Learning Games and Toys to Promote Pre-Reading Skills

Learning to read begins the day a child is born.  Each day builds upon the day before and before you know it you have a young reader on your hands!  Today, I’m sharing learning games and toys for babies, toddlers and preschoolers that are not only fun, but help to promote pre-reading skills.

5 Learning Games and Toys

Full Disclosure:  Cooperative Games provided a copy of Sunny Day Pond for my review.  All opinions expressed are my own.  Affiliate links are provided.  

Baby and Toddler Games and Toys

Ramp Race is a toy that both of my boys loved to play with when they were younger.  Watching the cars move helps children with tracking from left to right.  This is a crucial skill they will need when then learn to read because we read from left to right and return sweep to the next line.  Recommended age:  18 months +

It’s amazing how many language skills are practiced while playing in the sandbox.  We got this one last year and both of my boys love to play and “talk” in it.  They tell stories while driving vehicles through the sand.  They converse with each other to pass toys and help each other build.  Play develops the imagination which is an important part of future reading.  Recommended age: 12 months+

Preschool Games and Toys

Farm Sequencing Storytelling Set encourages kids to tell basic farm stories in the correct order.  Sequencing is important for story retellings and comprehending stories.  So, this picture version learning game will prepare young children to transfer the skill when they learn to read.  Recommended age:  3+

Puzzles are great for helping children learn visual discrimination which will help with letter discrimination later in their reading development.  We’ve been enjoying playing Sunny Day Pond, a cooperative game made by Peaceable Kingdom.  I love Peaceable Kingdom cooperative games.  Everyone works together to win!  Each player takes turns spinning the spinner.  A puzzle piece is selected based on the color landed.  Players work together to build the three puzzles on the game board before the raindrops accumulate under the cloud.  Not only are kids working together but they are building pre-reading skills through visual discrimination too!  Recommended age:  3+

Pretend play is a wonderful way to bring books to life.  My boys love to act out scenes from books that we’ve read.  I often hear them using vocabulary they have heard from our reading.  Recently, my mom got them this doctor’s kit to use in their pretend veterinarian office.  I love listening to them and watching all the connections they are making to books.

What learning games and toys do you like to use with kids to develop pre-reading skills?  Please leave us a comment.

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