10 Best Rhyming Activities For Kindergarten

It’s rhyme time mommies! Kids of all ages enjoy rhymes, especially preschoolers, and kindergarteners. And, rhymes don’t just help keep the kids occupied. The sing-song feel of the rhyme helps hone and develop reading speed in kids and helps them learn phonics too!

Learning to recognize rhyming patterns is an important skill for emerging readers. And, most kids learn letter patterns and words by manipulating words and sounds while creating simple rhymes. So today, Momjunction has compiled 10 best rhyming activities for kindergarten to get your child interested in writing and reading.

10 Best Rhyming Activities For Kindergarten

1. Rhyming Word Sit Down:

You Will Need:

• Nothing

How To:

1. Gather the kids in a large area- a field is preferred.

2. Now instruct the children to walk around in a circle, taking one step each time a rhyming word is said by the teachers.

3. The kids have to sit down if you say a word that does not rhyme. For example-

4. Tree, she, spree, flea, sea, bee, key and went.

5. Children have to sit down when you say went.

6. The child who sits last will be out. This kindergarten rhyming activities is quick filler for all kids.

[ Read: Number Games For Kindergarten ]

2. Snap And Clap Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• Nothing

How To:

1.Begin the activity with a simple snap and clap rhyme. You have to get more complex as your child moves along with rhyming. For example:

• Slap Slap Snap hall Clap Clap Snap Ball

• Clap Clap Slap Hall Slap Slap Snap small

• ‘I say, You say’ is another variation of the game.

• I say red. You say _________. I say fat. You say __________

3. Silly Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• Marker
• Chart paper

How To:

1. Use rhyme charts to create silly poems.

2. On the chart paper, write the one line rhyme with big letters. Read aloud the rhymes several times. You should also try to read the rhyme in different voices.

3. Encourage the kids to sound and clap the words as you pick.

4. If you are playing with a group, select one child to illustrate the rhyme.

5. Repeat the game with another line of rhyme.

It can be one of the best nursery rhyme activities for kindergarten.

[ Read: Kindergarten Learning Games ]

4. Dinner Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• Newspaper or magazine pictures
• Plastic plates
• Scissors
• Chopsticks

How To:

1. Does your daughter love pretending play, especially in the kitchen? Well, then here’s a perfect rhyming activity for her.

2. Cut out colorful and rhyming pictures from magazines and newspapers and put the picture on each plastic plate.

3. Now ask your child to select the rhyming pictures using a chopstick and transfer the images to the other plate.

5. Rhyme Basket:

You Will Need:

• A few everyday objects
• A basket
• Music player

How To:

1. Put the objects in the basket and make the kids sit in a circle. Play the music and tell the kids to pass the basket around the circle.

2. When the music stops, the child with the basket has to hold up the object that rhymes with the word that you call out. For example, if there’s a scissor in the basket, you have to say ‘fizzers.’

3. You can use any object you like, but the rhyming words should be real words.

4. The child who is unable to pick up the object with 5 seconds will be out of the game.

6. Erase A Rhyme:

You Will Need:

• Black or Whiteboard
• Marker or chalk

How To:

1. Draw images like the sky, a tree, a flower, grass and the sun on the board.

2. Your job is to call out the words that rhyme with the images. The moment you call out the word, your child has to jump and erase the picture that rhymes with it.

3. Continue the activity until all the images are erased.

4. We’d suggest you to draw the images before your child or children arrive so that they do not have to wait as you draw.

[ Read: Kindergarten Writing Activities ]

7. The Hat That Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• A hat
• Scissors
• Old magazine and newspaper

How To:

1. Cut out pictures from magazines and newspaper and put them in the hat. Shake the hat well.

2. Invite your kid to take out a picture and say a word that rhymes with it.

3. You can even allow your kid to make up words that rhyme with the pictures.

4. Continue playing until all the images are covered.

8. Memory Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• Picture cards- either homemade or store bought. The picture must rhyme.

How To:

1. Spread out the pictures upside down on a flat surface. You can also substitute the picture with your child’s clip art, magazine pictures or drawings.

2. If you are playing with a group of children, tell them to take turns at picking two cards at a time. Tell the player to say out the word aloud and ask him if those words rhyme.

3. Award a point for each correct answer.

4. The child that gives most correct answers will get a small treat.

9. Hopscotch Rhymes:

You Will Need:

• Tape, if you are playing indoors and chalk if you are playing outdoors.
• Old magazine or newspaper
• Scissors

How To:

1. Create a hopscotch game or the floor using a tape or on the sidewalk using chalk.

2. Cut out pictures from the newspapers or magazines and put in each square.

3. Now make a list of words that will rhyme with the hopscotch pictures.

4. As you yell out the word, the kids have to hop to the square that contains the word rhyming with it. It is the best rhyming words activities for kindergarten which helps them to learn rhyming words easily.

[ Read: Math Activities For Kindergarteners ]

10. Rhyming Race:

You Will Need:

• Pictures

How To:

1. Gather the children on a field and divide them into pairs. Pin the same picture on the pairs.

2. Mark start lines at the two ends of the field and make one player from the pair stand at different lines.

3. Instruct the children to race to their partner. The player who gets to his partner first will win the game.

4. If you are playing with just one child, then put the objects that rhyme in the different spots.

These activities will help the kids learn and have fun with rhyming while improving the phonics and vocabulary at the same time. How did you teach any rhyming activity for kindergarten kids? Share some activities with us by commenting below.

Was this article helpful?

Community Experiences

Join the conversation and become a part of our vibrant community! Share your stories, experiences, and insights to connect with like-minded individuals. Let our readers get your unique perspectives and do better together! Read our Comment Policy to know about the guidelines.