Summer is a time for relaxation and fun, but you can’t have fun without phonics! (Okay, you CAN… but it’s also possible to combine the two!) Being home with your sweet learner is a wonderful opportunity to continue learning in a more relaxed and enjoyable setting. I often get asked by parents how they can help their children work on phonics at home during the summer. Here are some effective, engaging, and fun strategies to reinforce phonics skills at home.
Make your Home a Phonics-Rich Environment
Labeling Items Around the House
You can start by labeling common household items with their names. For example, you can label a pot, knife, chair, and even refrigerator. Encourage your child to read these labels regularly. This constant exposure helps reinforce high frequency word recognition (for words that have already been explicitly taught) and phonetic patterns.
Phonics Posters and Charts
Consider putting up posters and charts that show different phonics sounds, blends, and digraphs. These visual aids can serve as quick reference points for your child and make the environment more conducive to learning.
Incorporate Phonics into Daily Activities
Cooking with Phonics
Turn cooking into a phonics lesson. While preparing a meal or baking, read recipes together, focusing on sounding out the words. Words like “mix,” “stir,” and “bake” can be great for practicing different sounds!
Shopping Lists and Grocery Trips
Involve your child in making the shopping list and reading it at the store. Identify items that start with specific sounds, and play a game where your child finds items in the store that start with each letter of the alphabet.
Interactive Phonics Games
Online Phonics Games
Let’s be real… summer also means some time on our screens! There are many online resources and apps designed to make phonics practice fun. Many free websites offer interactive games that help children practice letter sounds, blends, and reading skills.
DIY Phonics Games
Create your own games, such as a phonics scavenger hunt where your child finds objects that start with certain sounds around the house or yard. Another idea is phonics bingo, where you call out sounds or blends, and your child covers the corresponding letters or pictures on their bingo card.
Reading Together
Daily Reading Time
Set aside time each day to read with your child. Choose books that are at the appropriate reading level and include plenty of phonetic elements. As you read, point out and emphasize different sounds and blends. You’ll also be modeling oral language and exposing your little ones to new vocabulary.
Phonics-Focused Books
Select books specifically designed for phonics practice. Decodable books are excellent choices because they use simple language and repetitive sounds that help reinforce phonics skills.
Writing Activities
Phonics Journals
Encourage your child to keep a journal where they can practice writing words and sentences using the phonics rules they are learning. You can give them a theme or let them write about their daily activities, emphasizing correct phonetic spelling.
Word Building with Magnetic Letters
Use magnetic letters on the fridge to build words. Start with simple CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words like “cat” and “dog,” then gradually move to more complex words. This hands-on activity is great for tactile learners.
Sing Phonics Songs
Songs and rhymes are fantastic for phonics practice. Sing classic phonics songs like “The Alphabet Song,” “Old MacDonald Had a Farm,” or “Apples and Bananas.” These songs emphasize different sounds and make learning enjoyable.
Engage in Conversation
Talk with your child throughout the day, modeling clear articulation and complete sentences through think-alouds. Ask open-ended questions that require more than yes/no answers, encouraging them to use a variety of words and sounds in their responses. Aim for at least 5 back and forth exchanges about the same topic as a goal.