What’s the best way to teach phonics at home? As parents, we want a solution that is doable, simple and effective. Unfortunately, reading is not a natural skill. This means that we do need to invest some time and attention for our children to successfully develop into strong readers. However, there are several different tools that make the process of learning to read easier.
While phonics can seem intimidating to learn, it is actually quite simple, which is why it works so well for children. If you are completely new to phonics, please read our post on 5 Terms to Know About Phonics and Reading. The post explains a handful of common terms used in phonics instruction.
So, how can you help your children learn to read from home? What is the best way to teach phonics?
The Best Way To Teach Phonics Starts with Building Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is absolutely necessary for children learning to read. It is a skill that develops over time and with practice. Phonemic awareness is a child’s ability to recognize sounds and sound patterns in language.
What can you do to help build phonemic awareness?
- Pronounce words clearly when you speak with your child
While it’s tempting to speak in “baby talk,” when a child learns to read, this is unhelpful. Instead, try to speak clearly and in full sentences. This helps prepare your child to understand how sentences work, what different words sound like and how to recreate those sounds themselves.
- Read aloud to your child every day
An Australian study in 2004 tracked the learning progress of children from ages four to 11. The study found that “a preschool-aged child who is read to at least three times a week…will herself be a better reader and thinker–she’ll develop the reading ability of a child six months older.”
Research encourages that we read to our children daily and make it a positive experience. Have your child pick out his or her favorite book – then read the book together, following the words as you speak. Reading the same book over and over again might be a bit boring for us adults, but it’s excellent for our children! It helps them pick up on those sound patterns that are so important for learning how to read on their own.
- Sing songs such as nursery rhymes or lullabies
Phonemic awareness has nothing to do with text or print! It’s all about sounds. a completely sound-based skill, Believe it or not, sounds are the first step toward learning how to read. The more that children hear words in sentences, the better they understand sound patterns. Later, when they begin to “sound out” words in sentences, this awareness of sound patterns becomes really important! This is why we try to build the skill of phonemic awareness (i.e. awareness of sound patterns) in the very early years. – so the more your child hears words in sentences, the better they become at understanding sound patterns. This awareness of sounds is actually the foundation for reading well.
As parents, we can do most by creating an environment that helps kids develop phonemic awareness. For more tips on how to read with your kids, check out KidsHealth.
The Best Way To Teach Phonics Is Through A Kid-Friendly System
Phonics, in general, is the most effective way to teach children how to read. It never assumes any part of learning to read is obvious, so it teaches all the skills kids need to know to become successful readers. The best way to teach phonics at home is with a premade system just for kids.
When choosing a phonics program for your kids, be certain that it emphasizes:
- Phonemes
- Graphemes
- Blending and segmenting
- Decoding
- Positivity
Why is a positive environment so important? It’s the best way to teach phonics! Learning to read can be difficult, and we don’t want to scare kids away from it. Instead, we want to offer kids a positive environment that helps them feel better about reading. When kids enjoy reading, they build their skills faster and become better learners . We don’t want to dissuade children from reading
For example, at Professor Pup’s Academy, our programs make every lesson truly enjoyable. Professor Pup accompanies your child each step of the way. He and his friends always provide lots of directions and encouragement so that no one ever feels left behind or left out.
We also keep lessons brief and focused, so children feel accomplished and productive without getting tired out. This helps make phonics an enjoyable experience, from beginning to end.
As parents, we also want a system that takes care of all the details for us. In other words, we shouldn’t have to know everything about phonics in order for our children to learn from it. The apps at Pup’s Academy are kid-friendly, so you can hand it off to your child worry-free. Children can navigate the system themselves and work through lessons without much of our help. Once they enter Professor Pup’s world, they access phonics through games and activities. The apps include colorful, engaging graphics and music so that their time with Professor Pup is really special.
After completing the Professor Pup’s Academy apps, children will know their phonemes, develop phonemic awareness, practice writing and have the skills to read anything they want! It is the best way to teach phonics from home.
Choose Professor Pup for The Best Way To Teach Phonics
At Professor Pup’s Academy, we offer the most affordable solution for a home phonics system. We want to make high quality education available for everyone and every home, so parents can give their children the chance at success that they deserve.
To learn more about our programs, please visit our website, or download our apps for tablet or smartphone at the Google Play Store and App Store!