Hi @LostMum2019
I’m a reception teacher and an Early Reading/Phonics specialist. There have been lots of great suggestions here already but I just wanted to add that I think you need to work on lots of Phase 1 oral blending and segmenting. If you said b-e-d in sound talk, could your child work out what word you’d said? If you said dog as a whole word, could your child segment it into the sounds d-o-g?
If they can’t then they will likely find reading and writing very hard and I can’t blame them! It would be like being asked to to complete a maths paper when you know what numbers are eg: you know that’s a 2 but you don’t know how to count 2 things.
If they cannot hear sounds yet, then even if they recognise them, when they say them it won’t mean anything. Unfortunately, Phase 1 often gets overlooked and people race onto Phase 2 and getting them to recognise which letters correspond to which sounds. There’s no harm in doing Phase 2 alongside Phase 1 in nursery or reception but if they don’t get Phase 1 oral blending and segmenting, then Phase 2 won’t mean anything to them as even thought they know what letters look like, they can’t do anything with the letters. They might be able to sound out b-e-d but if they can’t hear the sounds and combine them to make a word, they won’t be able to read or write and will become upset and reluctant.
I think sharing lots of stories together and sounding out words for your child to orally blend is a great start. So the sentence might be “little r-e-d, which word am I saying? Yes red, r-e-d, red, little r-e-d red riding hood”. Lots of modelling how to do it, lots of repetition and lots of praise when they show interest or willing. Get them to love reading and want to be involved with books. Right now they might just be finding the idea of books stressful.
A game my Nursery/Reception children love is when we play with our sound animals. They are animal puppets who can only speak in sound talk and I have to say what they’re saying. I get them to ask questions to the animal and I reply in sound talk eg: “what’s your favourite food? Ch-ee-se”. Sometimes I have lots of objects on the floor that have 3 or sometimes 4 sounds in and get them to find things eg: find the b-oo-t. We also play a game where I give them an object and they stand on the opposite side of the classroom. They can only join me when I say their object in sound talk. So if they had a bag, they can only cross the classroom when I say b-a-g. If they are finding it hard, then help them by showing them how to do it eg: find the b-oo-t. Pick something up eg: cup then ask them what it is. They reply with the whole word answer cup. “cup. C-u-p does that sound like b-oo-t? No, let’s try something else. Pick up the boot. B-oo-t, those are the sounds I was saying. We need the boot. B-oo-t makes boot”. Constantly repetition of the sounds and the word you are sounding out.
Also make sure that they are confident in hearing the initial sound in an object so c in cat. I often get my children to do lots of sorting of objects by initial sound. I will show them the letter as well so they start to realise that is the written symbol that goes with the sound but the main focus is the listening skills.
When they’ve got listening skills, I start to push blending and segmenting with books and pens and paper as it makes more sense. Eg for writing: remember when I said a word to you and you told me the sounds in it? This time I want you to tell me the sounds and then write them down. See if you can remember what they look like.
Eg for reading: remember when I said a word in sound talk and you told me which word I said? This time you are going to sound out a word by looking at and saying these letters then saying the whole word at the end.
They shouldn’t feel intimidated to read or write as they’ve already got that foundation skill of being able to do it orally.
If you google Phase 1 phonics, there will be lots of other food suggestions for ideas and games you can try. Good luck OP and hope it works out for you!