Looking for some sight word practice that doesn’t include flashcards? This easy-peasey, squeezy activity is one of our favorite sight word games!
It’s the perfect compliment to our Editable Sight Word Games!
Getting Ready
The prep for this was as easy as it comes.
I quickly wrote a list of sight words down the right-hand side of a piece of white construction paper.
Then, I wrote the same words randomly on the left side of the paper – the part that would go under the Ziploc baggie of paint.
I taped it down to A’s table with some packing tape and invited her to come “squish and seek” with me.
I also prepared a baggie for my 17-month-old, Q, with simple drawings of his current fascination (sea creatures) hidden underneath. I usually do activities with my oldest when Q is napping, so he was pretty excited that he was included in the fun this time.
Playing Squish and Seek Sight Word Game
I told A all the words on her list were hidden under the paint. She immediately began squishing and squashing the paint around until she found the first word. “For!” she exclaimed as she crossed it off her list with a marker.
As she searched for all the words on her list, I circled the words that gave her a bit of trouble so we could work on those at a later time.
A loved squishing the paint around and adding a hide-and-seek element made it all the more fun.
This activity could easily be adapted for multiple ages to learn a whole slew of things: letters, vocabulary, matching upper and lowercase letters or matching pictures to words. The best part was the whole thing, from prep to clean up, took 15 minutes.
I plan to keep the paint in baggies for easy access the next time around! Easy-peasy, squeezy fun!
Find More Sight Word Games
For more sight word games, check out our EDITABLE sight word games. They’re a HUGE time and money saver!!
Love that you used this activity for sight word practice! Pinning to my literacy board!
Thanks for pinning, Maryanne! 🙂
Love it! Will try it with my kindergarten students!
How much paint did you put in the bag
Thank you so much Noirin, my little four year olds (and their daddy and grandpa) loved this activity! Thank you for helping us learn through play.
This sounds like a great game to play with my 14 month old, and the preschool students I teach here in Japan. I can see how this activity can be tailored to fit many age groups. Thank you.
What paint did you use? Acrylic, oil?
I’m going to try this when I get home )
Hi Liam,
I used washable tempera paint so if any leaked out it was easy to clean up and wouldn’t stain. This would be a great way to teach a wide variety of things to your Japanese students. I’m sure you could find a kid-friendly paint at the 100 yen stores. I hope your kiddos enjoy it!