Need a way to get your energetic kiddo excited about reading this summer? Try this Soccer Reading Activity—a low-prep, high-energy way to combine literacy with one of their favorite outdoor games. If your child loves to run, kick, and shout “GOAL!”, this is the reading game for them.
This isn’t your typical sit-down reading session. It’s fast-paced, silly, and perfect for early readers who need to burn energy while practicing sight words or vocabulary. All you need is a soccer ball, a few cones or pylons, and a little creativity!
Why You’ll Love This Summer Reading Activity
- Burns energy while boosting literacy skills—a win-win on long summer afternoons.
- Customizable for all ages and reading levels. From letter recognition to vocabulary review, you can adjust the words anytime.
- Perfect for outdoor play. Take it to the backyard, park, or even an empty field.
- Kids won’t even realize they’re learning. It feels like a game, not a lesson.
Materials You’ll Need
- Soccer ball
- Pylons or cones (or DIY some with plastic cups or shoes)
- A soccer goal or net (optional—but fun!)
- Paper
- Marker
- Packing tape
How to Set It Up
- Choose Your Words:
Pick sight words, vocabulary terms, or letters depending on your child’s level. For older kids, try challenge words or even math facts!
- Write the Words on Paper:
Use a thick black marker to write one word per sheet. Make them big and bold so they’re easy to see from a distance. - Tape the Words to the Cones:
Use packing tape to attach each word securely to your cones or pylons. Spread the cones out across the yard in random order. - Set Up the Goal:
If you have a soccer net, set it up at the end of the course. If not, use two sticks or shoes or chairs to mark the goal area.
How to Play
- Call out a word. Your child has to dribble the soccer ball to that cone, read the word out loud, then dribble to the goal and take a shot!
- You can also write questions or prompts like “Find the word that starts with S” or “Kick to the word that rhymes with cat.”
- Want to make it a team game? Have siblings take turns or go head-to-head!
Game Variations
- Timed Dribble Challenge: How many words can they read and score in 60 seconds?
- Spelling Kick: Say a word, and have your child spell it aloud while dribbling to each letter taped to cones.
- Story Building: Each cone has a word. After kicking, they have to use the word in a sentence or make part of a story.
- Match the Definition: Call out a definition and have them kick to the matching word.
Tips to Make It Even More Fun
Let kids decorate the paper signs to give them ownership.
- Bring it to the park and invite friends for a reading + soccer playdate.
- Add mini prizes or silly rewards for every five words read correctly.
- Keep extra paper handy—your child will probably ask to do more!
The Soccer Reading Activity is one of those “why didn’t I think of this sooner?” kinds of games. It gets kids outside, keeps them moving, and actually makes reading fun—especially for those who struggle to sit still.
Whether you’re homeschooling, doing a summer reading challenge, or just trying to make the most of a sunny afternoon, this activity checks all the boxes. It’s fun, simple, and totally parent-approved.
So grab a ball, grab some cones, and get ready to score big—on and off the field!
Play2Learn Toddler & Preschool Programs for Curious Toddlers
There is no limit to your toddler’s energy and curiosity. That energy and curiosity although a joy can be challenging at times. Their interest in just about everything around them is what makes them great learners. One and two year olds can soak up so much just from their senses!
But as a teacher or parent that thirst for learning can be exhausting. That is why I created this toddler and preschooler program. To help you get the most out of this time with your curious toddler without having to come up with creative ways to play and interact with them.
Play2Learn for Toddlers includes 20 Units for toddlers. Each 2-week toddler unit has 20 super easy to set up and engaging activities for toddlers 18 months to 3 years.
Play2Learn Preschool which includes 20 Units for preschoolers. Each 2-week preschoolers unit has 20 unique and easy to set up and engaging activities for preschoolers 3 years to 5 years. That’s over 800 learning activities for your toddler and preschooler at your fingertips! So many ideas you and your child will never be bored again!
These toddler and preschool lesson plans and activities will definitely keep you and your toddler and preschooler busy playing and learning!
Click here for more information: Play2Learn
Book: Exciting Sensory Bins for Curious Kids
Did you know I wrote a book of sensory bins? Click here for more information Exciting Sensory Bin for Curious Kids. Or grab your copy at Amazon.
Boring afternoons are made exciting with awesome animal-based bins, like Salty Shark Bay or Yarn Farm. Pretend play bins like Birthday Cake Sensory Play or Bubble Tea Party encourage creativity and imagination. And your kids will have so much fun they won’t even know they’re getting smarter with STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities like Sink or Float Soup, Magnetic Letter Hunt or Ice Cream Scoop and Count.
Designed for toddlers 18 months and up.
Book: Super STEAM Activity Book for Kids
Learning all about science, technology, engineering, art, and math sets kids up for scholastic success―and it can be so much fun! Watch kids enjoy building STEAM skills as they color friendly fish, help water find its way to tree roots, solve math problems with mazes, and more.
Find out more and grab your copy here.
Designed for preschoolers 3 years old and up.
Book: Big Book of Riddles for Kids
Riddle me this: What’s an exciting way to practice critical thinking while having a blast? The Big Riddle Book for Kids, of course! From hilarious puns to tough brain teasers, kids can build problem-solving skills with hundreds of riddles tha. t show them how to think outside the box.
- 350 riddles for kids—Have hours of fun with riddles, puns and jokes, and math and logic puzzles that’ll get their wheels turning!
- Level up their skills—Riddles get trickier as kids progress through the book, challenging them as they get better at solving puzzles!
- Double-check their work—Kids can check their answers in the back of the book with a handy answer key.
Help children expand their minds while having fun with this puzzle book for kids!
Designed for kids ages 6 years old and up.
TV Show: Curious Crafting
I’m so excited to share my crafting TV show Curious Crafting which launched in July 2022 on TVOkids and TVOkids YouTube! Season 2 aired in August 2023! My show was also nominated in 2023 for Best Live Action Preschool Series by the Youth Media Alliance Awards of Excellence.
Curious Crafting Season 1 is also now airing in Australia on ABC! Watch it here!
Set in the ultimate crafting space, Curious Crafting is a short form pre-school age series about the joy of making crafts. I lead a rotating cast of adorable little preschoolers (including my own) making magic out of common household objects.
In each episode we transform recycled items into magical crafts like a milk carton school bus, paper bag puppet or cotton pad turtle. The crafters learn and laugh their way through each activity while demonstrating what their young imaginations can create.
Curious Crafting shares the adventure and joy of making art with takeaway lessons for creating crafts at home.
This show designed for toddlers and preschoolers 2.5 years old and up.
