Paint the Nails: A Simple Word Identification Activity for Kindergarteners

Feb 2, 2024 | DIY Crafts & Activities | 0 comments

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There is just something about painting nails that will place a grin on the faces of little girls, my girls included!

If you have been following our learning journey, you know I love to create activities around my girls’ interests.

I created this simple activity with sight words a while back, and now that my girls are getting weekly spelling words from school, I decided to reuse this activity because it was so much fun for them and would lead to discussions around diversity while we focus on educational activities for Black History Month.

This activity is super simple and easy to put together, and I know that as busy moms and teachers, we are all for that.

Paint the Nails: A Simple Word Identification Activity for Kindergarteners

Educational goals of this activity:

Reviewing the ch sound/digraph at the beginning and end of words.
Word recognition
Visual scanning
Phonemic awareness
Building vocabulary
Just for fun

Here is another activity we did to review digraphs.

Decorate the Black Child’s Shirt: A Simple Digraph Activity for Kindergarteners

In this article, you will find:
A definition for digraphs and examples of digraphs

Who is this activity suitable for?

This activity is suitable for little ones who are learning sight words or practising spelling words.

Materials you will need:

Markers
Pencil
Paint sticks
Learning journal
Crayola Around the World crayons

How to recreate this simple activity:

This activity, as mentioned, is simple and requires minimal time for preparation.

Here are the simple steps in which this activity was created:

Step 1: Trace your hand multiple times in your learning journal or on paper.

Step 2: Use a pencil to draw the fingernails onto the fingers. Draw the nails big and wide so that the words fit on them.

Step 3: Use a black marker to trace over the drawing and to write the words onto the fingernails.

Step 4: Use your Crayola Colour of the World crayons to colour the hands in different skin tones.

There you have it! In four easy steps, this simple yet fun activity can be presented to your little one for learning fun!

How this simple Activity was presented to my little ones:

This activity was presented to my girls after days of doing word work with them.

Here are some ways in which we do our word work on a weekly basis.

Reviewing letter sounds.

Children who are consistently memorizing letters of the alphabet with speed and accuracy have an easier time learning about the sounds associated with letters than those who struggle with alphabet recognition.

So, for the words they will be learning to spell or memorize, I review the letters within them. Here is an example below.

I place sticky notes on paper and make a letter sound. They then write the upper and lowercase letters for the sound they hear. After writing all the letters for the sounds they hear, they get to draw an object that begins with each letter. This is an activity we do a lot because repetition is key to ensuring our little ones are learning to read.

Breaking up words into parts:

This activity helps our little ones to apply their letter knowledge and understand that sounds go together to make words, and with the knowledge they have of letters, they can apply it to read words. Over time, this activity works on building our little ones’ confidence to attempt reading new words.

Writing sight words that can be sounded out based on their letter knowledge.

My girls enjoy this activity because they are so proud of themselves when they realize how many words they can write with their knowledge of the letters and their corresponding sounds.

Breaking words into syllables

We have been working on breaking words into syllables because when littles are able to divide words into chunks, it helps them with decoding words they are seeing for the first time, allowing them to read more accurately and fluently.

The syllable division rule they are currently working on is finding vowels in words and dividing them between two middle consonants. ( The VCCV rule.) They are being taught that each syllable in a word has a vowel sound. Also, that a syllable will have two vowels if those vowels are a pair and one is silent. (ea, ai,oa, a_e)

They are encouraged to put their hands under their chin, and the amount of time their chin touches their hands helps them know how many syllables are in the word.

Making their own word cards

Each day, after working with the words, they are given the opportunity to spell the words on their own. The words they struggle with are written in different colours, or I allow them to just write the words over.

We use their word cards or our whiteboard to sound out each word, identifying the digraph and the other letters or word parts that they are hearing. We repeat this step for each word and then read them together. They were then given the paint markers and their journal. We identify each word and the colour the word should be painted in when identified on the fingernails, and then they are given time to work independently in their learning journals.

This activity was also great for working on:

Concentration
Spacial awareness
Cognitive skills
Visual perception
Motor skills

Other ways in which this activity can be utilized:

This activity can be used in so many ways. Here are a few ways in which this activity can be utilized.

Colour recognition
Letter recognition
Number recognition
Shape recognition
Blends
Digraphs

How would you use this activity with your little one?

We do hope you find this simple activity useful.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by sending us a message or visiting us @learning.stepbystep on Instagram, Learning Step By Step on Facebook and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for educational resources that will help you and your littles on their learning journey as they continue to Learn Step By Step!

Thank you for being here!

Kimberlee and the Learning Step By Step Team.