Make and Take Activities for Literacy Night in Kindergarten

Literacy

Planning a Family Literacy Night can feel exciting…and a little overwhelming. You want it to be meaningful. You want families to walk away with something useful. And you definitely don’t want to spend weeks prepping complicated stations that no one will use again.

That’s why I love doing make and take activities for literacy night. When families create simple, hands-on materials they can bring home and actually use, the impact lasts far beyond one evening. The goal is to give parents and caregivers confidence and clear, practical ways to support reading and writing at home.

In this post, I’m sharing easy make-and-take literacy activities that are developmentally appropriate for kindergarten. I promise that they’re simple to implement, whether you’re hosting your first Literacy Night or looking to simplify your plans this year!

Benefits of Family Literacy Night Events

Family literacy night events help strengthen the connection between home and school by showing families how and which literacy skills are taught in kindergarten. When parents experience these make-and-take activities alongside their child, they gain confidence and leave with simple, practical ideas they can use at home. These shared experiences also help students see reading and learning as something that is positive and fun!

Family Literacy Night benefits:

Build strong home to school connections
Help families understand early literacy skills and expectations
Give caregivers confidence in supporting early literacy at home
Encourage positive attitudes toward reading and writing
Provide reusable, hands-on make-and-take activities
Support learning beyond the classroom

DIY Make-and-Take Literacy Night Ideas

Literacy night activities don’t need to be complicated to be effective. These make and take activities for literacy night are quick to prepare, use minimal materials, and give families tools they can confidently use at home.

1. Sight Word Ring

Teacher Prep:

Provide a list of sight words for families. Set out index cards, markers, a hole punch, binder rings. You can also skip the hole punch and binder rings and add sandwich-sized baggies for a more budget-friendly option.

Family Prep:

Write sight words on index cards
Punch a hole and add a binder ring (or even just place cards in a small bag)

How it’s used at home:

Read the words
Hide the cards. Find the cards around the house and say the words.

2. “Oops!” Letter Naming Cup Game

Teacher Prep:

Make an example of the game. Provide families with materials to make game cards (such as index cards and markers). Set out plastic cups.

Family Prep:

Families will create game cards by writing letters on index card halves or small pieces of paper
Families will also write the word “Oops!” on a few cards
Families will take a plastic cup and put the cards in the cup

How it’s used at home:

Take turns drawing a card. Say the letter name and sound.
If you draw an “Oops!” card, put all your letters back in the cup, and remove the “Oops!” card from the game.
Play continues until all cards have been drawn.

3. CVC Word Memory

Teacher Prep:

Provide a sample list of CVC words on a white board or piece of paper. Set out index cards, markers, and sandwich-sized baggies.

Family Prep:

A set of cards with a list CVC words, which each need to be written on two cards

How it’s used at home:

Mix up the cards and lay them face-down on a flat surface
Take turns picking two cards, saying the words as you go
If you get two matching words, keep the pair and take another turn

Print-and-Go Make-and-Take Literacy Night Activities

If you’re looking for something that is a little more structured and print-and-go, I have something that will help! The following make and take activities for literacy night are part of my Family Literacy Night pack.

Like the activities above, they are simple and motivating for families to put together. Since I know how much work goes into planning a literacy night event, my pack also includes instructions, stamp cards, supply lists, and ready-to-print signs that will save you loads of time!

Here’s a look at what’s included:

8 literacy activities for kindergarten

Station signs for all eight activities

Welcome signs

Printable instructions

Stamp cards to encourage families to visit all the stations

The make and take activities included are:

“Let’s Go Fishing!” Game (Letter ID and Letter Sounds)
Rhyming Memory Game
Four in a Row Game (Reading CVC Words)
Spin a Sound Game (First Sound Isolation)
Word Construction Game
Story Retelling Cube
Syllable Dominoes Game
Guess the Word Game (Phoneme Segmentation)

If you prefer a more cohesive literacy night with consistent directions and activities, this Family Literacy Night resource can help streamline your planning. I created it to help keep prep minimal while giving families practical tools they can use again at home.

Check out my Family Literacy Night Activities Pack here!

Make Family Literacy Night Even More Meaningful with These Make and Take Activities!

When you provide make and take activities for literacy night, you’re doing more than hosting an event. You’re building a powerful bridge between home and school. Even just having a couple activities available gives families a chance to create something meaningful together!

If you’re looking for a ready-to-go option that keeps everything organized and easy to implement, be sure to check out my Family Literacy Night resource pack. I created these activities several years ago for our own family literacy night, and it’s designed specifically with kindergarten students in mind. It’s all-inclusive, simple to prep, and helps families leave with activities they’ll actually use.