How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write at Home: A Gentle Phonics Guide

Reading is the skill that opens every other door. I believe every child, wherever they're born and whatever their family can afford, deserves the chance to learn it, along with the other basic skills that shape a life. That's why everything we make at Tiny Hands is free. It's also why I started building a reading program for my own daughter that any child in the world can use.

This guide is what I've learned along the way: how most schools teach reading today, and how you can do the same at home, a few minutes at a time.

Start with sounds, not letter names

Most schools teach reading through phonics: children learn the sound each letter makes, then blend those sounds into words. The UK's Education Endowment Foundation rates the evidence for systematic phonics as "very extensive", the strongest rating it gives.

The key at the start is sounds, not names. The letter s says "sss", not "ess". A child who knows that s says "sss", a says "a" and t says "t" can read the word sat. A child who only knows "ess, ay, tee" can't.

Many programs begin with s, a, t, p, i and n, because they make lots of short words straight away: sat, pin, tap, nap, tip.

Blend the sounds into words

Blending is the moment reading clicks. Say the sounds one by one, then push them together: "s... a... t... sat!"

• Robot talk. Talk like a robot ("d-o-g") and let your child guess the word. Then swap.
• Slide the sounds. Point under each letter as you say its sound, then sweep your finger under the whole word as you say it fast.
• Real words first. Start with short words your child knows: cat, sun, dog, bed.

Write alongside reading

Reading and writing grow together. Spelling a word sound by sound helps children store it for instant, effortless reading later.

• Trace, then copy, then write. First trace a letter with a finger, then copy it, then write it from memory.
• Spell by sound. "What sound does dog start with? And then? And at the end?" Let your child write what they hear; dg for dog is a great start.
• Their own name. Writing their name is often the first word a child cares about. Use it.

Keep reading aloud, every day

Sounding out words is only half of reading. The other half is understanding language: knowing words, following a story, wondering why. Researchers call this the Simple View of Reading: reading needs both decoding and understanding.

So keep reading stories to your child that are far above what they can read themselves. Stop to ask "Why do you think she did that?" or "What will happen next?" Those conversations matter as much as the letters.

Tricky words

Some very common words don't sound out the way they look: the, to, said, was. Teach these few by sight, a couple at a time, and celebrate them when they turn up in a book.

Little and often

Five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday. Stop while it's still fun. If your child is tired, switch to a story or a rhyme instead.

By age

• 2 to 3: listening games, rhymes and songs, "I spy something that starts with mmm", lots of stories.
• 4 to 5: letter sounds, blending short words, tracing letters, writing their name.
• 6 to 7: reading short books on their own, two-letter sounds like sh and ch, spelling words and writing simple sentences.

Children move at very different speeds. If your child seems stuck for a long time, or you're worried about their hearing, speech or eyesight, talk to their teacher or doctor.

Where Tiny Hands Learn fits

Tiny Hands Learn: Reading follows this approach. Bubba the whale teaches every letter by its sound, then blending, writing and little stories, in five-minute levels for ages 2 to 7. Everything is said out loud, so children who can't read yet can play on their own. It's free, with no ads.