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The listening skills your child has been building start to connect with letters.

That’s all.

The foundation stays — we just add the next layer.

A lot of parents quietly wonder:
“Am I doing enough?”
I know I did. Many times.

If they’ve already practised blending spoken sounds, the letter version feels much easier.
Without oral blending, reading can feel like guessing.
With it, reading feels like decoding.

Phonological awareness = ears.
Phonics = ears + eyes.
First children learn to hear the sounds.
Then they connect those sounds to letters.
Both are important — they just happen in that order.

This week’s post is all about making phonics work for your day, whether you’re getting out the door, doing the food shop, or stuck in traffic.

It might not look like “learning to read” yet, but Phase 1 Phonics is honestly one of the most important stages in the reading journey.

This week, we’re working on oral blending—which simply means helping your child hear separate sounds and push them together into a whole word.

Explore the different ways we can make sounds with our voices — from whispering and humming to stretching and bouncing sounds in fun, playful ways.

If your child thinks silly sausages sizzle on Saturdays is the funniest thing ever — you’re on to something.

Rhyme isn’t just fun or cute or a nice bedtime read—it’s also a brilliant tool for phonics