MEMORY AND DISCRIMINATION: (Adjust rules as necessary for younger kids)

Concentration. Use Mother Goose cards or regular cards laid out on the floor or
table. Pick up cards which match (2 8s or 2 animal cards). Matching games are
also available in preschool computer games.

UNO. Help the child see that he can use cards of the same color or the same
number. If the child is very young, play with the cards laid out in front of the
players and point out the card to play (but let him put the card in play, of course).

"I Spy" books which let kids find different objects are good.

A child who uses the computer will quickly find a use for letters. Set up "Kid's Desk"
so that he won't mess up your own programming but he can access his own games
easily. His name under a favorite icon will help him recognize his name and learn
that letters represent sounds.

The ABC song is great of course. Don't forget to use ABC soup: "Mom, there's a
B for Byron!" and ABC games.

The ABC Car game: Each player looks for letters outside the car on signs,
buildings, cars, license plates, et al. The first to get to Z wins. The player must
point out the letter he finds either by saying "up there" or "A in Virginia", etc.
Parents may share letters with younger children especially hard letters such as "Q"
or "Z". In this case, the goal is to get through the alphabet before you reach your
destination.

SOUND DISTINGUISHING GAMES:

Guest the Sound game: Begin by asking for the beginning sound and letter of lots
of different words. (Example: What does "tree" begin with? "The "ttttt" sound."
What letter makes that sound? A "T"! Once the child gets the beginning sound
right regularly, move to the second sound/letter or the last sound/letter. This game
helps the child understand that letters represents sounds and sounds are words.

Dyslexics regularly leave out the middle letters and only "hear" the beginning and ending sounds. Helping them learn to "hear" the middle sounds is one of the aspects of teaching them to read.