Tongue Twister Speed Challenge

Paper with tongue twisters written out

A timer or phone

Write 5-6 tongue twisters on cards or a poster.

Read the first one slowly together.

Try it at normal speed. Expect giggles.

Challenge: say it 3 times fast without mistakes. Time it.

Take turns. Who's fastest without stumbling?

Try harder ones: "Unique New York" or "Toy boat, toy boat."

Make up YOUR OWN: "Silly Sam sits on seven soft sofas."

Crown a champion.

Tongue twisters are a workout for the phonological system. They force your child's brain to rapidly distinguish between similar sounds (s vs. sh, p vs. b), which is the same skill needed for reading fluency.

Creating original tongue twisters is an advanced alliteration exercise. Your child has to think of multiple words starting with the same sound AND put them in a sentence that makes sense. That's impressive phonological work.

The competitive element (timing, speed) motivates practice. Children will repeat a tongue twister 20 times trying to beat their record — that's 20 reps of phonological practice they chose to do.

Start with 3-4 word phrases before moving to full sentences. "Red lorry, yellow lorry" is harder than it looks.

This is another perfect car game. No materials needed once kids know a few tongue twisters by heart.