Teaching phonics gets old after a time, especially if you’re teaching your second or third child. It simply loses it’s charm when you’re using the same old worksheets and drill books year after year.
Instead of dusting off your old material, try these 5 fun methods for teaching phonics. You’ll have a blast while teaching your child to read!
Teaching Phonics with Magnetic Letters
Use magnetic refrigerator letters to introduce new sounds. You can leave the letters on the fridge to practice while you’re cooking, eating, or simply enjoying time together.
Magnetic letters are also a blast to practice spelling and sounding out new words. As your child’s ability increases, try leaving short messages to each other.
Teaching Phonics through ‘Memory’
Create two cards of every word or phonics sound your child is learning. Mix up the cards and lay them face down on the table. See who can make the most matches and win the game!
Remember to have your child practice the sounds or read the words every time they’re turned over. Memory makes a fun and easy method to teach phonics and drill new words.
Create Your Own Phonics Books
Each time you teach a new phonics rule, create a new page for your book. Write the phoneme in large letters in the middle of the page. Let your child color and decorate the phoneme!
Next add pictures of words that have the new sound in them. Cut the pictures out of magazines. Draw the pictures on the paper. Remember to write the word underneath each picture.
Bake Sugar Cookies Together
Baking sugar cookies together is always lots of fun. One option for combining phonics with baking is to cut the sugar cookies into the shapes of the phonemes or letters your child is learning. Bake them, ice them, then have fun practicing phonics while you eat!
A second option is to create heart shaped cookies and bake them as is. Once the cookies have cooled, write the phonemes or words on the cookies with icing. Practice reading as you eat the cookies.
Reading Corner
Don’t forget to set up a special reading corner, one full of books your child can read. Put the phonics books you’ve created in the corner. Add easy phonetic readers that use phonemes and letters already learned.
Make it super comfortable with pillows and blankets. The goal is for reading to be a special event, one your child looks forward to everyday.
Using these 5 enjoyable techniques, you’ll create special memories and create a love of learning. You and your child will love learning phonics together.
What is your favorite fun phonics activity?
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