A simple, fun phonics game for toddlers
Inspired by Montessori reading blocks, I decided to make a DIY version to get my 3-year-old to practice his phonics at home. This is so easy and self-explanatory, and it’s also kind of fun to search the alphabet for useable words!
What to do:
1. Pick three-letter words with the same two-letter endings, e.g. bat, cat, hat2. Cut squares out of card
3. Write one letter on each square, keeping the consonants red and the vowels blue.
4. Lay out the last two letters of the word and let your toddler pick the first letter from the pile. Simple! Make it a game and vary it any way you like.
The word possibilities are endless. Here are a few suffixes:
- -UN: bun, fun, run, sun
- -AN: can, fan, man, pan, ran, van
- -ED: bed, fed, red
- -IG: big, dig, fig, pig
- -AT: bat, cat, hat, mat, pat, rat, sat
Needless to say, toddlers get very excited when they recognise even just one letter. It does wonders for their reading confidence when they suddenly realise they've read a whole word!