Toodler Kids: cvc words

April showers bring May flowers... right? Well, let's stay dry and have a little fun this Spring with an umbrella CVC word building activity, perfect for kindergarten!

s stay dry and have a little fun this Spring with an umbrella CVC word building activity Umbrella CVC Matching Activity

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) word building is an important early reading skill. Reading and building CVC words is very useful in creating a solid foundation in reading by giving children a taste of how letter sounds together can form words.

In this activity the child will be building eight different CVC words using colorful umbrellas. Each umbrella has three sections that together form a word. That word is also represented by an image under the umbrella.

Materials needed for this activity:

The printable PDF file (link below)
Laminator
Velcro dots (I picked these up at the Dollar Tree in a pack of 20, you will need two packs)
Scissors (I included a dotted cut line around the umbrellas so you could cut them out or use them for fine motor cutting practice.)

Setup Instructions:

Step 1: Print PDF file. (link below) There are 6 pages to the activity.
Step 2: Laminate now if you choose and then cut out your umbrellas and the sections.
Step 3. Add the velcro dots to the back of the letters and top of the umbrellas. To make them match up better I stuck the top and bottom velcro dots together and put them on the umbrella first and then lined up the section and stuck it on.
Step 4: Time to play! Have the child build the words to match the images shown under the umbrellas. Such as net for the umbrella with a net under it. Have the child say the word by sounding out the letter sounds as they build the different words.

Extension Activity: See what other words they can form with the letters. Can they create new words by mixing up the color sections?

For more umbrella fun check out our umbrella counting pack and our umbrella color match activity!

Click Here to Download your FREE Umbrella CVC Activity

Meet Becka:
I'm a homeschooling mother of 3 who loves being creative. Miniature Masterminds is the blog where I share my knowledge from years of Early Childhood Education classes and past experience working with young children in the classroom, as well as being my much needed creative outlet. I love sharing free printable activities, crafts, and ideas to help others in their work with young children. Miniature Masterminds also showcases the activities I do with my preschool daughter, elementary school age son, and middle school daughter in our home education journey.

For more CVC word practice, see the following posts:

umbrella counting pack and our umbrella color match activity!

Click Here to Download your FREE Umbrella CVC Activity

For more CVC word practice, see the following posts:

Ice Cream CVC Word Flip Chart

Practice reading with this fun ICE CREAM themed CVC word flipper, plus a recording sheet to write down the words made and whether they are real words or nonsense.

Summer is coming and that means ice cream, ice cream, and more ice cream (At least, in my house that's what it means!). We are pretty picky about the ice cream we eat but we love to eat ice cream as often as possible. So it only makes sense to add ice cream into our school work. Especially when we pair the work with actual ice cream! Summer is also a time where many kids don't practice skills they learned throughout the school year. Keep up with reading and avoid the summer slide with fun activities, like this Ice Cream CVC Word Flipper.

Today we are working on CVC words, or words that consist of a consonant-vowel-consonant. They are considered the easiest words to read because they rarely veer from a simply set of rules. Phonics typically start with CVC words. These CVC word flippers includes all 5 vowels and just a handful of consonants (6 in the front and 6 a the end). The result is a good variety of words that can be made!

How to Use the Ice Cream CVC Word Flippers:

Cut out each page by cutting the borders but not the inside lines (yet). Line up the pages and staple on the top three times - one for each section. Cut the inside lines stopping about 1/2 inch from the top. Fold page each section so you can flip through the letters. Have your child read the word on top. Then flip one letter over and read the new word. Keep flipping over letters in each section to see what new words you can come up with!

By flipping just one letter at a time, kids can start to see the patterns that are naturally occurring in words. For example, cat and rat are just one letter off. Once one word is sounded out, half the word is done! Reading a similar word should be much easier. Not every letter combination will make a real word. Some words will be nonsense words. But don't skip these! Nonsense words can still be decoded. They can show whether kids are actually reading and sounding out words or if they are just guessing based on words they know.

The word flipper comes with a matching page to write down the words you find. There is a column for real words and a column for nonsense words. Of course, there are many more than 7 real words and 7 nonsense words. But this sheet provides a good place to record some words and also practice writing skills.

Practice reading with this fun ICE CREAM themed CVC word flipper Ice Cream CVC Word Flip Chart

Click Here to Download you FREE Ice Cream CVC Flip Chart

Erin from Royal Baloo
Erin is a full time homeschooler and blogger. During her "free" time she enjoys any crafty activity, reading, or making printables. She blogs at RoyalBaloo.com as a means of sharing the printables and whatnot.

For more Ice Cream activities, see the following posts:

Fidget Spinner Challenges

Take advantage of the fidget spinner craze and get kids learning with these free printable Fidget Spinner Challenges. Practice reading sight words, cvc words, letters, numbers and more!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

How to Play Fidget Spinner Challenges

The goal of these fidget spinner games is to review concepts that your child or student has already learned, while they race against the spinner. Perfect for summer review!

The rules of play are simple:

Place your fidget spinner over the image in the upper left corner.
Give it a spin.
Moving from start to finish, see how many words/letters/numbers the child can read before the fidget spinner stops.
Can the child reach the finish? If not, spin again and keep going!
Optional: Kids can use a dot marker to mark the words/letters/numbers as they read them.

What's Included

The following games are included, plus a blank sheet so you can create your own fidget spinner challenge!

CVC words
dolch pre-primer sight words
uppercase letters
lowercase letters
numbers 1-10
random numbers 11-99
blank sheet (use it for addition, subtraction, different sight words, etc.)

Click Here to Download your FREE Fidget Spinner Challenges

If you enjoyed this activity you may also like the following posts:

CVC Word Puzzles: Pig Themed

Learning to read is an exciting time in a child’s development. Kids need plenty of practice in segmenting and reading CVC words. The more activities and opportunities we give them, the more they are able to segment and join their letter sounds. These fun pig themed CVC puzzles are a great set to add to your farm unit if your kids are ready for some fun CVC activities!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.

To prepare

Preparing these puzzles are simple, here’s what you’ll need:

Scissors
Activity puzzles (below)
Laminator
Laminating sheets
Printer
Paper

Print and laminate as many sets as you need, and if you’re using it for a class have a few sets ready for some independent stations and groups.

CVC Pig Themed Puzzles

Depending on the needs of your class, you may decide to work on two vowels at a time or all five. The puzzles include the short vowel sounds (a, i, e, u, and o).

In the group I was working on some of my kids weren’t ready to tackle the vowel sounds ‘u’ and ‘o’ and they are learning English as a second language so I only gave them the a, i, and e short vowel sound puzzles.

First we placed the beginning letter sounds in one basket, the short vowel sound and the ending sound in two separate baskets. You can place them in little piles if you don’t have baskets. The kids then began by choosing a beginning sound and a middle sound then finally an ending sound. They would see if the word makes sense once they sound it out and if it does they leave it on the side and made another. I got them to read their words several times before moving on to the next word. I watched them do this and checked their words as they built them!

At the end, I got the kids to write their CVC words in their books.

Ready to download this activity?

Click Here to Download your FREE CVC Word Pig Puzzles

This post was contributed by:

Yara from Sea of Knowledge
Founder of Sea of Knowledge, an ESL teacher with a passion for making learning fun and engaging. She loves creating fun activities that children and learners can benefit from. You can also find me on: Facebook and Pinterest.

For more CVC word practice, see the following posts:

Farm CVC Word Family Games

Learn to read with these fun Farm Word Family Games! Practice CVC words through play.

There is nothing like watching a child learn to read their first words. It is exciting to watch them connect all the dots. Even better, you know that worlds are basically opening at their finger tips. So we play a lot of games to work on reading skills and improve them. This means a lot of games. My kids are fine with silly or gimmicky games so we tend to gravitate towards those types.

Farm CVC Word Family Races

There are two different games. One for short a words. The other is for short i, short e, short o, and short u. The Tractor Race game is all about practicing reading short a words! All the animals on the farm want their hay for eating or laying on. The farmer's tractors have to get supplies (hay) to each store. The goal of the game is to see which tractor will pull four hay bales first. This game can be played competitively or cooperatively. For a competitive version, everyone can choose one color tractor that they want to win. To play cooperatively, work together to fill up the tractors with hay.

There are two sets of cards - one set with just words and the other set with pictures. The words match the pictures so you could also use the cards for matching. You can play with just words, just pictures, or a combination of both. Put the pile of cards upside down and take turns picking up the one on top. Read the word (or identify the picture) and figure out which word family it belongs with. Then place the card in the next spot of that word family. The first tractor full of hay wins!

Get the Eggs to the Hens Word Family Race

The hens have lost all their eggs and they would like them back! Match the baskets of eggs to the hens by word family. Similar to the tractor game, this can be played cooperatively or competitively. There are also two sets of cards - one with words and one with pictures.

Place the cards upside down then pick up the top one. Read the word or identify the picture and decide which word family it belongs with.

These two games together cover 8 different word families that covered short a, short e, short i, short, o, and short u. Learn to read with these fun word family games!

Click Here to Download your FREE Farm Word Family Games

This post was contributed by:

For more CVC reading practice, see the following posts:

Mailbox Word Families Kindergarten Activity

I am pretty excited about sharing this mailbox word family activity. I think it turned out really cute. In this activity children will "deliver mail" by matching word endings to their particular family.

Each word family has its own easily assembled mailbox (instructions included). There are four words for each family mailbox and 5 mailboxes in all. On each envelope are the sight words "from" and "me", a word to match, and a visual representation of the word. This activity is great for around Kindergarten age. You can find more word family fun with animal crackers here!

Instructions for mailbox set up:

Step 1: Cut out each mailbox around the dotted lines. We will be using the solid lines for folding.
Step 2: Fold all the solid lines. Join the A tab to the other A to form the dome shape. Tape or glue it together.
Step 3: Attach the B, C and D tabs to the inside of the dome to form the back of the mailbox.

Cut out all the different envelopes around the dotted lines. Arrange your mailboxes so the child can see the family names on the side. This way they will know which envelope goes to which mailbox.

Word families included:

-ig family (pig, twig, wig, fig)
-an family (man, tan, fan, can)
-ot family (dot, pot, hot, cot)
-og family (log, jog, fog, dog)
-at family (cat, bat, mat, hat)

Activity Instructions:

Set out your mailboxes so the kids can read them. Set out your stack of envelopes. Tell the child to deliver the "notes" to the family they belong to.

This activity is a fun and easy way for the child to practice reading simple words and learn about word families. It also has the added benefit of giving them an opportunity to pretend to be a mail person delivering the mail. You could even give them the letters in a small bag and set the mailboxes up at different places in the room for more dramatic play fun.

Click Here to Download your FREE Mailbox Word Families Activity

This post was contributed by:

Becka from Miniature Masterminds:
I'm a homeschooling mother of 3 who loves being creative. Miniature Masterminds is the blog where I share my knowledge from years of Early Childhood Education classes and past experience working with young children in the classroom, as well as being my much needed creative outlet. I love sharing free printable activities, crafts, and ideas to help others in their work with young children. Miniature Masterminds also showcases the activities I do with my preschool daughter, elementary school age son, and middle school daughter in our home education journey.

Need more kindergarten activities? Click here to see ALL of our kindergarten printables!

If you enjoyed this activity you may also like the following:

You can find more word family fun with animal crackers here!

Instructions for mailbox set up:

Step 1: Cut out each mailbox around the dotted lines. We will be using the solid lines for folding.
Step 2: Fold all the solid lines. Join the A tab to the other A to form the dome shape. Tape or glue it together.
Step 3: Attach the B, C and D tabs to the inside of the dome to form the back of the mailbox.

Cut out all the different envelopes around the dotted lines. Arrange your mailboxes so the child can see the family names on the side. This way they will know which envelope goes to which mailbox.

Word families included:

-ig family (pig, twig, wig, fig)
-an family (man, tan, fan, can)
-ot family (dot, pot, hot, cot)
-og family (log, jog, fog, dog)
-at family (cat, bat, mat, hat)

Activity Instructions:

Set out your mailboxes so the kids can read them. Set out your stack of envelopes. Tell the child to deliver the "notes" to the family they belong to.

Click Here to Download your FREE Mailbox Word Families Activity

This post was contributed by:

Need more kindergarten activities? You can find more word family fun with animal crackers here!

Instructions for mailbox set up:

Step 1: Cut out each mailbox around the dotted lines. We will be using the solid lines for folding.

Step 2: Fold all the solid lines. Join the A tab to the other A to form the dome shape. Tape or glue it together.

Step 3: Attach the B, C and D tabs to the inside of the dome to form the back of the mailbox.

Cut out all the different envelopes around the dotted lines. Arrange your mailboxes so the child can see the family names on the side. This way they will know which envelope goes to which mailbox.

Word families included:

-ig family (pig, twig, wig, fig)

-an family (man, tan, fan, can)

-ot family (dot, pot, hot, cot)

-og family (log, jog, fog, dog)

-at family (cat, bat, mat, hat)

Activity Instructions:

Set out your mailboxes so the kids can read them. Set out your stack of envelopes. Tell the child to deliver the "notes" to the family they belong to.

This activity is a fun and easy way for the child to practice reading simple words and learn about word families. It also has the added benefit of giving them an opportunity to pretend to be a mail person delivering the mail. You could even give them the letters in a small bag and set the mailboxes up at different places in the room for more dramatic play fun.

Click Here to Download your FREE Mailbox Word Families Activity

This post was contributed by:

Becka from Miniature Masterminds:
I'm a homeschooling mother of 3 who loves being creative. Miniature Masterminds is the blog where I share my knowledge from years of Early Childhood Education classes and past experience working with young children in the classroom, as well as being my much needed creative outlet. I love sharing free printable activities, crafts, and ideas to help others in their work with young children. Miniature Masterminds also showcases the activities I do with my preschool daughter, elementary school age son, and middle school daughter in our home education journey.

Need more kindergarten activities? You can find more word family fun with animal crackers here!

Instructions for mailbox set up:

Step 1: Cut out each mailbox around the dotted lines. We will be using the solid lines for folding.

Step 2: Fold all the solid lines. Join the A tab to the other A to form the dome shape. Tape or glue it together.

Step 3: Attach the B, C and D tabs to the inside of the dome to form the back of the mailbox.

Cut out all the different envelopes around the dotted lines. Arrange your mailboxes so the child can see the family names on the side. This way they will know which envelope goes to which mailbox.

Word families included:

-ig family (pig, twig, wig, fig)

-an family (man, tan, fan, can)

-ot family (dot, pot, hot, cot)

-og family (log, jog, fog, dog)

-at family (cat, bat, mat, hat)

Activity Instructions:

Set out your mailboxes so the kids can read them. Set out your stack of envelopes. Tell the child to deliver the "notes" to the family they belong to.

This activity is a fun and easy way for the child to practice reading simple words and learn about word families. It also has the added benefit of giving them an opportunity to pretend to be a mail person delivering the mail. You could even give them the letters in a small bag and set the mailboxes up at different places in the room for more dramatic play fun.

Click Here to Download your FREE Mailbox Word Families Activity

This post was contributed by:

Becka from Miniature Masterminds:
I'm a homeschooling mother of 3 who loves being creative. Miniature Masterminds is the blog where I share my knowledge from years of Early Childhood Education classes and past experience working with young children in the classroom, as well as being my much needed creative outlet. I love sharing free printable activities, crafts, and ideas to help others in their work with young children. Miniature Masterminds also showcases the activities I do with my preschool daughter, elementary school age son, and middle school daughter in our home education journey.

Need more kindergarten activities?

Labels: cvc words, free printable, kindergarten, pretend play, reading, sorting