When progressing to more difficult texts, writing begins to replace images and children must rely more on creating their own mental images of what is happening in a story. The more we encourage this skill in the early years, the easier it will be for children to do this independently as they begin to graduate to higher level texts.

Making CVC words is the first step in blending phonetic sounds. This Melissa & Doug product is great because it makes sounding-out CVC words fun and easy.

From an early age, the skill of inferring and making connections with the reading information is crucial. When reading with your children, use the recommended discussion topics to improve reading comprehension. 

Boost reading and spelling skills with CVC word family towers. Use building blocks to make towers of rhyming words and learn to identify common word families.

Recognising and matching initial sounds is fun with this magnetic alphabet phonics activity. See if your child can match each picture to the right letter. Use a mix of upper and lower case letters for an extra challenge.

Learning new vocabulary should be a daily activity. Having a 'Word of the Day' to focus on is a good way to encourage the learning of new words.