We are soccer crazy at our house right now. I thought I could use this enthusiasm to make practicing sight words more fun and it totally worked!
My kindergartner had so much fun playing this sight word game that he kept going back and playing it again all evening. Definitely a rave review!
Sight Word Soccer Supplies:
- index cards with sight words on them
- cones (or bucket or cups or sticks)
- soccer ball
- soccer goal or marked goal area
For this game I decided to chose more sight words that he didn’t know automatically than ones he did. Usually I’ll do a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar to make sure it’s not too frustrating.
This time I chose to use more new ones since playing soccer itself would be very motivating. In this case it worked and he can easily identify each of the words, but there was no way to know for sure. Just like any other activity stop and regroup if it seems too hard or too easy for your child.
How to Play:
- I taped the word cards to the cones and set them up in a straight line in front of the cones.
- I told him to read each of the words to me as he dribbled around the cones.
- When he got to the end of the cones he got to take a shot.
Sight Word Games
Dribble and Score
This was the first game we played where he read the words as he dribbled through the cones. He got to score a goal at the end.
Run and Find
After playing for a little bit we spaced out the cones. I called out a word and he dribbled over the it.
Sight Word Kicks
We set up all of the cones at the end of the yard. I called out a word and he tried to hit the correct cone with the ball. This one was tough, but lots of fun!
Sight Word Soccer was a huge hit with my little soccer lover! If your child loves a different sport you can set up the same type of game and swap out the soccer ball for something else. You can also playing with spelling words and have them spell the words as they dribble. Moving and learning definitely helps get your brain working!
The other Move and Learn co-hosts were busy putting together Move and Learn Activities for kids this week too, make sure to check them out!
Other Ways to Move & Learn this week:
- Alphabet Laundry Toss Game for Kids from Toddler Approved
- Spider Web Maze for Kids from Hands On: As We Grow
- The Shape Hunt Game from The Pleasantest Thing
- Check out all our Move & Learn activities
- Lots of ideas on our Pinterest board!
Carolyn says
October 29, 2013 at 11:27 pmThis is totally awesome! Love it!
Deceptively Educational says
October 30, 2013 at 3:31 pmThis is SUCH a great idea. My oldest child is totally a kinesthetic learner so this would be a hit with him for sure!
Megan Sheakoski says
October 31, 2013 at 10:15 amIt will definitely be a hit then!!! 🙂
Nicole Franklin says
October 30, 2013 at 7:46 pmFun!
Megan Sheakoski says
October 31, 2013 at 10:17 amIt was! 🙂
maryanne @ mama smiles says
November 2, 2013 at 3:52 pmYou have the cutest sight word practice ideas! Love this one – now to find a field to try it out (my OLD back yard would have been perfect!)
Megan Sheakoski says
November 3, 2013 at 8:19 amDon’t you wish you could combine the best features of all of your houses into one awesome place!
Deirdre says
November 4, 2013 at 6:34 amMy little soccer players would love to practice sight words this way.
Megan Sheakoski says
November 4, 2013 at 9:34 pmYes! I had a blast too!
Anna@The Measured Mom says
November 7, 2013 at 11:26 amWe don’t do soccer yet, but my husband coached college soccer once upon a time, so it’s probably in our future. Love this creative way to learn and exercise at the same time 🙂
Megan Sheakoski says
November 11, 2013 at 5:08 pmThanks Anna! You could probably have the kids just run around cones too!
Natalie F says
November 9, 2013 at 4:34 pmYou make learning super fun! Thanks for co-hosting Afterschool!
Megan Sheakoski says
November 11, 2013 at 5:07 pmThanks Natalie!!!
Scribble doodle and Draw says
February 7, 2014 at 1:51 pmThis would be great for my VERY active son! thanks for sharing!
Megan Sheakoski says
February 7, 2014 at 7:34 pmYay! Glad it was helpful!
Sarah Henry says
December 27, 2016 at 12:35 amWe just stumbled upon this awesome post, we are going to try this out once the weather gets nice again. I would have never thought about combining a language lesson with soccer but I can see how beneficial this can be to our kids development in both areas.
Keep up the amazing work, this blog is our new go to for new ideas!