Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Flip

Original poster

Phonics - my 4 yo cannot blend sounds

20 replies

WocketInMyPocket · 23/01/2013 21:15

My DD is 4 and not yet at school but has known all her letters phonetically for a long time, as taught by nursery. She is desperate to learn to read, but she just cannot put even the easiest sounds together, i.e can say 'i' and 't' phonetically but can't put that together into 'it' even if someone pretty much says it for her. She just can't seem to hear the word.

I am not fussed about her learning to read yet before school, my worry is really about dyslexia because of family history. Is putting sounds together just an age thing that will click when she is older, or is it indicative of a problem? I wouldn't be so worried except for the fact that she has known all her letters for so long and has been trying to read words like 'it' for 6 months or so.

Any advice gratefully received!

(sorry not strictly a 'primary' topic but thought there might be some phonics experts on here!)

OP posts:

stargirl1701 · 23/01/2013 21:17

She's 4! I wouldn't worry.

LemonBreeland · 23/01/2013 21:19

Some children take longer to hear it than others. She is very young, no need to worry at all for a long while.

Shinyshoes1 · 23/01/2013 21:21

My daughter is 5 and in reception she can't get it . It's frustrating I know but I'm sure they'll get there in the end

mrz · 23/01/2013 21:21

Lots of children haven't developed the ability to combine sounds at age 4 it does seem the nursery has got it's teaching backwards perhaps in an attempt to impress parents they have put the cart before the horse.

Houseworkprocrastinator · 23/01/2013 21:25

I think as most parents would say, there is just a day when it happens and they suddenly get it. When my daughter started reception she learned all her sounds but she just couldn't put them together for months, it can be quite frustrating as an adult who can read, you just don't understand why they can't hear the word, but it is very hard for them. then one day she got it and could suddenly read. I wouldn't worry about it, if it is frustrating her i would just concentrate maybe on beginning sounds and playing eye spy and things that she can do.

coldcupoftea · 23/01/2013 21:26

My DD couldn't blend sounds before starting reception either. I tried with her as she was very keen, but it just never seemed to click. After a few weeks at reception she was sounding out 3 letter words easily, and now she is coming on leaps and bounds. Whatever the school are doing, it's working!

Wigeon · 23/01/2013 21:27

A friend of mine with a child who is a year older than my DD told me "don't worry, mine couldn't blend, and then suddenly just could". And that's just what happened with DD. She could do C-A-T for ages, and not blend it even with loads of help, and then apparently overnight she could suddenly say "C-A-T - cat".

simpson · 23/01/2013 21:27

I have a placement in a reception class and there are very few of them who can blend yet...

They know their letters and sounds (99% of them) so would sound out c a t correctly but then say pig iyswim as they are not there yet with hearing the sounds in the word.

Is she in nursery?? My DD is in reception now and only started doing phonics work in the last term of nursery (and even then it was only about 10 out of a class of 30 - those who were ready to do it).

I really would not stress about it and keep reading to her so she sees books as fun.

simpson · 23/01/2013 21:28

Wigeon - my DS (now yr3) was just the same. He just clicked about June time in reception and he was off!!

YourHandInMyHand · 23/01/2013 21:29

My DS found the Alphablocks phonics packs from ELC really helpful with this (or just watch the episodes on Cbeebies). It is so visual, clear and fun that it really helped him to "get it". Worth a try?

YourHandInMyHand · 23/01/2013 21:30

The Alphablocks kind of say their own phonic, then jump together and say the blended sound together.

mrz · 23/01/2013 21:31

Start with compound words and then syllables before moving to sounds

say
lady ...pause ...bird

what's my word?

foot ... pause ... ball

etc

then try saying
pur ...pause ...ple
yell ... ow
gar...den

simpson · 23/01/2013 21:34

Oh yes, DD loved alphablocks...

A friend of mine plays a game with her child "Can you pass the j a m"

Or "Do you want to go to the p ar k" etc etc

She said it has really helped....

Original poster

WocketInMyPocket · 23/01/2013 21:42

Thanks so much everyone, you've really put my mind at rest. Just another of those development things that 'clicks' one day then?! As Housework says, its really hard to understand how they cannot hear 'it' from an adult's perspective who can read.

I will try the alphablocks and MrZ's excellent compound word game, but mainly it sounds like I should not stress and risk putting her off reading!

OP posts:

BCBG · 23/01/2013 21:44

I would say do both... i.e don't stress at all for a year or more and at the same time keep an eye out, given your family history. My 4th DC, with no family history but with a total inability to 'hear' phonic blends, was identified as severely dyslexic at 8 - prior to that I kept being told that phonics would 'click for her' (Y3 teacher said " Oh they ALL get it at some stage, Mrs BCBG" like I was a moron for suggesting anything else . So I would say that is could be, or it might not be, and its too early to say, so keep an open mind but don't stress and/or make her anxious about it. HTH

Tgger · 23/01/2013 21:44

It's an age thing as others have said. DD is similar. She can manage "c-a-t" and can copy an adult modelling blending but can't do it herself independently. I think the answer is not to bother for 6-12 months .

Tiggles · 24/01/2013 09:32

DS1 was blending really early (before he was 3) so I was really concerned when DS2 was 4 and still couldn't do it. I was thinking "If he were a summer baby he'd be at school now" Suddenly at about 4.7 he could just do it. He became interested in letters and learnt to read really quickly.
DS3 also went from no phonic ability - e.g. really struggling to play I-spy around his 4th birthday to just getting it. Now he is 4.5 and can split words down into their sounds and blend them back together.
I used to do Mrz compound words game, and also lots of I-spy just to help them hear the sounds in the words. e.g. when starting with I-spy rather than just the initial sound like 'd' for dinosaur, we used to have starting with 'dine'.

kerrygrey · 24/01/2013 10:06

My nephew at 5 couldn't seem to get c-a-t or d-o-g, but when DSis put together b-u-m he got it straight away! The 'rude word' method!

learnandsay · 24/01/2013 10:07

You can go for miles with wee and poo too.

MrsMelons · 24/01/2013 19:19

MS2 was exactly the same, he could sound out all his phonics but just didn't get how to blend them - he is in YR and after half term it just clicked. I couldn't understand how he could be sounded them but not being able to blend even though he was practically saying the word.

Even more frustrating for me was the fact the DS1 found it easy so I was paranoid DS2 is dyslexic as DH is but it really just clicked one day.

Also DS2 has always been able to tell me what letter 'rude' words start with even when he apparently didn't know any letters other than those in his name

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread