help your child practice their reading and writing before they return to school. 

We’re continuing our Back to School Series with suggestions of tools and toys that can help children keep up with their grade’s curriculum and ward off the summer slide. This week we’re exploring toys that foster literacy skills such as reading and writing. Below are suggestions that help with various skill levels.

(Check out last week’s article on toys that help children practice their math skills, or the following article on toys that inspire scientific thinking skills.)

Learning ABC’s

Before they can read and write, children need to be able to recognize their letters and connect them to the sounds they represent. For child who struggle with phonetics or with shaping their letters, the products below can help them build both their motor and comprehension skills. 

A smaller image of the Pete the Cat box of books
Join this cool cat on his adventures. The Pete the Cat Phonic Box includes 12 books that teach early readers their short and loud vowel sounds. Who knew reading could be so groovy?!
  • Pete The Cat – I Can Read! Phonics Book Series ($16.00) – Pete is one cool cat – join him on his 12 adventures! This series of short intro-to-reading books will help your youngster learn short and long vowel sounds.
  • Alphabet Beads ($27.99) – These colorful beads are perfect for little hands to hold and manipulate to string on a necklace. With 288 Uppercase or Lowercase letters, children can form several words and practice spelling during their arts-and-crafts time.
  • Follow Along Dry Erase Alphabet Set ($38.99) – Learning to print the alphabet is a fun activity with Roylco’s Follow Along Alphabet Set. Early writers can practice tracing their letters on 26 dry-erase letter forms. Each letter’s write-and-wipe design includes directional lines and arrows indicating how to draw each letter. Simply wipe clean to reuse again and again.

Beginning to Read

It’s not rocket science: to get your children to practice reading, give them materials that are enjoyable and accessible for their level. Remember, what your kid wants to read is probably something you’d find silly! It’s okay if your child is reading books with bright illustrations and silly content, so long as they are practicing sound and meaning comprehension. 

Silly books can get children reading, even if their stories don’t make a lot of sense. Don’t Push That Button, a colorful book by Bill Cotter, invites young readers to interact with the story and actually drive the action forward when they PUSH the button — even though they’re not supposed to!

Reading side-by-side or reading aloud to them can also foster an appreciation for reading. Providing a mix of difficulty levels and reading options in your child’s library will encourage confidence in them as they grow in their own capabilities. 

  • Don’t Push That Button ($8.00) – A silly book with hilarious pictures that invites young readers to interact with its story and PUSH THE BUTTON! An excellent book for getting early readers to read on their own.
  • Storytime Book and Playset: DW’s First Day of Preschool ($32.00) – Is your child uncertain about their first day of school? This delightful Storybook and Playset lets your child create the school environment they want while they play. The playset lets children act out the story as they read, helping to reinforce what they’re reading.
  • Disney Electronic Me Reader ($35.00) – Your early reader will love taking that first step to reading on their own with this Me Reader Story Reader. They simply have to choose a book, press the matching button, and they’ll hear the whole story read aloud, accompanied by sound effects! Comes with a hardback version of each story so that your child can read along.

Starting to Write

Writing is just as much a motor skill as it is a mental skill. Many children who struggle with writing are actually having difficulty with the physical action itself. Below are some tools that help children develop the grasping muscles necessary to write well. 

Pencil Grips provide a bigger, sturdier grasping point for children who struggle with fine motor control, and helps improve handwriting, give more control, and reduce hand fatigue.
  • Crayola Sidewalk Chalk -12 Pack ($6.00) – With Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk, the driveway or sidewalk is your child’s easel. The large chalk pieces are easy to grip, helping to build the motor skills essential to writing.
  • Crayola Crayons – 24 pack ($6.00) – Crayola Crayons provide children with vibrant, long lasting color. This 24 pack includes a variety of bright colors that invites imaginative expression. Small enough to fit into backpacks.
  • Pencil Grips – 6 Pack ($10.00) – Designed by a doctor, this ergonomic writing aid is widely used in classrooms, at home, and in therapeutic settings. The unique shape is “one size fits all” to help kids and adults, righties and lefties. The Pencil Grip can be used as a training tool, and then permanently for added comfort. Improves handwriting, helps to give more control, and reduces hand fatigue.

Advanced Communications

Reading and writing are not just about the nuts and bolts of phonetics. Literacy also includes the ability to understand logical progressions, cause-and-effect, and complex connections. Below are some games to help children continue to develop their advanced literacy skills through storytelling and creative play. 

Literacy skills include the ability to understand logical progressions and how different thoughts fit together. With eeboo’s Create A Story Cards, children use their imaginations to make those connections and tell a story of their own creation.
  • Snap Card Game ($8.00) – This game of picture matching provides fun rhymes on each card. While children survey their cards to SNAP up each other’s pairs, they can practice phonetics and also learn new unusual words.
  • A Very Busy Day Create A Story Cards ($14.00) – A favorite among speech pathologists. This pack of Create A Story Cards engages children with the possibilities of their own imagination and encourages them to practice shaping words and connecting thoughts in a whimsical story of their own making.
  • What’s Next? A Life Size Game ($45.00) – This full-bodied game of silly actions helps to engage more than a child’s muscular system. Each card provides instructions for the child to follow. In order to reach the end, they have to practice reading the cards and comprehending the directions, then acting them out. With their blood flowing, reading will be easier than ever.
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