Homeschooling has always piqued the interest and curiosity of my children. When this became their new normal, they missed their kind friends and attentive classroom teachers, but they found they were enthusiastic about all that homeschooling offers. They enjoy having a choice of engaging activities, a flexible schedule, and memorable experiences. Since they are motivated by art and movement, I try to incorporate these into our daily lessons. Featured today on Theresa’s Reviews, you can see our sidewalk chalk vocabulary activities.

Flowering Homophones

This spelling game helps children tell the difference between the sounds they hear and the letters they use to spell words.

Homophones are words that sound the same but are spelled differently.

You start with a drawing of a colorful flower that has an even amount of petals. Inside each petal, you write different homophones.

We used for and four, ate and eight, wood and would, there and their, choose and chews.

When the leader calls out a word, the player jumps to each spelling of the word. She has to be able to define it or use it in a sentence.

After getting the word correct, the player can use a watering can to cover it with water.

The player wins when all the petals are covered.

Prefix 4 Square

In this next game, the focus is on learning word parts and how they change the meaning of the word.

Prefixes come before the stem of a word, and they modify the meaning.

You begin with a drawing of four squares next to each other, which creates one large square.

Inside the four squares, you write the prefix. We used dis-, mis-, in- and un-.

When the leader calls out a word, the player bounces their ball to get to the correct prefix. They must define the word or use it in a sentence to get it correct.

The words I used for this game and the next game came from this list of word sorts.

Suffix Simon

Another game that focuses on meaningful word parts is Suffix Simon, which has a design inspired by the 1990’s Simon Game.

A suffix is placed at the end of a stem, and it changes the meaning of the word.

You begin with a drawing of that has a small circle on the inside and three pieces, which all together makes one large circle.

Inside each piece, you write the suffix. We used -ary, -ory, and -ery.

When the leader calls out the word, the player jumps to that word and defines it or uses it in a sentence.

Another way to play is to focus on speed. The player must recognize the spelling of the word as fast as possible and jump to the correct suffix.

We found that these outdoor activities really cast a SPELL to make learning fun!

If you are interested in discovering more movement and learning activities, make sure to follow Enjoying Family Life on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube.