How can I help my child to get ready to read?

Before children ever pick up a book and start decoding words, there’s a whole world of learning that happens through their ears. Helping young children tune into the sounds around them isn’t just about appreciating the bird song in the morning or noticing the rumble of a passing bus (though those are lovely benefits). It’s actually one of the earliest and most important steps on their journey to becoming confident readers.

Why Listening to Sounds Matters

In the preschool years, children are developing what educators call “pre-reading skills.” These are the foundational abilities that make learning to read smoother and more meaningful later on. One of the key skills is the ability to listen carefully and discriminate between different sounds. This includes:

• Environmental sounds (like the hum of a fridge, a doorbell ringing, or leaves rustling)

• Instrumental sounds (like a tambourine or drum)

• Body percussion (like clapping, stomping, or clicking)

• And eventually, the sounds in spoken words (phonemes).

Being able to notice, compare, and talk about these sounds helps children tune in to the patterns of language. This is exactly what Phase 1 of phonics focuses on.

What is Phase 1 Phonics?

Phase 1 is the very first stage of phonics, and it’s all about developing a child’s listening and speaking skills. There's no letter recognition at this stage, its about lots of fun listening games and sound play. It’s best explored during the preschool years, ideally before children are formally introduced to letters and spelling.

The idea is to build up a child’s ability to:

• Listen closely

• Distinguish between different types of sounds

• Remember and repeat sound patterns

• Recognise rhythm and rhyme

• Hear the first sounds in words

These skills make it so much easier for children to later grasp that words are made up of smaller sounds, which we represent with letters, a concept at the very heart of phonics and reading.

Fun Phase 1 Phonics Games to Play at Home

The great news? You don’t need anything fancy to support Phase 1 phonics at home. Here are a few simple, fun games that help boost those super important listening skills:

1. Sound Walks

Take a walk around your local area or even your garden. Pause and listen, can your child hear birds? A car horn? A barking dog? Afterward, talk about the sounds you heard. You could even try to imitate them together! You could even try our sound hunt worksheets. Pop us a message on here, or on our social media, and we will send them to you for FREE!

2. Guess the Sound

Use everyday items to create sounds behind your back (e.g., tapping a spoons together, crumpling paper, shaking keys). Ask your child to guess what made the sound. This helps sharpen auditory discrimination.

3. Noisy Stories

Make up a story, or read a familiar one such as We're Going on a Bear Hunt, and add sound effects together. For example, “The dinosaur stomped through the forest, stomp stomp stomp!” Encourage your child to join in with clapping, tapping, or making sound effects with their voice.

4. Rhyming Basket

Fill a basket with items that rhyme (like cat, hat, bat, mat) and explore the sounds together. “Can you find something that rhymes with hat?” This builds awareness of rhyming patterns in a playful way.

5. Sing Songs and Nursery Rhymes

Singing helps children hear the rhythm of language and learn about pitch, volume, and sound patterns. Classics like “Old MacDonald,” “The Wheels on the Bus,” and “Incy Wincy Spider” are perfect. Take a look at our nursery rhyme blog to find out more.

6. Body Percussion Patterns

Make a rhythm by clapping, tapping knees, or stomping. Let your child copy it. Then let them invent their own pattern for you to follow!

Helping your child become a confident reader doesn't start with learning phonic sounds, or the alphabet. By giving children the chance to explore sounds in a playful and relaxed way during their early years, you're laying the groundwork for reading success.

So go ahead, make some noise, listen carefully, and most importantly, have fun. Every giggle filled guessing game and silly sound story is helping your little one develop the superpower of reading, one sound at a time. How magical is that!