How to Have Fun With Phonics When Teaching Your Children How to Read

Learning phonics is as essential as learning the alphabet, and they go hand in hand. Multiple studies have shown that phonics is the most successful method to teach children to read and write. What can seem like a daunting task is made exponentially easier with the use and practice of phonics, making learning to read fun for you and your little one.

What is Phonics?

Phonics helps children identify and understand the relationship of letters and their sounds. When your little one is learning to read, knowing what a letter looks and sounds like is a skill they will use over and over again. The more practice they have at home, or at preschool online, the more success they will have in their literacy journey.

Basic Principles for Teaching Your Child Using Phonics

Keep it Fun

Your little one has to have a good time when it comes to reading. Retaining information is directly related to the experience they have while learning with you or through preschool online. So if they are engaged and enjoying themselves, they are more likely to have a positive experience reading, and may be more inclined to pick up a book by themselves.

Appeal to Your Little One’s Interests

One way to ensure a good experience reading is to read about subjects they are interested in: their favorite animals, activities, colors, etc. Our preschool online offers books and activities for everyone’s favorite interests—Check out an example from our Book Nook HERE!

Short and Sweet Lessons

Five minute phonics lessons can be interspersed throughout the day. This encourages consistency without risking a loss of interest from your little one. Phonics practice specifically should not take more than 30 minutes of their day—however, reading books with your little one in general has no limit!

Read to Your Little One

Regularly reading to your little one fosters a genuine interest in reading. Pausing every now and then on a word they can attempt to sound out can even pop in a phonics lesson! Through online montessori preschool, we offer Storytime Zooms where your little one can follow along with one of our teachers as they read multiple stories in a 30 minute session.

Learning the Alphabet

Your little one can learn the alphabet in a variety of ways. Most traditional is alphabetical (a, b, c, d) reciting, along with the alphabet song. It’s important that they learn the sound along with the letter. A great practice is to sing the Alphabet song but with letter sounds, or phonetics, instead (ah, buh, cuh, du). In our online montessori preschool, we teach a new letter every week, along with the sound that letter makes, and include activities and teacher-led videos learning about foods, animals, and topics that start with the corresponding letter.

Conclusion

The ability to read is one of the best skills we can equip our little ones with to take on the world in front of them. As their grown-ups, it’s our responsibility to teach them and help them develop their reading skills. The foundation of phonics will give them a place to come back to, especially as their material becomes more challenging.

For more on our online montessori preschool curriculum and parent tools, check out Playgarden Online and start your free trial today!