Teach Your Kids Phonics with Yoto
Phonics is an essential part of language learning, and if you're a parent with young children then you've probably heard quite a bit about it. But what is phonics, exactly?
Phonics is the practice of recognising, decoding and emulating different sounds to understand how to speak and spell more correctly. By identifying and practicing the sounds in different words, kids improve their speaking abilities. And by associating these sounds with letters and letter combinations, kids learn to read and write.
The reason people make such a big fuss about phonics is because it works! When your kids realise that they can express themselves more clearly, and be understood, you'll see their confidence and personalities bloom.
Phonics - Letters & Sounds: Phase 1 is available in the Yoto Card Store now!
When kids practice phonics, they're training:
1. Their ears to distinguish between different sounds and to begin processing how and why these sounds are made
2. Their mouth, tongue and vocal chords to be able to emulate these sounds and articulate clearly
3. Their pattern recognition which helps them speak with energy and expressiveness
But phonics is about more than just words.
Distinguishing between different environmental sounds (like a cat, a saxophone or a van) teaches kids to listen with intention. Understanding the sounds they hear every day gives kids a stronger connection to the world around them, and helps kids to engage proactively with their environments.
We're thrilled to release the first pack in our brand new Yoto Originals phonics series: Letters & Sounds: Phase 1
This pack includes 7 interactive audio cards based on the UK National Curriculum. Though a range of fun interactive exercises, kids from age 3+ will learn to associate letters and words with sounds, to speak more confidently and with greater expression, hear and repeat musical patterns, and to identify sounds from the big wide world around them.
The exercises on each card play at random to keep your child's ears and mind engaged, and we've included a guide to each card with imagery to assist with some of the exercises.
Letters & Sounds: Phase 1
What's That Sound? - This card develops your child's environmental awareness and listening skills by having them distinguish between sounds from daily life - from a dog barking to the sound of a lawnmower.
1. What's That Instrument? - This card asks your child to identify the different sounds instruments make, and identify these visually using the supplied guide.
2. Body Beats - This card develops your child’s ability to copy sounds and rhythms by stomping their feet, clapping their hands and more. Identifying and copying patterns is key to kids' social and intellectual development.
3. Rhythm & Rhyme - This card helps your child recognise that some words rhyme and encourage them to find pairs of rhyming words, which is a vital foundation to reading aloud with articulation and expression.
4. Tongue Testers - This card introduces your child to alliteration (when two or more words have the same initial sound) and encourages them to consider the different sounds words are made up of.
5. Make That Sound - This card encourages children to use their mouths to make fun (and often funny!) sounds. Making different vocal sounds develops children’s pronunciation confidence and awareness of the many sounds that make up speech.
6. Make That Word - This card introduces your child to blending and segmenting - breaking words down into the sounds they are made up of and putting them back together again. This is the final step before entering the more formal aspects of learning to read.
7. What's That Sound? - This card develops your child's environmental awareness and listening skills by having them distinguish between sounds from daily life - from a dog barking to the sound of a lawnmower.
