Flashlight Word Game

I made signs out of the words my daughter is learning to read. I wanted them to be very clear for her to read and she has a bit of a struggle with handwriting; however if your child wants to write the words or needs the practice, then you could have him or her write the words. I used a thick marker to make sure the words would be easy to read from a distance.

I found the largest, blankest wall we had in the house, and stuck the words all over it with painter's tape, to keep the paint from being ruined.

I included some words that I know my daughter can easily read so that the game would be fun and not so much of a challenge that she got frustrated and didn't want to play anymore.

Did I mention that we play this game at bedtime so it is a big motivator for getting the kids upstairs without the bedtime battle? A wonderful little side benefit. We turn out all the lights and my daughter shines her flashlight on the words and reads them. If she needs help sounding out a word, I help her. We play variations of the game like I call out a word, and she finds it with the flashlight. Or she randomly shines the flashlight on a word and Mom has to read it. Sometimes I pretend to struggle with the word. She always helps me out.

Look who wants to play, too: her little brother. My three-year-old thinks this is fun, too. Only he looks for letters in the words: "Look, Mommy, I found a 'W'." We get really excited about that: "Yay, a W! How cool is that?! Do you know what sound a W makes?"

Another variation is to make a sentence out of the words, shining the flashlight on each word as she goes along: "The car will stop."
My daughter said, "Reading by flashlight is a fun way to learn, Mommy." I think I know what game we'll be playing before bedtime for the near future. And I am so okay with that!