Struggling to find time to help your child with reading? As a busy parent, it can feel overwhelming, but what if I told you there are practical and powerful ways to teach phonics at home—without adding more stress to your day? As a reading coach for Savvy Learning, I’ve seen how small, consistent steps can make a big difference for your child’s reading success.
Phonics instruction is all about helping children understand the relationship between letters and sounds, a foundational skill that makes it possible for them to decode new words, build fluency, and read with confidence.
The best part? You don’t need to be a trained teacher to get started. The Science of Reading shows that systematic, explicit phonics instruction is key to developing strong readers—and with just a few simple strategies, you can bring those methods into your daily routine.
Here are 9 simple and effective ways to teach phonics to your child at home, using methods that are fun, practical, and grounded in research.
1. Start with Letter Sounds, Not Names
When kids are learning to read, it’s more helpful to focus on letter sounds instead of letter names. Knowing that “B” says /b/ is far more useful for reading than knowing it’s called “bee.”
✔ Begin with common consonant sounds and short vowel sounds. Try Reading Universe for online examples.
✔ Use picture cards, songs, or letter-sound chants to reinforce learning.
✔ Say the sound clearly and avoid adding extra sounds (e.g., say /b/, not “buh”).
📌 Tip: Keep it playful! Use animal flashcards (like a bear for /b/) to make it memorable.
2. Use Multi-Sensory Activities
Children learn best when they use multiple senses at the same time. That’s why multi-sensory phonics activities work so well.
✔ Let kids trace letters in sand, shaving cream, or rice while saying the sound aloud.
✔ Use playdough to shape letters and practice matching them with their sounds.
✔ Try skywriting—have your child write a letter in the air with their finger while saying the sound.
📌 Tip: Multi-sensory learning is especially effective for kids with dyslexia or other reading challenges.
3. Play Sound Matching and Blending Games
Phonics is about putting sounds together to make words. Games that encourage sound blending and segmenting help develop these essential decoding skills.
✔ Try “What’s My Word?”—say the sounds slowly (/c/ /a/ /t/) and have your child blend them.
✔ Play ABC games like how many words can we come up with that start with A? Then B, then C and so on.
✔ Use picture cards and ask your child to match the beginning or ending sound.
✔ Clap out syllables in words or tap out each sound with fingers.
When my kids were small, we spent lots of time in the car getting to and from activities. Games that can be played out loud like “What’s My Word” are a great way to pass the time!
📌 Tip: Keep the pace light and pressure-free. Turn “practice time” into “play time.”
4. Teach Word Families and Rhyming Patterns
Once your child knows a few letter sounds, introduce word families—groups of words with the same ending sound, like -at, -an, or -op.
✔ Build word family charts (cat, bat, hat) to show spelling patterns.
✔ Use rhyming games to reinforce sound awareness. “What rhymes with ‘cat’?” (bat, sat, mat)
✔ Rhyming can be practiced with silly songs and poetry as well! Try Super Simple Songs or Homeschool Pop on YouTube.
✔ Create “houses” for word families with fun crafts and drawings (Google word families for examples).
📌 Tip: Word families make it easier for kids to recognize patterns and build confidence with new words.
5. Use Decodable Books
Decodable books are designed for phonics learners. They only use words that follow phonics rules your child has already learned—making them perfect for early reading success.
✔ Choose simple books that focus on CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant like “dog”).
✔ Avoid books that rely on pictures or guessing. Decoding and comprehension will suffer.
✔ Celebrate when your child reads a book all by themselves—it builds confidence!
📌 Tip: Explore free online decodable books from resources like Flyleaf Publishing – these are free ebooks and activities for beginning readers!
6. Practice Sound Segmentation and Spelling
Learning to break words into individual sounds (called segmenting) helps kids spell and read unfamiliar words.
✔ Say a word aloud and ask your child to tap or move a token for each sound.
✔ Use magnetic letters or tiles to build the word one sound at a time.
✔ Focus on spelling patterns like beginning blends (bl-, tr-, sp-).
📌 Tip: Say a word like “fish” and help your child break it down: /f/ /i/ /sh/.
7. Sing Phonics Songs and Watch Phonics Videos
Repetition through music and movement helps kids retain letter sounds and patterns.
✔ Use songs for the alphabet, digraphs (ch, sh, th), or vowel sounds.
✔ Watch short phonics videos on YouTube or educational apps. Try Rocking Dan Teaching Man or Nessy on YouTube.
✔ Sing and dance along—it’s okay to be silly!
📌 Tip: Choose songs that clearly pronounce sounds and avoid confusion with letter names.
8. Make Phonics Part of Daily Life
Phonics isn’t just for reading lessons—it can be a natural part of your day.
✔ Point out letter sounds on signs, cereal boxes, or menus.
✔ Ask your child to find words that start with a sound you’re working on. “We are learning the /g/ sound…I spy a goat! What do you see that starts with /g/?
✔ Play “Sound Detective” while running errands—“Can you find something that starts with /s/?” (sign, sock, sailboat)
📌 Tip: Real-world connections make phonics feel meaningful and fun.
9. Be Consistent and Keep It Positive
Learning phonics is a journey—it doesn’t happen overnight. But consistent practice and encouragement go a long way.
✔ Keep sessions short— 5 – 10 minutes a day is plenty, or sprinkle moments throughout the day.
✔ Celebrate small wins, like sounding out a new word or finishing a decodable book.
✔ Stay patient. Mistakes are part of the process.
📌 Tip: A growth mindset matters. Say things like, “Look how much stronger your reading muscles are getting!”
Final Thoughts
You may think small efforts don’t matter, but one day your little reader will surprise you by reading a word on a sign while out and about! Aim for consistency, and the skills will follow.
Phonics is one of the most powerful tools you can give your child. When kids understand how letters and sounds work together, they can decode new words, read with confidence, and build a lifelong love of reading.
✔ Focus on letter sounds first, then build up to blending and spelling.
✔ Use multi-sensory, hands-on strategies to make learning stick.
✔ Keep it fun, keep it consistent, and keep cheering them on.
📚 Need extra support? Savvy Learning’s online reading tutors use structured, research-based phonics instruction to help kids grow into confident, joyful readers.
👉 Contact Savvy Learning today to get started with expert-led reading support from the comfort of your home!
