Phonics and Reading Fun

Learning letter sounds has been a blast for our three year-old with fun (and FREE) programs like the Starfall.com website, Word World via PBSkids.org (episodes available on Netflix streaming), and LeapFrog: Letter Factory DVD–where every letter makes a sound–to the tune of Farmer in the Dell.

Every day (and multiple times throughout the day) our son sings the various sounds of the letters.  When I “quiz” him about letter sounds, he has been nailing them with complete accuracy since we began the combination of options of the programs mentioned above as well as reviewing letter sounds when we read books together.

It’s so exciting to see him in the pre-reading stages, and we look forward to beginning some actual reading work with more regularity.

We read to our son every night at bedtime…and if there’s other moments of availability in our busy days, we do it then, too.

At the moment, I’m reading the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder to my son each night.  We just finished Little House in the Big Woods, and now we’re in the adventures of Little House on the Prarie. With only a few images, but rich imagery in the writing, my son engages in the reading and asks several questions.

Tonight, we talked about the different states where Laura and her family traveled in the covered wagon as well as the dangers of living in the wild west long ago.  He was hoping we could visit little Laura out at her house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin.

We’re also reading recommended books as part of the Before Five in a Row reading guide where children’s classics like Goodnight Moon and Corduroy come alive through parent-child discussions, nature walks, activities, and games.  We’re loving our reading times together.

What books do you and your child enjoy reading together?

What activities do you do to introduce your child to phonics and reading?