Kids love rainbows (and I do too!) so I couldn’t wait to create a set of colorful rainbow puzzles that would give new readers plenty of practice matching alphabet letters with their beginning sounds.
These beginning sound rainbows are perfect to use as a literacy center, guided reading activity… even a St. Patrick’s Day game! When you’re finished be sure to grab our Ultimate Preschool Activity Pack for more learning fun!
Getting Ready
To prep, I printed the download (below) on cardstock to give it extra durability and cut along the lines to separate the pieces.
Note: If you are playing the game in a classroom, you may also want to laminate the cards to add sturdiness.
Beginning Sound Rainbows
Middle Brother (age 4.5) is still learning letter sounds. Since I wanted to keep the activity motivating and developmentally appropriate, IÂ grabbed four rainbow pairs to start with first: a, b, c and d.
I explained that we were going to match each letter with the beginning sound it makes. I held up the apple half and said the word slowly, accentuating the first sound, ” AAAA-pple.”
Then I asked Middle Brother what letter made the first sound in that word. He quickly grabbed the Aa and pushed together the pieces to make his rainbow.
We repeated the same steps for the remaining letters in our bunch: B is for bee, C is for car and D is for donut!
Then, we mixed up the cards and he practiced pairing the halves on his own.
It took us a few days to work our way through the entire alphabet, but he loved every round of play. The bright and colorful rainbow puzzles were a big hit!
Grab Your Download
Ready to play?! Click the blue button below to grab your FREE beginning sound rainbows! Then, snag our best-selling Ultimate Preschool Activity Pack in our shop!
the download link is not working
Thanks so much for letting us know about the download issue, Tanishe! We fixed the problem and the blue download button should work now. Just scroll down to the middle of the page at this link: https://www.playdoughtoplato.com/beginning-sound-rainbows/
Warmly,
Malia
Thank you for sharing and creating such a great activity. Great to add to the lesson on spring or St Patrick’s day.
Thank you for sharing so many useful learning resources! I find myself drawn to your site often for ideas and printables. My boys and I love them. Thanks for taking the time tomake so many helpful tools and for sharing it with everyone. You’re fabulous!
Yay Jessica! I’m thrilled that our fun learning activities come in handy. Your note made my day! Thank you for taking the time to say “hello”.
Appreciatively,
Malia