7 Days of Phonics Tips for Parents: How to Support Your Reception Child Learning to Read at Home
- littlelearnerstuto
- Oct 30
- 4 min read
The first year of school is such an exciting milestone but it also comes with a new world of words for both children and parents. One of the first terms you’ll hear your child talk about in Reception is phonics.
If you’ve ever thought, “I want to help at home, but I don’t really know where to start,” ...then you’re in the right place.
As a Reception teacher and early reading specialist, I’m breaking down phonics in a simple, playful way so you can confidently support your child’s learning at home without feeling like you’re back in the classroom yourself.
This is your 7-day guide packed with easy phonics tips, games, and quick wins to help your child build strong early reading skills through play.
Day 1: Why Your Child Starts With These Sounds — s, a, t, p, i, n
Have you noticed that your child is learning these six sounds first?
s • a • t • p • i • n
There’s a reason! These are some of the most common sounds in the English language and can be blended to form lots of simple words like sat, pin, and in.
When children learn to blend sounds, they’re not just memorising words - they’re learning how to read.
Try this at home:
Play “sound swap” — change one sound at a time in short words to create new ones (sat → pat → pin).
👉 Want step-by-step help to support your child’s reading at home?
Grab my FREE Phonics Roadmap for my exact plan of how you can support your child to learn to read at home in just 10 mins a day.
Day 2: A Simple 4-Step Method to Teach Sounds at Home
You don’t need hours of worksheets to help your child remember new sounds. Just a few minutes a day using this simple 4-step method makes a big difference.
Say it — model the sound clearly so your child can watch your mouth move.
See it — show the sound card and play spotting games (“Can you find something beginning with s?”).
Find it — hunt around the house for items beginning with the sound.
Make it — form the letter in sand, flour, playdough, or even mud!
⚠️ Top tip: focus on the sound (not the letter name) and avoid adding an “uh” sound at the end — it’s “sss” not “suh”.
Day 3: Take Phonics Outdoors — The Sound Treasure Hunt
Learning to read doesn’t have to happen at the table. Grab some sound cards (s, a, t, p, i, n), head outside, and turn your walk into a phonics treasure hunt.
Ask your child to find things that begin with each sound — sticks, stones, snails… whatever they spot!
Outdoor learning helps children move, explore, and link sounds to the real world, which builds confidence and memory.
Day 4: The Car Park Game — Blending Through Play
If your child loves cars, this one’s a winner. Write sounds on small cards and stick them to toy cars. Draw or print “car parks” with simple CVC (consonant–vowel–consonant) words like sat or pin.
Your child “parks” each car in the right spot, saying each sound, then blends them together to read the word.
This playful setup strengthens sound recognition, blending, and segmenting — all key skills for early reading success.
Day 5: Why Multi-Sensory Learning Matters in Phonics
Children learn best when they use more than one sense at a time. Multi-sensory activities like tracing letters in sand while saying the sound will help connect sight, sound, and movement in the brain.
Benefits include:
Better memory and retention
Stronger fine-motor skills
Longer attention spans
Increased confidence and enjoyment
Try blending practice with playdough letters, paintbrush water writing, or textured tracing.
Day 6: Make a Sound Spotter Buddy
If your child skips words when reading or struggles to track from left to right, try a Sound Spotter Buddy.
Use a lolly stick, googly eyes, and some craft fun to make a little reading helper. Your child can use it to “spot” sounds or point to each word as they read.
This helps with focus, tracking, and sound identification — and it turns reading practice into playtime.
Day 7: Are You Saying the Sounds Correctly?
Here’s a common mistake many parents make (and it’s totally understandable).
❌ Adding “uh” at the end of sounds (suh instead of sss)
❌ Using letter names instead of sounds
When we add that tiny “uh,” it makes blending really tricky for children. Stick with the pure sounds so words like cat and sit blend smoothly and naturally.
Want to check how to say each sound correctly?
Watch my phonics pronunciation videos:
Ready to Feel Confident Supporting Phonics at Home?
Helping your child learn to read doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. With short, playful moments each day, you can make phonics fun — and build a strong foundation for a lifetime of reading confidence.
If you’d love a clear roadmap with activities and progress guidance tailored to your child’s exact stage, then take a look at my Ultimate Phonics Through Playbook where I give you everything you need to support your child at home with phonics in just 10 mins a day of PLAY!!
Check it out here:
If you need anymore help and support please do reach out at info@littlelearnerstutoring.co.uk
Bye for now!
Jo
Comments