Please tell me about phonics!

[UnicornsPooGlitter]

I don't know anything about phonics, and it's making me not talk about letters / words etc with DS, who has just turned 3. I don't want to do it wrong, so I don't do it at all .

Do I need to know what system the pre-school use?

Elc have a system called jolly phonics which is quite good and may be useful for you. Has ds got his free nursery entitlement yet? As the nursery should be able to help you with this x

Thanks Booby, I'll check that out. I just watched a video on the cbeebies website, which showed me how to at least say the letters (and I've just been laminating cut out letters to play with DS with ).

Oh yes, I'll ask at the pre-school too.

Was it the Alphablocks programme you watched on CBeebies? That's very good for showing how to sound out the letters and then how to blend them - that will be later stages for your DS but it's good if you can understand it before your DS does. And they seem to love watching it.

Alphablocks is great, I often use it in phonics lessons. All the episodes are lurking somewhere on the BBC site.

Try www.homeschoolconnect.co.uk. There are 2 reading packs and the website will explain everything you ever needed to know! The website has teaching videos too so you can see real families using the materials and showing you how you can teach sounds and blending. The approach follows the government's Letters and Sounds Programme and it is excellent. Check it out!

Look up 'apple apple a a a' on You Tube the kids in our nursery love it! Helped the older children (3 yrs) begin to notice letter sounds in their names etc.