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How to teach letter sounds at home (without it feeling like school)
By Sadia Afrin, Early Childhood Educator · 5 min read
Phonics can be playful. Here's how to turn letter sounds into games your child will ask for.
Letter sounds are the key that unlocks reading. Children who can hear the sounds in words find reading far less tricky later on.
Start with sounds, not names
Say 'sss' for S rather than 'ess'. Sounds are what children blend together to read words.
Play 'I spy' with sounds
'I spy something that starts with mmm…' is one of the simplest and most powerful phonics games there is.
Rhyme, rhyme, rhyme
Silly rhymes — cat, hat, bat, splat! — help children notice how words are built.
Keep it short and happy
Five joyful minutes beats twenty frustrated ones. Stop while your child still wants more.
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