Books to help child with reading just before starting reception?

[foreverchangingnappies]

My child is off to school in September, and I’m wondering if there’s any books or similar I can get him to help him prepare for learning to read?

He’s learnt all his letter sounds, and we’ve been working on blending sounds together when reading stories like ‘on’, ‘it’, etc which he’s really enjoying!

But can anyone recommend any books/flashcards or anything that I can use to keep him going? I’m not pushing him, but I want to help him in the correct way ready for school. I saw something about sight words but not sure if that’s where to start or more advanced?

Personally I wouldn’t bother. I’d just let him choose some books from the library and read them together.

I could read when I started school and it didn’t help one iota, in fact I think it hindered me as I was incredibly bored.

The library will also have some books about starting school.

I can remember feeling a bit anxious with my first as they did like a story at bedtime but their choices were a bit limited and they refused to do any mark making at all. I just decided to concentrate on the things that they did enjoy. They soon picked up a pencil at started writing once they got there. I needn’t have worried at all.

skills you could encourage are things like turn taking by playing some board games, wiping their own bum, getting changed by themselves, putting in and off their coat and shoes, using cutlery properly and eating within a reasonable time so that they eat when they should and dont get hungry in the afternoon.

If you know which phonics programme they do at school, see if you can get the flash cards or work pack for it.

otherwise, I wouldn’t bother. The problem with teaching them how to read at home is that if you do it differently to school, then they will have to unlearn the old way and re-learn the way school are teaching them.