Let’s Play!

I love activities where reading and movement come together. How about a game that involves following directions, counting, big & little movements and reading? Not enough? What if I told you that the reading involved is reading riddles? I’ll bet I’ve got your attention now! More importantly, I’ll bet you’ll have your child’s attention with this cool game.

Riddle Search

First, write several riddles on a piece of paper. Be sure that you write the words large enough for your child to read them clearly. Use the kind of riddles that ask a question and have an answer. Those work best for this activity. Riddles for kids can easily be found by doing a google search, but for fun I’ve collected a few here as an example:

Why did the cake like to play baseball?   Because it was a good batter!

What do sea monsters eat?    Fish & Ships.

Why did the banana go to the doctors?   Because he was not peeling well.

What do moths study in school?  Mothematics!

Separate Riddle Questions & Answers

Next, separate the riddle questions from the answers using scissors.

Hide and seek riddles

Go around your house and place (or hide) each riddle question with the corresponding answer positioned somewhere close by it. The point is for the child to find each answer shortly after finding the related question.

Make A Riddle Guide

After you’ve got all of the riddles in place you’ll need to fill out a paper to give your child as a guide to finding all the riddles. List three or four riddles for your child to find. Your riddle guide will read something like this:

Hop 5 times to the couch. (Question is found there)

Now spin 2 times to other side of the couch. (Answer is found there)

Next take 25 baby steps to reach the kitchen table. (Question is found there)

Take 2 giant leaps to the kitchen chair. (Answer is found there)

Have Fun Finding All The Riddles

Each time your child finds a riddle question or answer be sure to have him/her read it out loud so you can enjoy it too.

If your child doesn’t read yet then you can either read out the directions to your child or just make them up off the top of your head.  This game would be really fun for toddlers.

*This activity can be altered for any kind of questions and answers that you think would interest your child. Try this out the next time your child has to study for a test!*

The proud mother of four children with voracious appetites for reading, Mindi Flowers is a work-at-home mom with a passion for promoting literacy. Mindi is the author of several children’s books, including the imaginative and interactive Super Hero Joe series. She is also the creator of an innovative system designed to teach reading skills to toddlers and adolescents using sound, successful practices with repetitive and fun activities. Mindi Flowers is also the force behind Bailey A. Bookworm, a.k.a. B.A. Bookworm, a website and blog that offers innovative tips and interactive activities geared towards nurturing the reader in your child. Visit her site http://babookworm.wordpress.com to view more of her work.