Did you know that your child has greater success at reading and writing when they begin learning words with phonics?
Sounding out sections of words help them learn new words and remember common ones. It is a process that should never be left out of your child’s learning.
You can start teaching phonics as early as their baby years to help them recognize sounds.
Read on to find out how to teach phonics to your child effectively from the start.
1. Start Simple
Babies phonics can use a portion of the alphabet to get started. Most programs use the letters s, a, t, n, i, p at the beginning because you can make many three-letter word matches.
Your child doesn’t have to memorize the entire alphabet before learning how to sound out parts of words. In fact, it will be less overwhelming for children to start only with a few letters at a time.
You can slowly add more letters as their skills progress.
2. Build Words
Use these several letters to build small words like sat or nap. This is the best method if you want to know how to teach children to read using phonics.
You can pronounce the first part of the word and have your child find the correct letter. Once they have all three letters together, have them pronounce the whole word. This is called blending.
They will be able to use this strategy later on as they begin to read and spell on their own.
3. Use Phonics at Reading Time
A great time to teach toddler phonics is while reading to your child. You can stop at certain words and help them sound out each part of the word.
Then the next time the word shows up in a book see if they can sound it out on their own. This helps children connect reading with spelling as well as communicating.
4. Use Topics of Interest
If you are wondering how to teach phonics at home without your child getting bored, try using what they love.
You can take your child to a petting farm if they like animals and have them spell the words of their favorite critter. Or have them play eye-spy with their toys, spelling simple words like dog or cat.
5. Use Flash Cards
Phonics for kids should include some memorization in visual form.
Make a flashcard for each letter sound with the letter on the back of the card. You can use the phonic side of the card to spell words phonetically then flip them over to reveal the true spelling of the word.
How to Teach Phonics for the Longterm
Learning how to teach phonics to your child early can have a great impact on them for the rest of their life. As they move through grade school they will be able to learn more difficult words easier when phonics comes naturally to them.
If you’re looking for more parenting advice, then read the parenting section of our blog for more tips.
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