Believe it or not, a few of my kids are reluctant learners. They’d rather be doing almost anything else other than sitting down for a lesson. (unless the other option is cleaning…they’re never volunteering for that!) The truth is, the reluctance usually comes from how school work feels. They’ll happily dive into a new game or skill, but the moment they need to practice something that’s giving them a hiccuup in school, the resistance kicks in.
Particularly for a few of mine, practicing their reading words is the biggest struggle. With reading, there’s really no short cut to learn it; you’ve got to meet the challenge head on. While there are plenty of fun games that I love, they don’t always match the specific words my kids need to practice.
We do a lot of flash card practice with our homeschool reading program which is very helpful but after a while, it can feel a bit dull — especially if it’s taking a while to master certain words and word groups. To help make this practice less of a chore, (and way more fun,) I’ve started creating custom games with a deck of dry erase playing cards.
Quick Supplies List
Dry Erase Playing Cards
Wet Erase Marker of Choice:
Ultra Fine Point Wet Erase Marker
1mm Point Wet Erase Marker
This deck is the same size as a standard deck, but every card works like a mini dry erase board! I simply write the words we’re working on, and once they’ve mastered them, I wipe the cards clean and reuse them with new words. Using wet erase pens makes the words last through multiple rounds of play without smudging.
I have two sets of wet erase markers. One with an ultra fine point, and one with a slightly thicker point. Both work great.
It’s been a game changer! My kids will eagerly sit down to play a game with these cards and they’re getting in way more practice each day than we ever did with regular flashcards.
While we use these for reading and sight word practice, they work just as well for other subjects like math too!
5 Easy Games You Can Play with Dry Erase Playing Cards
Memory Match
The standard memory game. I write the words we’re practicing twice each on cards and arrange them to form a memory game. You can create the game as large or as small as you’d like. This also works well for math facts. You can write the problem on one card, and the solution on the other.
Go Fish!
A favorite in our house and perfect for creating a deck that can play both this and memory match. Deal each player 5 cards to start and put the rest of the deck in the center of the table. Players take turns asking others if they have the pair to a specific card in their hand. If they do, they take it and add it to their victory pile in front of them, if not, they “go fish” and draw a card from the deck. Play until you go through the entire deck.
Old Maid (Odd Card Out)
Write pairs of words, (or math problems/answers,) on the cards but leave one card’s match out of the game. Deal out the entire deck of cards as evenly as possible amongst the players, players discard any matching pairs from their hand, announcing the words as they do so. Then players take turns drawing one card from the player to their right’s hand and adding it to their own before turning to the player to their left and letting them do the same. Set down matching pairs as you go. The player left holding the odd card loses.
War
Use this game for quick reading practice. Deal out the deck evenly between two or more players. Each player flips a card at the same time. Whoever reads their word first wins and takes all of the cards. Continue until one player has all the cards. This also works great with math facts!
Bingo
Create simple bingo boards on paper. To set up, flip through your deck and have players write the words anywhere on their boards — this keeps each one unique. Shuffle your deck of cards, then call out cards one by one. Players mark the word off of their board first to complete a row or column wins.
If you enjoyed this post on Making Reading Practice Fun with Dry Erase Playing Cards, then you may also enjoy:
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