How to help with letter recognition

[yawningbear]

Not sure if this is the right place to post. DD started P1 mid August, we are in Scotland, and already she is getting quite a lot of homework. So far only a, n, t, p, sounds and then forming short words but we are getting nowhere fast. She cannot remember any of them, we have the jolly phonics CD so if I start to say the rhyme associated with a she might say 'ant' and finish it off but she can't relate it to the letter in front of her or remember the sounds of any of the letters. Although if you asked her what sound ant begins with she would probably say t.

I tried to get her to just match the letters up yesterday but even that she really struggled with. Have tried making the letters in play doh, fishing for letters, etc but nothing seems to help. If it weren't for the emphasis on the homework I would just leave it alone as she just dosen't seem ready or receptive. Any tips, before homework becomes something we all start to dread!

Lots of games - make the letters on large pieces of paper and get her to jump on them when you call them out, trace them one each others backs and try to guess which one. Write them in sand on a tray. Spray a table with shaving foam and trace them. Fill a squeezee bottle with water and trace the letters (outside!)
Search posts by poster mrz - she's got loads of ideas!

You don't want to learn the jolly phonics rhyme and action. That is just extra irrelevant stuff to learn.

You want her to learn 'a'.

If you show her 'a' and 'n' and ask her which one is 'a' (not ay) can she point to the right letter?

watching with interest. Ds2 (4.10) starts school Monday. Seems to not have a clue.
SATPIN, were the letters I was told to focus on. But he seems to not have even got those. At all.

Thanks everyone, will look for mrz posts as well. I don't want to make a big deal of it but it just seems so hard for her, it is as if she doesn't even see the letter.

We have been told to use phonics and given a big sheet of the all the actions etc. They also sang them at nursery so they are familiar to her, but no, regardless of whether I say the letter or the sound she doesn't get it, though they have really stressed that we shouldn't be using the letter IYSWIM. We are also supposed to be sounding out short words with them, which just seems pretty fruitless when I can't get her to recognise a or link it to the sound.

Will get the shaving foam out, they love that usually...

I know schools sat with satpin, but does your DC know the letters that make up her own name? Perhaps she might relate more to those? Does she try to write her name yet?

Thanks Euphemia, I didn't think that I should be trying to blend the sounds with her, I will perhaps communicate that to her teacher in her homework diary

Will try getting her to paint them outside tomorrow and I think she will like the idea of jumping on them.