Many preschool children find it difficult to sit and learn phonics, so give them opportunities for movement! It's commonly believed that when you hear something, 10% of the information is retained. If you see it, hear it and say it, 40% is retained. But, if you also DO it, you retain 70%-100% of the information. Using a multi-sensory approach to teach children phonics and reading enhances their retention and capitalizes on their natural tendency to move. In other words, incorporate movement in phonics and reading, and your child will have more fun and learn faster.
It is usually a good idea to introduce one letter sound a week. Learn and ACT OUT the first weeks letter sound S (The sneaky snake slithered up to me. It was a silly sight to see). Practice the rhyme as you do errands. Write the rhyme on a giant poster board and hang it in their room. Each rhyme they learn can be added to the poster. Flood your child's world with the letter sound of the week by looking for that letter everywhere you go (grocery store, signs, books you read to them). Emphasize the sound by serving sausage and sweet potatoes the week you learn the S sound. Create a short book that emphasizes the new sound by cutting and pasting pictures of S objects. The following rhymes will give children many opportunities for action and fun.
SHORT VOWELS
A Andy the antelope started to clap, when an ant sat on his lap.
E Ellie the elephant swept and swept ate an egg, and then she wept.
I Ichabod inchworm started to twitch, because he had an itch, itch, itch.
O Ozzie the ostrich went hop, hop, hop, and his balloon went pop, pop, pop.
U The Umbrella bird under the sun wanted to run and have some fun.
CONSONANTS
B The baby baboon bought a mug, and gave his buddy a big bad bug.
C The curious cat began to creep closer, closer he did leap.
D The dolphin dives down under a wave, down so deep, his name is Dave.
F The freckled finch flew into the air, funny and fat, he was so fair.
G The grateful goat grew every day, he was so good, and he was so gray.
H The happy hippo loved to eat; he hopped all day in the heat.
J Johnnie the jackal would jump and leap; he never drove a jeep, jeep, jeep.
K Kenny kangaroo kicked his sis, than he gave her a kooky kiss.
L The lazy lizard would laugh and play, upon his log he would lay all day.
M The mild mouse moved with a squeak, to run from me he was so meek.
N The naughty narwhal has a nice spear, but make sure that you never go near.
P Polly pelican's pouch is pretty, it's empty, what a pity.
Q The quiet quail tiptoed quickly; his many quills were so very prickly.
R Roger rabbit ran and stomped, right through the river he romped.
S The sneaky snake slithered up to me. It was a silly sight to see.
T The terrific tiger would turn and skip, and every Tuesday he took a trip.
V The victorious vulture vaulted the best, and vowed to wear a vivid vest.
W Wally the walrus wiggled with a pig, and always wore a wonderful wig.
X The X-ray fish swam like a fox, but he never ever ate his lox.
Y The young yak yawned so very hard, on his yellow yacht in the yard.
Z The zany zebra zoomed like Flipper, but he always stopped to zip his zipper.
LONG VOWELS
A The aging ape is out of shape, because he ate and ate and ate.
E The enormous eagle is so regal, when he fly's with a seagull.
I The idle ibex stands so high, looking into the icy sky.
O The orange orangutan climbed a rope to see what he could scope.
U The unique unicorn, dressed in blue, was stuck on ugly, ugly glue.
The more proficient your preschool child gets at phonics the easier it will be to combine those sounds into words. The following activities will reinforce the alphabet sounds and get them ready for reading.
PHONICS SCAVENGER HUNT Place several pictures or objects around the room that represent the sound you are practicing. Don't forget to put a few other sound symbols in the room as well. This will ensure that your child will test the object for the sound before declaring a find.
BEACH BALL PHONICS requires you to section off a ball into many squares with a marker. Each square houses a letter of the alphabet. Toss the ball to your child, who recites the letter name and sound of the letter under their thumb. (S sounds ss, ss, ss)
PHONICS TOSS Paint the letters of the alphabet on a large foam board. Under each letter, cut a hole big enough for a small beanbag to fit through. Being sure not to cover the holes, glue or staple the board to a large cardboard box. Your child tosses a beanbag into one of the holes and says the sound.
SKIP JUMP SOUNDS Using lighter colored vinyl, cut out shapes, put a letter on each one with a marker, and tape them to the floor. Your child can jump from letter to letter, saying each sound as they land.
SEWING LETTERS is a great craft and letter recognition activity. Using poster board, draw and laminate 6"-8" block letters of the alphabet. Cut them out and punch holes around the perimeter of each letter about 1" apart. Using a large needle and yarn, have your child sew around each letter.
PHONICS RELAY This is fun when there are two or more players. If you have an older sibling play, you can give them a handicap like counting to 5 one thousands before responding. Call out a letter sound and the children run to a chalkboard or dry erase board and print the letter of that sound. When they're ready, modify this game to words or even short sentences.
Reading to your child on a regular basis will give them an appreciation and respect for reading. If reading is important to you, it will become important to your child. A bookcase full of a variety of great books should be available. The "Dr. Seuss" and "Dick and Jane" books are wonderful, because they are full of repetition. This will enable your child to learn sight words such as: it, at, on, in, the, etc. Learning sight words will help keep the frustration level down when they start to read books.
WORD CONCENTRATION Make two sets of the common sight words on index cards, and lay them out 5-10 at a time. Have your child try to find a matching pair. It's fun to have a set of color words, number words, animals, and family members.
RUBBERBAND STRETCH FOR BLENDING SOUNDS
1. Use a large rubber band to show how to stretch out a word as the word is said. Ex. /rrrrrrrrrrrrr-/aaaaaaaaaaaa-/nnnnnnnnn/.
2. Bring the rubber band back to its original length and says the word fast: /ran/.
3. Have the children pretend to stretch rubber bands as they say the sounds in
different words from the story.
Read with your child everywhere you go. Read signs, food cartons, magazines, and even toy boxes. There are words all around you. Kids naturally want to please their parents and teachers. So use a reward system. With every game or activity there should be verbal praise or some kind of reward. Most of all, have fun.
This is one of the most exciting times in a young child's life. Learning to read is the foundation to all education, and will open up a whole new wonderful world to them. Enjoy this special time together by decorating their room with reading and phonics projects. Encourage them to show these things to their family and friends. Have fun, try these phonics and reading activities, and create some of your own. The possibilities are endless.