Episode Related Activities

1. Cut the paper/poster board into the shape of the letter O. (Make one “O” for you and another for your child).
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2. Glue each “O” to a popsicle stick or hang the “O” on a strong piece of yarn and wear it like a necklace.
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3. Now go on a “hunt” to find “O”s in your home and community. Use your “O” necklaces/popsicle sticks to remind your child what the letter O looks like. Here are some ideas of things to do with your child on your hunt:

• Look for things around the house and outside that are shaped like the letter O-Cheerios, donuts, tires, hula-hoops, designs, etc.
• Look for the letter O in common signs in the neighborhood, such as “stop”, “slow”, “school”, “crossing”, “don’t walk”, “open”, “closed”, “on” and “off”, and in posters.
• Look for things in your home that start with “O”, such as “oatmeal”, “olives”, “Oreos”, etc.
• Look for the letter O in books that you read with you child.

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1. Brainstorm with your child to think of things that you can find at a birthday party. Write down each word on a separate piece of paper. Here are some suggestions of words to include in your book:
   • cake
   • hat
   • balloons
   • children
   • friends
   • family
   • gifts or presents
   • drinks
   • streamers
   • games
   • birthday card
2. Have your child paste or draw a picture of that thing on the same page with the word that describes it. For some things, your child can actually paste the object onto the page. These things could include a party hat, paper cup, pictures of family and friends, a piece of a streamer and a birthday card. (Note: Do not include actual balloons in your book, as these can be a choking danger).
3. Work with your child to create a cover for your book. The cover should include the title of the book and the name of your child, such as “My Birthday Party Book” by Jordan Smith. Your child can also draw and paste pictures on the cover to show that the book is about a birthday party.
4. Place the cover on top of all of the pages and staple all the pages together OR punch a hole in the top left hand corner of each page and tie the pages together with yarn. Read your birthday party book with your child.

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1. Place Ant WordFriend on the ground so that you can clearly see him.
2. Move back, so that you and your child (and other players) are standing at least 15 feet away from Ant. (Make sure that everyone can see the word right side up, from left to right).
3. Place the word cards you’ve made in the bag. Mix up the cards.
4. Take turns with your child, and anyone else who is playing, to pick out a sheet of paper from the bag. Read each word out loud. If the word has “ant” in it, the player who pulled out the word moves forward one space. If the word doesn’t have “ant,” she stays still. If a child moves forward on a word without “ant”, have her go back to the spot where she started her turn. The game continues until everyone has reached Ant. Note: When saying an “ant” word, emphasize the “ant” part of the word, by saying it loudly and clearly.
5. Play the game with some other small words (like “all” and “and”):

• Getting Ready: Write down the small word (for example, “all” or “and”). Create more cards that have the word “all” or “and” in them, as well as words that don’t have these words in them. Here are some suggestions for words to use for “all” and “and”:
  • “all” words: basketball, baseball, tall, small, ball, call, overalls, mall, fall, hall, wall.
  • “and” words: candle, handle, sand, stand, handstand, understand, band, bandstand, candy, land, grand, hand.
• Playing the Game: Repeat steps 1 to 3 in the section above. Instead of using the Ant WordFriend, put the new small word –”all” or “and” – on the ground. As your children play the game, have them listen for words with the new word in them (“all” or “and”). Note: For words that have the featured word two times like “handstand” and “bandstand” (which each have “and” two times), children can move ahead two spaces.

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1. Go on a “scavenger hunt” in your kitchen with your child to find some of your favorite foods.
2. On each piece of paper, write down the name of one of your favorites.
3. Have your child draw or paste a picture of each food item above its word.
4. Work with your child to create a cover for the book. The cover can include the title of the book and the name of your child. For example, “My Favorite Foods” by Susie Johnson. Your child can also draw and paste pictures on the cover to show that the book is about food.
5. Attach the pages with a binder clip or make a hole in the top left hand corner of the pages and tie them together with yarn.
6. Read your favorite foods book with your child.
7. In the next few days and weeks, you can add new pages to your book. Just unclip or untie the pages to add a new page. Then put back the clip or tie the yarn to attach the pages.

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1. Select a few letters and draw their lowercase versions on sheets of paper (one letter per sheet). Try starting with the letters in your child’s name.
2. Draw the uppercase forms of the same letters on pieces of paper that are a different color.
3. Mix up the cards and place them upside down on the playing surface.
4. Flip over one card of each color to try to match a lowercase letter to its corresponding uppercase letter. If they match, put them in your pile. If they don’t match, turn them back over.
5. The next player then flips over one card of each color to try to find a match.
6. The game continues until all matches have been found.
   Variation: For an easier version of the game, play with the letters facing up. Take turns matching the lowercase letters with their corresponding uppercase ones.

1. Work with your child to create a WordThing for the word “bird”: Write “bird” in big letters on a piece of paper or cardboard. Draw and/or paste items around the letters to make the word look like a bird. For example, decorate the word with feathers and draw a head and feet onto the word and/or cut out wings (from paper, cardboard or other sturdy material) and glue them onto the word.
2. Work with your child to create a WordThing for the word “nest”: Write the word “nest” on a sheet of paper. Decorate it by drawing a nest around it or adding things like twigs to create a nest.
3. Work with your child to create a WordThing for the word “egg”: Cut a sheet of paper into an egg-shaped oval. Write the word “egg” inside the oval. Decorate with paint, markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.
4. Here are some suggestions of what you can do with your finished WordThings:
   • Attach tape to the back and hang them on the wall.
   • Attach magnetic tape to the back of the WordThings to make magnets.
   • Put a hole in the top of each of your WordThings to hang them for all to see.
   • Attach your WordT

1. Cut out the letters P-I-E so that each one is on a separate sheet of paper.
2. Have one person hide the letters P-I-E and have the other players find the letters.
   Variation:
   • Have a different person hide each letter.
   • Have players work in teams to hide and find the letters.
3. Once the players have found all three letters, say, “It’s time to build a word. Let’s build it. Let’s build it now!” Then put the letters in the order P-I-E and then read the word Pie.
4. Then dramatically bring out the ie WordThing to show the word you just built and read it with your child.
   Variation:
   • Take turns hiding and finding the Pie WordThing.
   • Help your child to match the letters P, I, and E to the letters in the Pie WordThing.
   • Give your child hints to help him find the letters P-I-E. For example, if you hid the “P” near a couch, you could say, “The P is hiding near a place where we like to sit on when we are relaxing”.

1. Print and cut out the WordFriends.
2. Tape each WordFriend to a shoebox or other open box.
3. On separate sheets of paper or index cards, write words that rhyme with each character’s name. Brainstorm with your child to think of as many rhyming words as you can. Here are some suggestions:
   • Words that rhyme with Frog:fog, log, dog, hog, jog.
   • Words that rhyme with Frog:hug, dug, mug, jug, tug, rug, slug, snug.
   Variation: For an easier version of the game, draw a picture on the card with each word.
4. Put all of the word cards into a bag and mix them up.
5. Pull out a word from the bag and read it aloud with your child. Decide together which WordFriend it rhymes with. Then throw or place it into the shoebox with that WordFriend’s picture on it. For example, if you pull out the word “log”, throw it into the “Frog” box. If you get the word “jug”, put it in the “Bug” box, etc.
6. Pull out words one at a time, taking turns with your child, until all the words have been chosen. Once all the words have been put into boxes, read the words in each box out loud and congratulate yourselves for putting all the words in the right boxes.

1. Draw or paste some images of “sh” words, such as shark, shoe, fish, sheep, shell, shapes, shirt, ship and shelf-on pieces of paper or poster board. (As you are drawing or looking for images, say the words out loud with your child and help her to hear the “sh” sound in each one).
2. Write the words for each object on other sheets of paper (one word per paper) that are the same size and shape as the cards with the “sh” words.
3. Mix up all the items and put them into a bag.
4. Pull out at a card from the bag. Put it down on the playing surface.
5. Continue to pull out cards one at a time, taking turns with your child.
6. If a player pulls out a card that matches one of the cards that is already out of the bag, she can put both cards in her pile.

Variation: Create a “fishing pole” using a popsicle stick and string. Put a hole through a small piece of paper and tie onto the string. Add magnetic tape to one side of the paper. Add magnetic tape to the back of each card. Place the cards into a bag. Take turns “fishing” in the bag with the “fishing pole” to get out the cards.

1. Draw or paste images of words that start with the letter B on the pieces of paper.
2. Write the name of the object below the picture.Some objects could include:
   bread; banana; bagel; blueberry
   bib; binky; baby bonnet; bottle
   bubble; ball; blanket; bath
   boy; bus; bear; bird
3. Put all the cards in a bag and mix them up.
4. Pull out a card and use your hands, arms, body movements and facial expressions to try to get your child to guess the word on the card.
5. Switch roles and try to guess the word your child selects.Note: This can either be done just through gestures or, for younger children, with words too. (For example, when describing a banana a child could say, “This is yellow and something that I like to eat for a snack”).Variation: Pick another letter of the alphabet with your child. Think of words that start with that letter. Follow the instructions 1-5 above to play charades with the new letter.

1. Each player, except for one, holds one of the animal pictures in her hand. They can hold the cards facing out for everyone to see. The player who isn’t holding an animal card, holds the magic “S” card.Optional:‍
   • Glue the cards to popsicle sticks to make them easier to carry.
   • Place the “S” on a wand or stick, so that it looks like it’s on a wand.
2. Every player except for the player with the magic “S” card walks around pretending to be the animal on her card, moving and sounding like that animal-mooing if she is a cow, quacking if she is a duck, etc.
3. One player walks around the group carrying the magic “S” card. Whenever the magic “S” player decides, he stands next to the end of the word on one of the players cards (the cow, for example) with the magic “S” card and says “Cows, cows, come out and play!”
4. All the other players then have to go and stand by the chosen player and pretend to be that animal. After a little while, the person with the magic “S” gives the magic “S” to the chosen player and the chosen player gives her card to the person who had the magic “S.” Then the players continue around and the new magic “S” holder gets to choose someone else.

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1. Write down the name Frog on a sheet of paper. (Make sure to make spaces between the letters.) Note: If using pre-made magnets, find the letters F-R-O-G and skip to Step 4.
2. Cut out the letters in the word Frog so that each letter is on a separate sheet of paper.
3. Put magnetic tape on the back of each letter.
4. Make the word Frog with your letters. Then move one letter in the word Frog to another place in the word to create a new, silly word.
5. Read the new silly name aloud with your child, saying the sounds of each letter and then the new word. For example, if you get R-O-F-G, say each letter sound with your child — Rr-ah-fff-guh and then read, “rofg.”
   • Ask your child, “What happened to the word Frog?”
   • Discuss with your child why the word no longer says Frog.
   • Show your child how you can move the letter back again to create the word Frog.
   • Then show your child that if you move the same letter to another place in the word, that the word sounds different once again.
   • Discuss the importance of putting letters in a specific order to make a specific word.
6. Have your child move around the letters of the word Frog again a few times to create more words. Read each new word aloud. After he has created several silly words, work together to make the word Frog again.
7. When you are done playing, display the magnets on your refrigerator or other magnetic surface in your home.

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Variations:

• Write the name of another WordFriend—like Pig or Ant—and follow steps 2-7 above.
• Write out a few names and mix them all together (for example, Frog, Pig and Ant). See what silly words you can make by taking a few of the letters together and reading them aloud. Then try moving the letters around to get the names that you started with.

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Getting Ready:

1. Make cards out of paper with the name of an animal and a drawing or picture of that animal.
2. Mix up the cards and put them in a bag.

Playing the Game:

1. A player pulls a card out of the bag and makes the sound of the animal on the card.
2. The other player(s) try to guess the animal.
3. The next player draws another animal out of the bag and makes the sound of that animal. The other player(s) guess the animal.
4. The game continues until there are no cards left in the bag.

Note: This game is best with three or more players.

1. All the players move around the room. One child has the letter V written on a piece of paper taped to her back (or taped to a toy cape or a blanket draped over her shoulders). After a little while, the child with the “V” says, “V Freeze” and all the players freeze by forming the letter “V” with their bodies.
2. The child with the “V” then goes over to each player one at a time to unfreeze them by tapping their shoulders. Once children are unfrozen, they can continue moving around the room. The last person to be unfrozen becomes “it” and gets the “V”.
3. In addition to saying “V freeze,” the child with the “V” can say, “group V freeze.” When she says this, everyone has to join together to create one big “V” with their bodies by lying on the ground.

Variation: Try playing this activity with other letters of the alphabet. Have players choose another letter of the alphabet. Write that letter down on a piece of paper and have the person who is “it” tape that to her back. When it is time to freeze, she can say the name of the letter and followed by “freeze” (for example, “O Freeze”, “A freeze”, etc. ) to let children know what letter they need to make when they freeze.

1. Tape the BUG WordFriend to the inside of the box.
2. Place the box on its side so that the opening and the WordFriend face you and your child.
3. Take the ball and stand a few feet away from the box with your child.
4. Place the ball on the ground in front of you.
5. Start the game by saying the word “Bug”. Once you have said the word, push or kick the ball a little in the direction of the open box.
6. Then take turns saying words that rhyme with Bug.Here are some ideas: hug, dug, mug, jug, tug, rug, slug, snug
   For this game, it is also fine to come up with silly words, such as gug, sug and wug.
7. Every time someone says a rhyming word, push or kick the ball one more time.
8. Keep going until you have successfully gotten the ball into the box.Note: If you run out of words, before the ball goes in the box, repeat some of the words until the ball goes in the box.
9. Try playing the game with the Frog WordFriend. Take the Bug WordFriend away and tape the Frog WordFriend to the box. Repeat steps 2- 8. Here are some ideas for rhyming words:
   • Words that rhyme with Frog: fog, log, dog, hog, jog.

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1. Think about some compound words (words made up of two smaller words) that might interest your child. Here are some examples:
   toothbrush (tooth + brush)                     birthday (birth + day)
   schoolyard (school + yard)                     bathtub (bath + tub)
   nightlight (night + light)                           bookmark (book + mark)
   daytime (day + time)                                earring (ear + ring)
   shoebox (shoe + box)                              postman (post + man)
2. Say each compound word out loud (for example, “toothbrush”). Tell your child that there are two words hidden in that word. Ask your child to listen closely and see if he can find the two words (for example, the words “tooth” and “brush”).
3. Draw or cut out and paste pictures of each smaller word (for example, “tooth” and “brush”) on a separate piece of paper. Write the word below its picture.
4. Take the word/picture cards and use them to practice building bigger words with your child. For example: Pick up the “tooth” card and say, “What’s this?” Then pick up the “brush” card and say, “What’s this?” Once your child has said “tooth” and “brush”, ask your child to put the two words side by side. Then have your child say the words one at a time “tooth…brush” and then together: “toothbrush.” Point out the fact that he has made the word “toothbrush.” Discuss the relationship between the two words–the new word is a type of brush that is used on your tooth. Then draw or cut out and paste a picture of the word “toothbrush” on a separate sheet of paper. Write the word “toothbrush” below its picture.
5. Repeat steps 1-5 with other compound words.

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1. Talk with your child about the different places that people sleep (e.g. in a bed, tent, sleeping bag or hammock). Recall books, television shows, and visits to other places to get ideas. Keep a list.
2. Talk with them about the different places that animals sleep (e.g. in a nest, hayloft, doghouse or burrow), and how these places differ from where people sleep. Keep a list.
3. Choose several items from either list. Draw small pictures of them and/or cut out pictures from magazines.
4. Glue the pictures onto differently colored construction paper pieces (for durability).
5. Write the word of the item under the picture, or have your child copy the word.
6. Punch a hole through the top of the construction paper pieces.
7. Attach each piece to the hanger with string.
8. Hang your mobile up for everyone to admire!

Variation: Create two separate mobiles–one for places people sleep and one for animals. Or create mobiles for other categories (food, clothing, toys) and for the letters in your child’s name.

1. Practice each letter name in the word hat and then practice the sounds /h/ /a/ /t/ to make hat. Emphasize the blending of the three sounds to make the word.
2. Lay the letters down on a table in the appropriate order to build hat.
3. Once the word has been “built”, say the word hat, emphasizing the sound each letter makes.
4. Feel free to let your child color and decorate the letters.
5. Tape or staple the letters to the strip of paper in the correct order. Then, form the piece of paper into a circle to fit around the child’s head. Secure the ends.
6. Now, your child has his/her own hat WordThing!

1. Talk with your child about how some words sound the same at the end and that these are called rhyming words. Explain that words that rhyme are in the same word family.
2. Give them some examples. You can use the words that rhyme in the episode: cake and rake, pie and tie, corn and horn. Write them down so they can see the similarities as well as hear them.
3. Cut a rectangle of construction paper approximately 3″ X 6″. Then cut 2-3 smaller pieces of paper approximately 1-1/2″ X 3″.
4. List 3-4 words in the “ake” word family: cake, rake, take, make, etc.
5. Write the first word (e.g. cake) on the larger piece of paper, spreading the letters out as evenly as possible. Encourage your child to write the letters if possible by tracing or copying them.
6. Then, write the first letter of the other words (e.g. “r” for rake, “t” for take and “m” for make) on the smaller pieces of paper.
7. Attach the smaller letter pieces over the “c” of cake by stapling them one on top of each other. Or you can punch holes through the top of smaller pieces and connect them to the larger piece with a small metal “O” ring.
8. Read the top word with your child. As you turn over each of the smaller pieces with a different first letter, notice how changing just the first letter makes a whole new word.
9. Share your book with family and friends!

Variation: Create more flip books with different word families. You can use words that have blends (st, try, pl) at the beginning of the words instead of one letter.

1. Explain to your child that when words sound the same at the end, they rhyme.Variation: Listen to several of your child’s favorite songs. (Choose songs that use rhyming words.) Notice the rhyming words and write them down. Explain that many songs do use rhymes, and this makes the songs lots of fun and easy to remember.
2. Write down pairs of rhyming words on separate sheets of 8-1/2″ x 11″ paper. The letters of the words should be large enough to read from a small distance. You can use rhymes from the episode (e.g. house – mouse, bell – well, bug – jug, etc.). or create your own. Choose simple words that look alike as well as sound alike (e.g. bell – well, stink -think, cat – hat, fish – dish, house – mouse, boat – goat, etc.). Encourage your child to write the words by copying or tracing them.
3. Invite friends over to play a musical rhyme matching game. Make sure you have enough words for each child.
4. Place the words face down in a long line. Make sure the rhyming pairs are not next to each other and that the children do not know which word is which.
5. As you play some of their favorite music, have the children walk around the words, just like in musical chairs.
6. When the music stops, each child stops and picks up the word closest to them. They should read the word (with adult help if necessary) and find the child with the word that rhymes with their word. Each partnership should read their words to each other to check that they rhyme.
7. Place the words face down again, mix them up, and play again!

Variation: For younger children, match upper and lowercase letters instead of words.

1. Talk with your child about the different ways we read books. Sometimes we read the words, sometimes we know the story from memory, and sometimes we use pictures to tell the story. Books that we read from by looking at the pictures are called “LOOK BOOKS”.
2. Have your child choose her favorite book. Sit and read it with her, focusing on the pictures. Then have her go back and retell the story using just the pictures.
3. Either using that story, or one you make up together, ask your child to draw 3-5 scenes, each on a separate piece of paper.
4. Take a piece of construction paper and help your child copy or trace the words “LOOK BOOK”. Make sure the letters are big. Notice that these words both end in OOK and that they rhyme.
5. Cut out the OO’s in the two words LOOK and BOOK. This way your child can peek inside her book. Decorate the construction paper any way you like. This will be the cover of your LOOK BOOK.
6. Take another piece of construction paper (same size) and sandwich the inner pages of your book between the two pieces of construction paper. Staple or punch holes through the left side of the book so you can sew the book together with yarn.
7. Read your LOOK BOOK together and share it with others!

Variation: Staple or sew both sides of your book together. Cut a line down the middle of the front cover to make a shutter book.