From kindergarten onward, many parents will learn about “sight words.”

These are common words that many school kids will be expected to recognize on sight as they learn how to read.

If you need a simple introduction to sight words, start with The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.

The legendary author incorporated 220 “Dolch words” into this easy-reading masterpiece. Back in 1936, literacy expert Edward William Dolch analyzed scores of children’s books and developed a list of “Dolch words” that young readers should master.

These were the primary sight words, and this classic Dr. Seuss book will help young readers gain confidence reading. Use your finger to point out the words on the page as you read, helping your kid learn how to spot these foundational words.

My daughter has been obsessed with the Monkey Word School Adventure app, a digital aid for playing with sight words. In a few short days, my daughter tackled word puzzles, phonics games and simple reading tasks on the app.

The noisy app adds music, bells, whistles and rewards as your child plays. The game automatically gets harder as a kid masters new words.

To play with sight words in real life, try the easy Fiddle Sticks game. Use a marker to write the key vocabulary words on a set of popsicle sticks. Place the sticks in a cup, and let kids draw the sticks. They can read the words and collect sticks.

You can turn it into a game for more kids by adding blank sticks to the mix.

When a kid draws a blank stick, they need to return all the sticks they have drawn back into the cup. The young reader with the most sticks at the end of the game wins…