Teaching your child to read is the most important gift you can give your child. Start by teaching them the sounds of letters, called phonics, and they will easily begin to identify words by sounding them out. Turn phonics lessons into fun games and your child or children won’t even know they are learning.
Alphabet Ant is a fun paper craft that will introduce them to the entire alphabet. You’ll need construction paper, scissors, and markers. Cut out and color the head of an ant and make it about the size of your fist. Next, cut out twenty-seven body segments about the same size as the head. Write a letter of the alphabet on each body segment then tape them together. This creates a long ant, but is great for a hallway wall, the child’s wall, or a bulletin board in a classroom. Have the child point and identify each letter and their sound.
Stuffed Animal Toss is a physical game that will help identify letters when they are out of order. Take a large poster, some old cardboard, or any type of old large cloth you no longer use. Write out the alphabet, but scramble it up. Ask your child to get one of his or her favorite small stuffed animal or beanie baby. Instruct them to toss it onto the alphabet and call out the letter and sound that the animal landed on.
Alphabet Mobile is an interchangeable project. Take one clothes hanger and three clothespins and hang three-dimensional items from the hanger. You can use string if it would be easier. For example, one week you might want to focus on the letter “D.” You could hang a plastic dinosaur, a picture of the letter “D,” and a stuffed animal dog. Every week or every few days or even every day you can change this to a different letter and items. Instruct your child to pronounce the letter and sounds of the items that are hanging from the mobile.
Hidden Letters is like the old game “Where’s Waldo.” If you have artistic skill, draw a picture for your child that has letters in the images. If you can’t draw at all, use one of their coloring book pages to add letters to the picture. Tell them to circle each letter as they sound it out.
Sandpaper Tracing is a great activity for little hands to try by themselves. You, the adult, will need to purchase heavy grit sandpaper and cut out letters of the alphabet. Place it beneath a sheet of paper and tell the child to scribble away and discover the letter beneath the paper. The shading will reveal a letter. Ask your child to say the letter and sound it out.
These games are fun ways to introduce phonics and the alphabet to your little ones. Kids have no idea they are even learning with these games. Reading is an important part of growing up and there is no better way to teach them than starting early and using phonics.
