Help your child with phonics at home: ten 3-minute games

You do not need flashcards, worksheets or an hour a day to help your child with phonics. A few minutes of playing with sounds, most days, makes a real difference. This guide has ten games that take about three minutes each and need nothing but you. They work in the kitchen, on the way to school or at bath time.

Before you start

• Use pure sounds. Say “mmm”, not “muh”. It makes blending much easier. Our guide to pure sounds lets you hear every sound.
• Keep it short. Stop while your child is still enjoying it. Three minutes of fun beats twenty minutes of struggle.
• Follow school. Practise the sounds your child has been taught. Our guide to the phonics phases shows the usual order.
• Praise the trying. “You looked at every sound, well done” helps more than “right” or “wrong”.

The ten games

1. Thumbs up

Choose a sound, such as “sh”. Say words one at a time: ship, sock, fish, shell. Your child gives a thumbs up when they hear the sound. Include a few words without it, so they have to listen.

2. Robot talk

Talk like a robot, one sound at a time: “c-a-t”. Your child says the whole word: “cat”. Then swap, and your child is the robot while you guess. This practises blending and splitting words into sounds, the two skills at the heart of phonics.

3. Sound hunt

Look around the room together for things with a chosen sound in their name. For “t”, you might find a table, a tap or a teddy. Can you find three? Walks and car rides work well too.

4. Write it in the air

Draw a letter in the air with a big finger, saying its sound as you go. Then draw it on your child’s back and see if they can guess it. This links the shape of a letter to its sound.

5. Silly sentence

Make up a sentence full of one sound: “Ten red hens get wet in the pen.” Say it slowly, then faster and faster. Then make up another one together.

6. Sound spotting

Choose a sound together. Take turns saying words that start with it. Whoever runs out first picks the next sound. Alien words count if you can both agree how to say them.

7. Sound I spy

Play I spy with sounds, not letter names: “I spy something beginning with sss.” Your child looks around and guesses. Then swap. Using sounds rather than letter names keeps it in line with how school teaches reading.

8. Change one sound

Say a short word, like “cat”. Change one sound to make a new word: “hat”, then “hot”, then “hop”. Take turns. Silly alien words count too, and often make everyone laugh. This shows your child that every sound in a word matters.

9. Tap the sounds

Say a word and tap one finger for each sound: “sh-i-p” is three taps, because “sh” is one sound. Your child taps and says the word. Try words where two letters make one sound, like “rain” or “light”.

10. Odd one out

Say three words, two starting with the same sound: “sun, sock, map”. Your child says the odd one out. Then they make one up for you. Try it with end sounds too: “cat, hat, dog”.

Making it a habit

Pick a regular moment, such as after breakfast or in the bath. Choose one game and play it for three minutes. Change games when your child gets bored. Small and often is the secret.

If your child is tired, hungry or cross, skip it. A missed day does no harm. A battle over phonics can make the next day harder.

Reading together

Games are great, but nothing replaces reading together. When your child brings a reading book home from school, it is matched to the sounds they know. Let them read it to you, even if they have read it before. Reading a familiar book builds speed and confidence.

When they get stuck on a word, try these steps:

1. Ask them to say each sound.
2. Ask them to blend the sounds together.
3. If they are still stuck, say the sounds with them, then blend together.

Our guide to alien words has more ways to practise blending.

What Xenly does, and what it doesn’t

Xenly is a few minutes of reading practice with a purpose: your child reads alien words aloud to grow creatures, and you tap any sound that needed a second go. The parent page then suggests one of these games for the sound that needs it most, so you always know what to try next.

Xenly does not replace the games in this guide, or reading books together. The best practice happens away from any screen too. See how Xenly works.

Questions parents ask

How much practice is enough?

A few minutes most days is plenty for most children in Reception and Year 1.

What if my child does not want to play?

Try again another day, or switch games. Children learn best when it feels like play.

Should I correct every mistake?

No. Pick one thing gently, such as a missed sound, and let the rest go.

My child is ahead of their class. Should we move on?

Practise the sounds they know until they read them easily. The next sounds will come at school.

Can grandparents or older siblings help?

Yes. Show them how to say pure sounds first, then any of these games will work.