Make reading fun with magnets

Print movable letters and shapes on your computer

By Julie Stoyka

As a new school year approaches, many parents are wondering how they can help their children at home with their reading skills — especially parents whose children are going to school for the first time.

Microsoft Home Magazine has created two great craft projects that can be fun learning alternatives to traditional flashcards. It's very simple to create letter magnets to help younger children get acquainted with their ABCs, and reading magnets to help older wordsmiths brush up on their vocabulary and reading skills.

"Reading magnets will help children make letter-sound connections, which is what is meant by phonics. Phonics is an important part of learning to read and write," explains Jamie Stevenson, a reading clinician at Bowmore Reading Clinic in Toronto.

With a few sheets of magnetic paper, you can turn your fridge (or any other magnetic surface) into an interactive learning space, suitable for kids of all ages.

Supplies

• magnetic paper (available at most office supply stores)
• colour printer
• paper scissors or a sharp utility knife

Letter magnet instructions

Selecting images for letter magnets
Objects that make a clear audible link between the sound and the letter are the best images for letter magnets. For example, snake is a great word because the letter S is clearly sounded. Try to select objects that are familiar to your child, like truck or dog, but steer clear of general words like animal or people.

Select Clip Art of words that are easy to sound out.

Place them on sheet with corresponding letters.

Print, cut out and stick to magnetic surface.

Step 1: Importing an image

• Open a new document in Word (you can also use Picture It! Digital Image Pro 7.0).
• To import an image, click Insert > Picture. Select a photo or graphic you have scanned into your computer or a Clip Art image.
• Resize your image to the dimensions that will appear on the magnets. Try to fit four to six images per page.
• Add a text box (View > Toolbars > Drawing > Click on Text Box icon), type in the letter that matches the image in capital and lowercase form, and drag it over the image. Make sure you are using a font that is clear and concise — try Century Gothic.
• From the Format toolbar, customize the colour of your letters and the text box.
• For more advanced readers, you may want to print the letters and the images separately, so they can match up the letters to the images.

Step 2: Printing the image

• Print a test sheet on normal paper.
• Insert a full sheet of magnetic paper in your printer.
• Make sure your printer's settings are on high quality to get the sharpest colour possible.
• Click the print icon.

Step 3: Cut out the magnets

• Use paper scissors or a sharp utility knife to cut around each image, or cut the image out in a square shape.
• Stick on the kitchen fridge or any magnetic surface in your child's bedroom.

Reading magnet instructions

Selecting words for reading magnets
For older children, Stevenson suggests creating a list of high-frequency words. High frequency is a term that refers to words that are most often used in reading and writing, such as the, he, and was.

"There are many high-frequency word lists out there," says Stevenson. For an example of these types of words, try the BorderLink Project or a Dolch Sight Word List. You could also create your own word list. The best words are usually nouns that are tangible and recognizable to your child.

Try to choose interesting words and stick to nouns. The point is not for your child to create sentences at this time, but to help your child sound out words.

Print a list of basic words on magnetic paper.

Cut out each word with a sharp utility knife.

Arrange on a magnetic surface.

Step 1: Place words in document

• Open a new document in Word (you can also use Picture It! or Digital Image Pro 7.0).
• Type in the words you've selected, making sure you space them far enough apart that you can cut them out.
• Make sure the font is at least 24 points on the page, so the magnets show up clearly. Use an easy-to-read font, like Century Gothic, in lowercase letters.
• From the Format toolbar, customize the colour of your letters by clicking the Font option.

Step 2: Printing the image

• Print a test sheet on normal paper.
• Insert a full sheet of magnetic paper in your printer.
• To get the sharpest colour possible, select a high-quality printer setting.
• Click the print icon.

Step 3: Cut out the magnets

• Use paper scissors or a sharp utility knife to cut around each image, or cut the image out in a square shape.
• Stick the words to the fridge or any other magnetic surface.

All styling and photography by Julie Stoyka of Zariel Creative