Kindergarten reading & spelling words
Kindergarten is where reading turns from guessing into knowing. These sixteen weeks build the first bank of words a child can recognise instantly — the little words that hold every sentence together — alongside short three-letter words a child can sound out from left to right. Because each word is flashed for a moment and then written from memory, children learn to hold a whole word in their head instead of decoding it letter by letter every single time.
Skills covered in Kindergarten
- Instant recognition of the most common sight words
- Sounding out short-vowel words like cat, run and bed
- Hearing and writing the first, middle and last sound in a word
- Forming lowercase letters correctly while writing from memory
- Sitting with a short, calm 10-minute reading routine
Who should start at this level?
- Your child is four to six and just starting to read
- An older child still mixes up b and d or guesses at short words
- A child who knows most letter sounds but cannot yet blend them
- A child returning after a summer or a long gap with no practice
Sample Kindergarten words
A dozen words taken from the first four weeks of the kindergarten sets.
- the
- and
- see
- cat
- hat
- mat
- man
- fan
- pan
- dog
- log
- jog
Try a 60-second activity at home
Two-second flash: the word "and"
- 1Show the word for two seconds, then hide it.
- 2Ask your child to say the word out loud.
- 3Have them write it from memory on paper or a small whiteboard.
- 4Show the word again so they can check it themselves — self-checking is the part that sticks.
The sixteen Kindergarten weeks
Week 1
the, and, see…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 2Week 2
cat, hat, mat…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 3Week 3
man, fan, pan…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 4Week 4
dog, log, jog…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 5Week 5
pot, hot, dot…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 6Week 6
bug, hug, mug…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 7Week 7
pen, hen, ten…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 8Week 8
pig, big, dig…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 9Week 9
i, my, you…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 10Week 10
yes, no, in…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 11Week 11
frog, flag, stop…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 12Week 12
black, brown, green…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 13Week 13
said, have, come…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 14Week 14
cake, bike, rope…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 15Week 15
rain, boat, seat…
10 words
Kindergarten · Week 16Week 16
school, friend, happy…
10 words
Ready for the full week?
Start a whole week of K word sets free. No account needed.
Questions parents ask about Kindergarten
My child does not know all the letter sounds yet. Can we still start?
Yes. The flash-and-write routine teaches sounds in the context of whole words, which is often faster for children who have struggled with letter drills.
How long should a kindergarten session be?
Ten minutes, and stop even if they want more. Short and successful beats long and frustrating at this age.
Should my child write in capitals or lowercase?
Lowercase, apart from names. Almost everything they will read is lowercase, so that is what should feel automatic.