Think FunAnalysis: Zingo! Sight Words

I really love Think Fun's games.  Many I have purchased, and some I have been blessed to get for the gratis so that I can share my ever so humble opinion.  This was one of them.  Gee, twist my arm!

I was super dooper excited to hear that Zingo now has a Sight Word version.  I had been trying to figure out what other concepts we could finagle out of the Zingo world.  In our game arsenal we've got the traditional, the numbers (1, 2, 3) , and the travel versions of Zingo.  There are Spanish and Hebrew versions as well, but we haven't gone that route.  I bring them back and forth to school on a daily basis.

When Sight Word Zingo came in the mail, Mudge was eager to get our first game going.  Though the boards themselves are a little visually busy, the concept is the same.  Match the word tiles to its board counterpart.   It still has the trademark Zinger, the Zingo slider with slots for the popping in unused tiles (great for fine motor development and wrist rotation).  The 72 tiles themselves are double-sided with 24 frequently used words from the Dolch list.

As Mudge is only in preschool, he did not know the words but could match the tiles by the letters.  He loved trying to figure it out.  His persistence and memory began to pay off towards the end as he recognized the groups of letters like  and, we and me.  This has proven to be a great starter game to get new readers recognizing letter combinations as words.  It is also a great review game for up to first and second graders.  Many of the children I know have requested me to bring it in for bus arrival time or indoor recess.  For children with special needs, one of my teachers even thought of using it towards her Alternate Assessments, as many of them need to identify sight words.

When our game was done, I asked Mudge his favorite part to which he answered, "I like the matching Mommy."  Was there anything you didn't like?  "Well, Mommy, the red side was very difficult".  Did you not like it?  "Oh no.  I liked it, it was just difficult."

Finding the just right challenge can be difficult sometimes.  But Think Fun has found another winner again for the early learners.  Sight Words Zingo is another great addition to the home and school family.       For around $20, Zingo Sight Words will happily engage young readers while helping them learn.