How to Start Training your Child in Phonics

by: janey
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Phonics form the basic foundation of reading skills. By spending some time with your child learning these you are giving them a great start for when they being the reading process at school. Although you may think that you aren't really qualified to teach your child something this important, but it's more a question of patience than skill. If you are patient enough to learn how much attention span your child has for learning, and are willing to spend this much time daily or every other day to slowly learn the 44 phonic sounds you're going to be placing them at a great advantage. If you can also manage to learn them the 43 English phonic rules and how to apply them, your child is off to a great start in their education.

So how do you start on the road to phonics training for your child? Well the first thing you're going to need is a lesson plan. There are a number of these you can access over the Internet, or you could ask your local Pre-K if they have a recommendation for early learning resources. You should take a look at a few different plans so you firstly get a feel for what's involved, and secondly find the one that best suits your approach to learning. You should feel comfortable that you are able to confidently carry out the activities and routines that the lesson plan suggests you follow.

Practice is the most important part of phonics training. Make sure that your child is comfortable and proficient with each sound before you move onto the next. You could begin with one sound, or a set of two or three and the practice these over and over until they're confident with saying the sound themselves. Once you move onto the next sound, or the next group of sounds, you should begin each practice lesson with a recap of the sounds your child has already learned so that they don't lose their ability with those sounds while learning the new ones.

Alongside the phonics learning you could also have a system of letter identification. Put the letter of the sound you're currently learning on a large piece of paper so that by seeing this and learning the sound, your child is able to identify the letter as well as correctly pronounce it. Once your child is able to correctly hold a pencil, and is happily engaged in the learning process, you could have them learning how to form the letters themselves.

As exciting as the prospect of teaching your child to read and write may be, don't forget that the real objective is for them to learn the basic phonics. By going too far ahead, you may find that your child finds the process too challenging and is reluctant to sit down with you and practice their sounds. Take it slowly, remembering that this is additional training that many children won't have, and you'll find that your child will not only learn, but also enjoy the time they spend with you as they learn.

About the Author

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog  

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