Every single year, at parent-teacher conferences, several parents bring up their concerns about reversals.

The letters b, d, p, and q are the most common concerns.
Parents are also very concerned about kids who write their names backwards.  In the younger grades, rest assured, that this is completely normal!

Kids may see a word over and over, reading it properly many times, but suddenly they are not able to remember what the word says.

These are all separate areas of difficulty for kids.  But, they all illustrate problems with visual perception.
There are lots of fun games to help kids develop their visual perception.  I love our Leap Frog Tag Readers.  The I Spy book is great to help kids in their visual perception.

Memory games are also great!  (Although, you will find that your young child will win the game EVERY time, even when you are really trying.) You can purchase memory games, make them out of fabric scraps or paint chips, and even find MANY memory games online.

One of my favorite games to play is Picture Memory.  Take out a favorite family photo.  Let your child study the photo for a minute or two.  When you take the photo away, ask some questions.  What color was the blanket we were sitting on?  What color was Mommy’s shirt?  This game also works with magazine photos and book illustrations.  Remember, this is a game, not a test.  It should be fun for your kids and they are practicing their visual perception as they are playing!

All of these activities will help your child with visual memory.  Sight words are learned through visual memory.  If your child is able to play the games above, with ease, they will probably have an easier time learning their sight words in kindergarten and beyond.

Have fun!