Understanding rhyming is part of phonological awareness, an important pre-reading skill.
This is a skill that typically develops in children between the ages of 3 to 5 years. If your child does not catch on to this game after some practice, wait a few weeks and try again. In the meantime, point out words that rhyme when you notice them (e.g., “There’s a bug on our rug.…Hey, ‘bug’ and ‘rug’ are words that rhyme! Can you hear how they sound the same at the end?”) This will help your child begin to pay attention to this concept.
Sometimes it helps for children to close their eyes and repeat the set of words to determine whether the words rhyme.
Remember that not all rhyming words are spelled the same (blue / shoe) and the words do not have to be “real” words (bug / nug). You might want to start with only real words, however, so your child does not get confused by the idea of nonsense words. Once they understand, it is lots of fun to make up nonsense words that rhyme!
If your child has difficulty staying focused or does not show interest in this game, you might try it with a puppet. Have the puppet say the words and the child can tell the puppet whether they rhyme or not.
