Learning games for 4 year olds

At 4, many children know some letters and start to hear the sounds in words. These calm games build on that: spelling words with blends, and the first sight words, one short round at a time.

Play Spell the Picture, age 4 Watch calm videos

The age 4 cards: Blends

The age 4 deck, Blends, has 84 cards. Blends are two consonants said close together, like fr in frog or st in nest. It also has double letters (bell, duck) and 38 sight words from the Dolch pre-primer list. Sight words have no picture: your child taps the ear, hears the word and spells it.

Pick how hard: Easy gives the letters in order and shows faint letters in the tray. Mix mixes the letters up. Tricky hides the word and adds two extra letters, so your child sounds it out from the picture.

Playing together at 4

If blends feel hard, go back to age 3 for a few rounds. Short words first is the usual order.
Say the blend together: "fr, fr, frog". Children hear blends better when they say them.
For sight words, read the word aloud in a short sentence after the round: "I can see the cat."
Use Mix once Easy feels easy. The same words, letters mixed up.

Other ages

Questions parents ask

What should a 4 year old learn in reading?

Most children this age are learning letter names and sounds and hearing the first sound in a word. Spelling simple words with a grown-up nearby builds both. There is no rush: every child gets there at their own pace.

What are sight words?

Common words children learn to know at a glance, like the, said and you, because many are hard to sound out. The Dolch pre-primer list has 40 of them; the game has 38 (all but a and I, which are one letter).

Is it free?

Yes. There is no sign-in, nothing to download and nothing to buy inside the games. It runs in the web browser on phones, tablets and computers.