“I read those, Mama . . . I really did!” Our eldest, upon sounding out the words ‘bat,’ ‘cat,’ ‘hat,’ and ‘rat’ for the first time, looked at me with wide-eyed amazement. Not long afterward, I spied him sprawled in a comfy chair, decoding new words by himself and smiling broadly. Looking back, some of my fondest homeschooling memories have included witnessing the moment each of our children first connected the idea of letters as sounds to build, and then read, words. As children strengthen these skills, they are truly acquiring the ability to learn anything—for the rest of their lives—even without a teacher. In this blog post, I’d like to share what I’ve learned as a homeschooler and classical educator about teaching phonics to preschoolers.
Why Phonics? The Science Behind Reading
How do we, as parents, help our children grow to become good readers while cultivating the goal of academic independence? Though in the past there have been many proposed answers to this question, one literacy solution has proven consistent and effective: phonics.
With brains designed by God to decode, connect, and compare, young children are often delighted to discover new words by breaking down the learning of a language into its simplest components: letters and sounds.
Instead of memorizing lists of “sight words,” they are first taught to recognize the relationships between the written letters of the alphabet and their associated sounds, or phonemes. Once individual sounds are mastered, they practice combining the sounds to build syllables and then finally, to build words.
The Benefits of Phonics
The benefits of learning to read by using a phonics-based approach are numerous, but for many parents, unfamiliar. If this is the case, the phonics curriculum Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spalding is a fantastic place to become familiar with the 70 phonemes of the English language in order to best guide your child’s progress.
Decoding is simplified when a child recognizes the core components of words and easily recalls their associated sounds. This rapid recall also helps students to become proficient spellers. As author Leigh Bortins says on page 92 of The Core, “Classical educators prefer to teach children to think in structures so they have a foundation to build upon.”
As phonics, the foundation of language, is practiced, recognizing the structure of longer, more difficult words grows easier. A child’s confidence skyrockets when he or she can consistently decode multi-syllable words with speed and accuracy.
When reading becomes fluent, reading becomes fun!
How to Teach Phonics
The three traditionally recognized approaches to phonics-based learning are: synthetic (blending sounds into words), analytic (breaking words down into individual sounds), and blended (combining both approaches). At different stages of decoding and reading words, it is common for children to use combinations of both approaches.
As classical educators, we seek to empower our children with the tools to learn any subject. By understanding that children first build a literacy foundation with phonics, then make connections with spelling, and ultimately read with wisdom, parents are equipped to be supportive at each step of their children’s reading journey.
Build with Phonics
When children first begin reading, they start by recognizing letters of the alphabet (particularly those in their names) and then identifying the individual sounds heard when those letters are used in words.
This leads to attending to and naming those same sounds in simple words (which are often found in their favorite picture books).
By memorizing the letter patterns in words, they can repeat them when recognizing those same patterns in different words.
Finally, they identify letter/sound combinations and blend those combinations with others to become words. As words are mastered, students move from recognition to comparison, which lays the groundwork for spelling.
Connect with Spelling
As children begin making connections for understanding, they may use their knowledge of phonics to learn spelling. “Even if you have a child who is a talented reader or speller, at least lead him through a crash course in basic phonics, spelling, and punctuation rules…Students can strengthen their understanding of why the rules work the way they do. [They] can be sure they understand how to apply the rules to new words, [and they will]…identify and strengthen any weak areas” (The Core, p. 98).
When spelling rules are mastered, students can more easily observe the relationships between phonics, syllabication (dividing words into syllables), and spelling. This sharpened skill of observation builds confidence as they grown in reading ability.
Read with Wisdom
Finally, as students master strong reading skills, they use their phonics knowledge to expand their vocabulary, conquering unfamiliar words in literature, science, world history, and other subjects. Aside from the ability to decode, reading also provides a doorway to wisdom.
As author Mortimer Adler mused: “A good book can teach you about the world and about yourself. You learn more than how to read better; you also learn more about life. You become wiser. Not just more knowledgeable — books that provide nothing but information can produce that result. But wiser, in the sense that you are more deeply aware of the great and enduring truths of human life.”
Getting Started with Fun Phonics Activities
If your family is at the beginning of your child’s reading journey, this may seem a faraway reality. Why not start with the award-winning Scribblers at Home, Classical Conversations’ curriculum designed with ages 4–8 in mind? Within its pages you will find many fun, low-prep ideas to spark phonics creativity at home. Enjoyable for all ages, this engaging curriculum provides a framework to pray, play, read, explore, and serve together with your family every day.
In addition to exploring the award-winning Scribblers, here are some more ideas for phonics fun:
- Play matching games (letters to sounds and pictures to words),
- Sing phonics songs and chant rhymes,
- Build words with manipulatives such as letter tiles and magnetic letters,
- Enjoy interactive phonics apps and online games,
- Read decodable books, and
- Create fun crafts incorporating phonics sounds.
Phonics: A Foundation for Lifelong Learning
Regardless of where your family is on your literacy journey—beginning phonics, studying spelling, or enjoying reading— celebrate the foundation of freedom you are building alongside your children. May your summer be full of comfy chairs, great books, and reading opportunities beyond measure!
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