Letters and sounds: An introduction to phonics

Approximately half way through your child's year in Nursery they will be introduced to phonics. Phonics is all about sounds and it is the foundation of literacy teaching in the UK. Children are taught the phonetic sounds first, then how to match them to letters, and finally how to use the letter sounds for reading and spelling. In Nursery we introduce these sounds through a fun weekly sound game, in which you and your child are given 1 or 2 sounds each week, and then try to find objects or pictures at home to represent that sound, which can be placed into the Sound Bag. For example for 'b' your child might choose a small book. At school the children practice the sound and enjoy sharing the different objects they have found. It's a very simple way of beginning the process of sound recognition, before children move on to matching and blending those sounds in Reception.

One tip: we ask parents not to include perishable items such as fruit in the bags. The bags will be sent home each Friday for return on Monday for several weeks and perishable items rarely survive! To find out more you might like to read this helpful government booklet Learning to read through phonics: information for parents. For parents struggling to think of items beginning with each phonics sound, this list from Phonics International gives lots of useful suggestions! Happy hunting!