5 Ways to Incorporate Phonics Activities at Home

Taylor Sofranko
Oct 29
3 min read

Phonics practice doesn’t have to feel like a chore. In fact, when it’s woven into everyday moments, it can become one of the easiest and most enjoyable parts of your child’s day.

I often tell families that reading instruction shouldn’t live only on the page. The best phonics practice happens when children start hearing, noticing, and playing with sounds all around them. Whether you have five minutes before dinner or a few moments in the car, there are plenty of simple ways to make phonics practice part of real life.

These activities are part of what I include in my Sound Start Guide for Parents, a free resource that walks families through foundational phonological awareness skills.

Here are five of my favorite strategies to help you make phonics feel natural at home.

student using plastic letters to build words

1. Turn Sound Awareness Into a Game

Before children can connect letters to sounds, they have to hear those sounds clearly. I like to make this skill playful by using a game I call “I Spy by Sound.”

You might say, “I spy something that starts with the /m/ sound,” and your child looks around until they spot something like "milk" or "mail". You can switch it up by focusing on ending sounds, “I spy something that ends with the /g/ sound,” (dog) or even middle sounds for an extra challenge.

It’s quick, interactive, and best of all, it builds the foundation for decoding and spelling without ever opening a worksheet.

2. Keep a “Word of the Day”

Choose one word that features a phonics pattern your child is working on, like "rain" for the “ai” vowel team or "ship" for the digraph “sh.” Write it on a sticky note and keep it somewhere visible, like the fridge or a mirror, or create a "word of the day" notebook and display it in a high-traffic area like your kitchen or living room.

Throughout the day, use the word, clap out the sounds, and find other words that share the same pattern. I love how this turns phonics into something living and active. Instead of a drill, it becomes a discovery.

Tip: Reach out to your child's teacher for the phonics scope and sequence and to learn the letters/sounds your child is currently learning at school. Keep it consistent!

3. Read Aloud With a Sound Focus

When you’re reading aloud, pause occasionally to highlight how a word is built. If you come across a tricky word like "train," you might say, “Oh, look! That word has the /ai/ sound spelled A-I.”

I never recommend turning story-time into a full lesson, but it’s powerful for kids to hear you thinking out loud about sounds and spelling. These little moments add up, and they teach children that reading isn’t just about memorizing, it’s about noticing patterns.

4. Encourage Writing (Especially Invented Spelling)

Writing is where phonics really sticks. When kids write, they’re forced to recall which sounds match which letters. Even if the spelling isn’t perfect, they’re practicing the exact same skills they use when decoding words.

If your child writes "frend" for "friend," that’s not a mistake, It’s a window into their sound awareness. Praise their effort and gently model the correct spelling later.

I also like to keep a small notebook nearby for quick “sound stories.” If your child just learned the /sh/ digraph, you can challenge them to write a short story using as many /sh/ words as possible: ship, fish, dish, shop.

student writing high-frequency words on a notebook page

5. Blend Practice Into Daily Routines

Some of the best literacy learning happens between the big moments.

You can practice segmenting and blending while cooking dinner, folding laundry, or walking to school. For example, say, “Can you bring me the p-o-t?” and let your child blend the sounds to find the right object. Or, if you’re cooking, play a quick game: “What’s something in this kitchen that starts with the /s/ sound?”

Phonics doesn’t need a dedicated block of time. It just needs consistency!

The Takeaway - Phonics Activities Don't Need to be Formal

When phonics becomes part of daily life, it stops feeling like practice and starts feeling like language. Kids begin to hear sounds everywhere, and that’s when you know it’s working.

If you’re looking for simple, research-backed ways to help your child build those early sound skills, download my free guide, Sound Start: A Parent’s Guide to Building Early Reading Foundations. It includes playful, five-minute activities you can do at home to strengthen phonological awareness: the foundation for reading and spelling success.

Download Now!

Here’s to making reading and phonics a joyful part of everyday life!