Have fun with sounds
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the SOUND a letter makes is so much more important to know than it’s name! Yes - the name is also important to know, but when we speak and spell we use sounds, not names. e.g. we don’t say “doubleyoueeee” we say “we” - using sounds! Knowing what sound a letter makes is called “knowing your letter-to-sound rules” and it’s key to being able to read and write. With reading, children need to learn how to decode each letter to sound-out the word. With writing, children need to be able to think of the sounds a word is made up of to write down the letters.
It’s really easy to have fun with sounds. There are words and letters everywhere around us. That McDonalds M makes a mmmm sound! ‘Dear Zoo’ has a zzzzz sound! Zzz like a bee! We can point letters out in books, on signs, on name labels, on toys and then we can say the sound those letter make. I say “let’s look for an a a a a for Apple - your name starts with an /a/ sound” whenever we are putting August’s bag/coat on a peg at nursery.
It’s never too early. As long as your child is listening, you can feed in any sort of learning. Even when they’re not fully looking, they’re listening. So if you’re modelling often, they’re going to learn over time. Don’t not consider this because your little one is under 1 - they’re smarter and can take on more than you think. We’re not going to test them on it - there’s no pressure or pop quiz! We’re just feeding in info for them to use when they’re ready.
ITS GREAT FOR SPEECH
Playing and being silly with sounds is great for learning all the sounds that make up speech. Some sounds develop way later than others - it’s more likely they’ll develop if your little one is hearing lots of good models.
WE HAVE A RESOURCE
Our sing the sound resource is a great way to start having fun with sounds. If you don’t know all the sounds the letters make - you’re not alone! The resource is on my website and I have a highlight teaching you how to pronounce each sound! You can both learn!
How do you have fun with sounds?
