Best Phonics Toys, Activities & Worksheets for Reading Development

How can I encourage my child to be a good reader? Many parents are concerned that their child is not developing reading skills quickly enough. Rather than worry about your child getting left behind, it is important to remember that children develop their reading skills at different speeds. One of the first step in the process is finding the best phonics toys for reading development which will help to develop key literacy skills.

The “learning to read” process starts with phonics learning which helps children to hear, identify and use different sounds that distinguish one word from another. If we look at language as a code, we are able to decipher the code when we know the sounds that the letters make.  

But, when will children start to understand written language? When should I start introducing phonics concepts to my child? The first step in the process is finding the best phonics toys for reading development which will help to develop key literacy skills and give them a head-start on their journey to becoming independent readers. 

When is the right time to start introducing phonics? 

Children are ready to start formally learning phonics somewhere between the ages of 3 and 4 when they have demonstrated:

• awareness of letter shapes and sounds in words.
• phonological awareness, meaning they are able to separate words into their various sounds and pronounce them. 
• an understanding that the combinations of letters on the page represent words
• an understanding that the letters of a words move from left to right. 

Start by fostering these skills from a young age through fun alphabet games, singing and rhyming. Children begin to understand how reading works by being read to frequently by adults. They become familiar with the concept of reading and this sets them up for their own phonics learning as they mature through reading stages. 

The most important thing to remember with phonics learning is to make it as fun and exciting as possible. Games and interactive, hands-on activities that will stimulate children’s interest in phonics and high frequency words. Finding the best phonics toys for learning to read is the first place to start. There are so many products out there that can help boost your child’s phonics learning and encourage a positive attitude towards reading. 

Given that this is such a critical part of children’s early learning, it is understandable that there is a wealth of resources to choose from. I have scoured the internet and found what I believe to be the best products to help boost your child’s phonics learning and encourage a positive attitude towards reading.

Best Phonic Toys for  Learning to Read:

1. 2 In 1 Alphabet Fishing Game

This 2 In 1 Alphabet Fishing Game  is a great way to introduce letter sounds through a fun and hands-on activity.  

You can play two different ways in this toy. It comes with a magnetic doll which can be used to search and catch the fish,  or flip over the board and use magnetic fishing poles to hook the fish. I love this product because it is made from natural wood with bright engaging colours for kids aged 2 to 4. You can use this product in a number of ways. Your child can:

• Hook a letter and then try to identify the sound the letter makes
• Choose an object from around the house, identify the initial sound and hook the matching fish.
• For a tougher challenge, try to spell simple CVC (consonant – vowel – consonant) words such as “cat” or “dog”, what letter sounds do we need – hook those fish and spell out the word. 

2. See and Spell Word Matching Game  

This See and Spell Word Matching Game help children understand how letter sounds blend together to spell words from ages 3 to 5. 

With its brightly coloured graphics and durable wooden letters, this product is the perfect way to introduce the concept of blending. The cards provide the outline of the letters needed to spell the simple CVC or CVCC words. Children can match the outline of the letter and the wooden alphabet letter. This encourages letter and sound recognition and encourages them to blend the sounds together to read the word. As they become more confident, you can cover the outline of the letters and ask your child to identify and find the letter sounds to build the word independently. 

3. Sight Word Swat 

When it comes to learning sight or high frequency words, this Sight Word Swat is the perfect game to encourage quick recognition of the most commonly used words. Once your child starts to learn high frequency or sight words they will need to use repetition to memorise them. Fluent reading comes from having internalised these words so try as many ways as possible to keep this practice fun and exciting. This colourful swatting game is a great way to blend phonics/sight word practice and tactile learning. There are 5 levels of play and 220 sight words to identify and swat. This game can be played individually or with up to 4 players and is for ages 4 to 6. 

4. Junior Learning 6 Phonics Games 

Looking for value for money? Junior Learning 6 Phonics Games contains six separate high quality phonics games in one box!Children get bored easily, especially when it comes to phonics, so keeping it fresh and exciting can become expensive. That’s why I love this product! You can switch between the 6 different games which cover blending, sight words, digraphs, double vowels and many other phonics topics. Each game is colourful, fun and interactive. These games are great for kids with a basic knowledge of phonics sounds who want to progress to higher level activities. The activities are great for ages 4 to 7. 

5. Word Building Phonics Game

This great Word Building Phonics Game uses phonics as building blocks to create words once your child has a strong grasp of phonetic rules, usually from age 4 to 7.

All sides of the reading blocks can be used as players build as many words as they can see within the two minute time limit. The multi-coloured blocks feature word families, two and three letter word endings and blends. There are 112 colour-coded reading rods and the game can be played with 2 – 4 players. Aside from the game, I also think these blocks are a great resource to be used during all word building activities. It is a visual, hands-on way for children to experiment with blending and building words. 

Learning to Read with these Phonics Toys

When it comes to phonics learning, it is most important to keep the learning fresh and exciting. Finding the best phonics toys for learning to read is a good place to start. By using a combination of activities and games, your child will be well on their way becoming a confident reader!