R sound words and playful ways to practice at home
Sound: /r/
Told to "just practice at home" between speech-therapy sessions? Here is a free R-sound word bank plus calm, play-based ideas, designed with speech-language pathologists to support your child's therapy, never to replace it.
Where the R sound is made
Pull your tongue back and bunch it up high in your mouth, then turn on your voice and make a low, growly sound.
R sound word bank
Words with the R sound at the start, middle, and end of a word. Start wherever your SLP suggested, and keep it light and playful.
Start of a word
- red
- run
- rain
- ring
- rock
- road
- rug
- rope
- race
- rat
- robot
- rabbit
Middle of a word
- carrot
- arrow
- berry
- cherry
- mirror
- hurry
- parrot
- story
- sorry
- fairy
- orange
- around
End of a word
- car
- star
- four
- bear
- chair
- door
- floor
- deer
- jar
- far
- fire
- ear
Phrases and sentences to try
Once single words feel easy and fun, string a few together.
- red rocket
- running rabbit
- round rock
- rainy road
- race car
- Red robots race down the road.
- The rabbit ran around the big rock.
- Rain fell on the rusty roof.
- A roaring tiger ran really fast.
- Ricky reads a really fun story.
A silly R story
Roary the rabbit raced a robot to the river. The robot rolled over a rock and went rrrr. Roary roared with laughter and ran the rest of the race.
Playful ways to practice the R sound
Sound hunt
Walk around the room and roar out loud every time you both spot something with an R, like a rug, a ring, or a red ball.
Mirror mouth
Stand at the mirror together and watch your tongues pull back to make the growly R sound side by side.
Give it a character
Pretend the R is a friendly tiger and let your child growl rrrr like the tiger before each word.
Book points
While you read a bedtime book, point to and say any R words you find together on the page.
Bath and car
In the bath or the car seat, take turns naming R words like rubber duck, rain, and race car.
Common questions about the R sound
- What are some words with the R sound?
- Start of a word: red, run, rain, ring, rock, road. Middle of a word: carrot, arrow, berry, cherry, mirror, hurry. End of a word: car, star, four, bear, chair, door.
- How do you make the R sound?
- Pull your tongue back and bunch it up high in your mouth, then turn on your voice and make a low, growly sound.
- When should my child say the R sound?
- The R sound is a later sound to develop, lots of children are still working on it around age 6, and your speech-language pathologist knows what is right for your child.
- How can we practice the R sound at home?
- Keep it short and playful. Walk around the room and roar out loud every time you both spot something with an R, like a rug, a ring, or a red ball. You can print a free R-sound practice pack with word banks, play ideas, and cut-out picture cards at https://logopedia-site-ecru.vercel.app/guide?sounds=r.