Script bank · Stage 1
Sound play — way more.
The deep bench for the sound-play games: a big rhyme bank sorted by family, first-sound object lists for every starting sound, and stacks of words to blend and break apart. Pull from here when you've run out of examples mid-game — never search your memory for “what rhymes with limón” again.
Two parents, one script. The Spanish is the real thing. Under each line sits a pronunciation hint and an English gloss for the non-native parent; the native co-teacher can hide them with one tap and read clean.
Rimas · a
Cazadores de rimas Rhyme hunters
Hearing whether two words rhyme. Say two words; child shouts ¡rima! or ¡no rima! ↗ on the playbook
Sí riman — pairs that rhyme
“gato… pato.”GAH-toh… PAH-tohcat… duck
“ratón… limón.”rah-TOHN… lee-MOHNmouse… lemon
“casa… masa.”KAH-sah… MAH-sahhouse… dough
“luna… cuna.”LOO-nah… KOO-nahmoon… crib
“vela… muela.”VEH-lah… moo-EH-lahcandle… molar
“silla… ardilla.”SEE-yah… ar-DEE-yahchair… squirrel
“queso… hueso.”KEH-soh… WEH-sohcheese… bone
“pino… camino.”PEE-noh… kah-MEE-nohpine… path
No riman — pairs that don't (the trap)
“sol… pan.”sohl… pahnsun… bread
“gato… perro.”GAH-toh… PEH-rrohcat… dog
“mesa… silla.”MEH-sah… SEE-yahtable… chair
“luna… flor.”LOO-nah… flohrmoon… flower
“pato… rana.”PAH-toh… RAH-nahduck… frog
El banco de rimas — every word in a family rhymes with the others
- limónlemon
- melónmelon
- ratónmouse
- jamónham
- botónbutton
- jabónsoap
- corazónheart
- camióntruck
- leónlion
- balónball
- sillónarmchair
- cajóndrawer
- rincóncorner
- tazónbowl
- buzónmailbox
- algodóncotton
- dragóndragon
- aviónairplane
- montóna heap
- pantalóntrousers
- gatocat
- patoduck
- platoplate
- zapatoshoe
- ratoa while
- datofact
- patapaw
- ratarat
- latacan
- matabush
- natacream
- batarobe
- platasilver
- casahouse
- masadough
- pasaraisin
- brasaember
- grasagrease
- tasarate
- tazacup
- plazasquare
- cazahunt
- razabreed
- mazamallet
- calabazapumpkin
- mostazamustard
- camabed
- ramabranch
- damalady
- llamaflame / llama
- famafame
- gramagrass
- ranafrog
- lanawool
- canagrey hair
- ganaurge
- bananabanana
- ventanawindow
- manzanaapple
- campanabell
- semanaweek
- mañanamorning
- velacandle
- telacloth
- muelamolar
- abuelagrandma
- escuelaschool
- canelacinnamon
- ciruelaplum
- sillachair
- orillashore
- ardillasquirrel
- rodillaknee
- mejillacheek
- semillaseed
- costillarib
- mantequillabutter
- tortillatortilla
- cocinakitchen
- gallinahen
- piscinapool
- cortinacurtain
- harinaflour
- esquinacorner
- medicinamedicine
- vitaminavitamin
- pinopine
- vinowine
- caminopath
- pepinocucumber
- molinomill
- tocinobacon
- submarinosubmarine
- pingüinopenguin
- metagoal
- maletasuitcase
- galletacookie
- bicicletabicycle
- chaquetajacket
- camisetat-shirt
- cometakite
- trompetatrumpet
- osobear
- hermosohandsome
- famosofamous
- graciosofunny
- rosarose / pink
- cosathing
- mariposabutterfly
- esposawife
- baldosafloor tile
- quesocheese
- besokiss
- huesobone
- pesoweight
- mesatable
- fresastrawberry
- presadam
- princesaprincess
- sorpresasurprise
- lunamoon
- cunacrib
- ningunanone
- lagunalagoon
- fortunafortune
- aceitunaolive
Success looks like Your child reliably calls rhymes apart from non-rhymes, and starts grinning before you finish the second word.
Rimas · a
Termina la rima Finish the rhyme
Producing a rhyme, not just spotting one (harder). Leave the last word hanging — any real or made-up rhyming word counts. ↗ on the playbook
Versos para completar — the answer in (parentheses) is just one option
“Un ratón se comió un… (melón).”oon rah-TOHN seh koh-mee-OH oon… meh-LOHNA mouse ate a… (melon).
“La rana salta en la… (ventana / rama).”lah RAH-nah SAHL-tah en lah… ven-TAH-nahThe frog jumps on the… (window / branch).
“Mi pato perdió un… (zapato).”mee PAH-toh per-dee-OH oon… thah-PAH-tohMy duck lost a… (shoe).
“El oso es muy… (gracioso / famoso).”el OH-soh es moo-ee… grah-thee-OH-sohThe bear is very… (funny / famous).
“La luna brilla sobre la… (cuna / laguna).”lah LOO-nah BREE-yah SOH-breh lah… KOO-nahThe moon shines over the… (crib / lagoon).
“Mi abuela va a la… (escuela).”mee ah-BWEH-lah vah ah lah… es-KWEH-lahMy grandma goes to… (school).
“Tomé café en una… (taza).”toh-MEH kah-FEH en OO-nah… TAH-thahI drank coffee in a… (cup).
“El pino está en el… (camino).”el PEE-noh es-TAH en el… kah-MEE-nohThe pine is on the… (path).
“La gallina entró en la… (cocina / piscina).”lah gah-YEE-nah en-TROH en lah… koh-THEE-nahThe hen went into the… (kitchen / pool).
“Guardé la galleta en la… (maleta).”gwar-DEH lah gah-YEH-tah en lah… mah-LEH-tahI put the cookie in the… (suitcase).
“La ardilla se sentó en la… (silla).”lah ar-DEE-yah seh sen-TOH en lah… SEE-yahThe squirrel sat on the… (chair).
“El león comió un… (limón / jamón).”el leh-OHN koh-mee-OH oon… lee-MOHNThe lion ate a… (lemon / ham).
Success looks like Your child fills the blank with a word that rhymes — even a nonsense one. That's the skill: generating the sound.
Primer sonido · b
Veo, veo I spy, by sound
Isolating the first sound of a word. Say “Veo, veo… algo que empieza con /sss/,” stretching the sound — child finds something that starts that way. ↗ on the playbook
Lo que puedes buscar — objects to spy, by starting sound
- solsun
- sillachair
- sopasoup
- sapotoad
- sandíawatermelon
- serpientesnake
- mesatable
- manohand
- monomonkey
- manzanaapple
- motomotorbike
- mariposabutterfly
- pelotaball
- panbread
- patoduck
- perrodog
- puertadoor
- piñapineapple
- lunamoon
- lápizpencil
- librobook
- leónlion
- lechemilk
- lámparalamp
- tazacup
- tijerasscissors
- trentrain
- tomatetomato
- teléfonophone
- tortugaturtle
- focaseal
- florflower
- fuegofire
- fotophoto
- faldaskirt
- fresastrawberry
- botaboot
- barcoboat
- bocamouth
- ballenawhale
- vacacow
- vasoglass
- ratónmouse
- ranafrog
- rosarose
- rojored
- reglaruler
- ruedawheel
Success looks like Given a stretched-out first sound, your child points to a matching object — and can start spying ones for you.
Primer sonido · b
¿Con qué empieza? What's it start with?
Naming the first sound of a spoken word — the sound, not the letter name (/mmm/, never “eme”). Say a word from the bank; child says just its first sound. ↗ on the playbook
Palabras para preguntar — grouped by the answer (their first sound)
mamá, mesa, mano, mono → /mmm/mah-MAH, MEH-sah, MAH-noh, MOH-nohmom, table, hand, monkey
pelota, pan, papá, pie → /p/peh-LOH-tah, pahn, pah-PAH, pee-EHball, bread, dad, foot
sol, sopa, sapo, semilla → /sss/sohl, SOH-pah, SAH-poh, seh-MEE-yahsun, soup, toad, seed
luna, leche, lápiz, lobo → /l/LOO-nah, LEH-cheh, LAH-peeth, LOH-bohmoon, milk, pencil, wolf
dedo, dado, dos, dulce → /d/DEH-doh, DAH-doh, dohs, DOOL-thehfinger, die, two, candy
nido, nube, nariz, nene → /n/NEE-doh, NOO-beh, nah-REETH, NEH-nehnest, cloud, nose, baby
taza, tomate, tren, techo → /t/TAH-thah, toh-MAH-teh, trehn, TEH-chohcup, tomato, train, roof
foca, flor, foto, fuego → /f/FOH-kah, flohr, FOH-toh, foo-EH-gohseal, flower, photo, fire
Success looks like Your child answers with a clean sound, not a letter name — and doesn't tack a vowel on (/m/, not “muh”).
Unir · c
El robot habla Robot talk
Fusing spoken pieces into a whole word (oral blending). Talk like a slow robot with a beat of silence between pieces; child says the whole word. ↗ on the playbook
Por sílabas — start here (easier)
“ma… má” → mamámah… MAHmom
“ca… sa” → casakah… sahhouse
“pe… lo… ta” → pelotapeh… loh… tahball
“za… pa… to” → zapatothah… pah… tohshoe
“to… ma… te” → tomatetoh… mah… tehtomato
“ma… ri… po… sa” → mariposamah… ree… poh… sahbutterfly
Sonido por sonido — the hard version, single sounds
“s… o… l” → solsss… oh… lsun
“p… a… n” → panp… ah… nbread
“m… a… r” → marmmm… ah… rsea
“l… u… z” → luzl… oo… thlight (z = “th”)
“a… l… a” → alaah… l… ahwing
“u… v… a” → uvaoo… v… ahgrape
Success looks like Your child hears the pieces and snaps them into the word — first at the syllable level, eventually sound by sound.
Separar · d
Palabra en pedacitos Word into little pieces
Breaking a word into syllables — one clap per beat. Counting the claps makes it concrete. ↗ on the playbook
Por número de palmadas — sorted by syllable count
- solsun
- panbread
- pezfish
- florflower
- luzlight
- marsea
- salsalt
- trentrain
- ga·tocat
- ca·sahouse
- me·satable
- pe·rrodog
- so·pasoup
- ma·nohand
- lu·namoon
- li·brobook
- pe·lo·taball
- ba·na·nabanana
- ca·mi·sashirt
- za·pa·toshoe
- to·ma·tetomato
- ven·ta·nawindow
- man·za·naapple
- ca·be·zahead
- ma·ri·po·sabutterfly
- bi·ci·cle·tabicycle
- cho·co·la·techocolate
- e·le·fan·teelephant
- man·da·ri·natangerine
- a·gua·ca·teavocado
- te·la·ra·ñaspider web
Success looks like Your child claps a new word into the right number of syllables without your model.
Separar · d
Sonido por sonido Sound by sound
Pulling a short word into its individual sounds — the hardest sound-play skill, and the doorway to spelling. Tap a finger per sound. ↗ on the playbook
Tres sonidos — start here
sol → /s/ /o/ /l/sss · oh · lsun
pan → /p/ /a/ /n/p · ah · nbread
ala → /a/ /l/ /a/ah · l · ahwing
mar → /m/ /a/ /r/mmm · ah · rsea
pez → /p/ /e/ /θ/p · eh · thfish (z = /θ/, the “th” in think)
luz → /l/ /u/ /θ/l · oo · thlight (z = /θ/)
sal → /s/ /a/ /l/sss · ah · lsalt
oso → /o/ /s/ /o/oh · sss · ohbear
Cuatro sonidos — next step up
mesa → /m/ /e/ /s/ /a/mmm · eh · sss · ahtable
gato → /g/ /a/ /t/ /o/g · ah · t · ohcat
luna → /l/ /u/ /n/ /a/l · oo · n · ahmoon
sopa → /s/ /o/ /p/ /a/sss · oh · p · ahsoup
flor → /f/ /l/ /o/ /r/f · l · oh · rflower (a blend at the front)
Success looks like Your child can break a 3-sound word into its sounds in order. When this is solid, they're ready for letters.