Easy word search for kids

This word search for kids uses an 8×8 grid with five short words, from CAT and DOG to KITE and TRAIN. Words run only across, down or on a slant to the right, never backwards. There is no app, no sign-up and nothing to get past before the letters appear; it works offline and can be played with the keyboard.

How to play the kids word search

1. Look at the five words under the grid.
2. Each word reads from left to right, from top to bottom, or on a slant going right.
3. Put your finger on the first letter and slide to the last letter. Or tap the first letter, then the last.
4. When the word is right, it gets a coloured band and is crossed off the list.
5. If a word will not show up, press Hint to light up its first letter.
6. Find all five words, then press New game for another puzzle.

Helping a child with a first word search

Start with the word list, not the grid. Read the five words together and say each first letter out loud. Then pick one word and hunt for its first letter only. Every time you find it, check the squares to the right, below and on the two slants to the right. Because words never run backwards or to the left on this page, a child only ever reads the way they read a book, which keeps the task about spotting letters rather than decoding reversed words.

Encourage pointing. A finger running along a row keeps a young reader in place far better than the eyes alone.

Choose the order. Words with an unusual letter, like the K in KITE or the X in FOX, stand out among the fill letters, and words with a double letter such as BEE, EGG or BALL make an easy pair to spot. Three-letter words like CAT or SUN are easy to read but easy to overlook, so they make a good last word.

Let the hint do the rescuing: it lights the first letter of a word, a nudge rather than the answer. Wrong selections are simply ignored, so there is nothing to fail.

Words in the word search for kids

The kids list has 71 words of three to five letters, grouped around things children know: animals (CAT, DOG, HEN, DUCK, GOAT, FROG, OWL, LION, WOLF), the sky and weather (SUN, MOON, STAR, RAIN, SNOW, WIND), nature and places (TREE, LEAF, POND, HILL, FARM, BARN, NEST, HOME), everyday things (CUP, BOX, KITE, DRUM, BELL, BOOK, SOCK, SHOE), food (CAKE, MILK, EGG, JAM, APPLE, PEAR, CORN), colours (RED, BLUE, GREEN, PINK, GOLD) and things that go (BOAT, CAR, BUS, SHIP, TRAIN).

Most are sight words or simple phonics words, so a grid doubles as reading practice. No word is hidden inside another, so RAIN and TRAIN never appear together.

Timer, hints and progress

The timer is off by default here, so there is no clock to race. Hints are always free. The grid is always 8×8: the size setting on the other word search pages does not apply. Restart replays the same grid and New game makes a fresh one, and each grid has a short code such as A7K3Q, handy when two children want the same puzzle. For paper copies, the printable page offers the same kids word list as a PDF.

Plays anywhere, no app, no account

The 8×8 grid has large letters that are easy to tap on a phone or tablet, and it can also be played with the arrow keys and Space. Tidy Puzzles runs entirely in your browser: there is no app to install, no account to create and no interstitial before you can play. After the first visit the game also works offline, because each puzzle is generated on your device from a seed. Every board can be played with the keyboard alone, on a phone or a desktop, and your stats and unfinished puzzles stay in this browser rather than on a server.