Less ‘Phonics Homework’, More ‘Phonics at Play Time’: Easy Phonics for Parents

Is supporting your child’s learning at home starting to feel like a pile of phonics homework instead of fun?

You’re not alone. Many parents I speak to feel this quiet pressure: the worksheets sent home, the reading books that don’t quite match your child’s ability, the guilt of not fitting it all in.

And then there's this: nearly 1 in 4 children in England leave primary school without reaching the expected standard in reading (Department for Education, 2023). That statistic can sit heavy, especially when you're juggling work, parenting, and all the chaos of daily life.

That’s why I started The Little Reading Nest – to help you find the calm middle ground. I’m here to show you that phonics practice doesn’t need to be stressful. With a few clever, playful swaps, you can move from ‘phonics homework’ to ‘phonics at play’ – sneaking in powerful early reading support during the time you're already spending with your child. 

But here's the caveat: while play-based learning is crucial, phonics also needs explicit teaching to really stick. It’s about layering: clear, focused practice where needed, and playful revision the rest of the time.

So in this post, we’re looking at how you can support key phonics skills like blending, segmenting, and sound recognition during your normal routine – morning rush, school pick-up, and evening wind-down – in playful, micro-moments that feel effortless. 

Guest Blogger:

You are also in for a treat, because Sarah Travers from Reading Made Delicious is giving some insight into what to look for in recipes when cooking or baking with your little one to make reading them easier. She also has some amazing resources to help with phonics and cooking!

Let’s get into it, and make phonics feel second nature for you and your child.

Phonics for Parents: What to Keep in Mind

Before we dive into the ideas, here's a quick rundown of the phonics skills you need to focus on throughout the week with your child:

• GPC (grapheme-phoneme correspondence)

• Blending (pushing sounds together to read a word)

• Segmenting (breaking a word into sounds to spell it)

• Decoding (reading a written word using phonics)

• Phoneme manipulation (swapping, adding or removing sounds)

• Automaticity (reading fluently without effort)

In this blog, we’ll be focusing mostly on blending and segmenting – the foundation stones of reading and spelling. For a more complete guide to phonics skills and how to help at home, grab your free copy of The Little Reading Reset – it’s packed with simple ideas for busy parents like you.

Phonics Games for the Morning Routine

Mornings are hectic - trust me, I get it - but they're also a golden opportunity. Your child's brain is fresh (well, at least it is when they're fully awake and fed), and even a few playful moments can build phonics confidence before the school day begins.

Use the following games as a way to get your child through their morning routine, so you can get out the door on time without feeling like you've had a full day before even leaving the house.

1. The Breakfast Sound Hunt (Sound Discrimination)

Pick a sound of the day (e.g. /s/) and hunt for items that begin with that sound. You don't need to collect them – just point them out together and discuss the initial sound your child hears:

“Can you find three things on the table that start with the same sound as snake?”

Think: spoon, cereal, sausage. Extend it to clothes: socks, scarf, shirt.

 2. Segment While You Brush (or Dress!)

Turn routines into robot talk!

“Can you say brush in a robot voice?” → b-r-u-sh
Or: “What are the sounds in zip?” → z-i-p

Make it quick and silly – try thinking of how their favourite characters would sound out the word. For example:

“Can you sound out bath in a Buzz Lightyear or Bluey voice?”

 

3. Initial Sound Swap Game

Play with phonemes:

“What if your name started with /b/? You’d be... Barah!”

You could do this with anything, not just their name. Try changing the first letter of their clothes when getting dressed:

“Put on your choes next.”

Or the journey to school:

“We’re going to lalk to school today.”

The idea is to make it silly and fun – but always point out the change in the word and identify the correct sound. Let your child 'be the teacher' and correct you. That role reversal is a confidence booster!

These swaps build phonemic awareness without pressure.

On the Way Home: Conversations That Count

The school run is full of sneaky learning moments – even when you’re just trying to get home and dodge playground politics.

1. Number Plate Blending (Oral Blending)

Spot a car and read the last three letters aloud. Try blending them to say a word (i.e. T-A-P → tap, C-U-P → cup, N-I-T → nit)

This game is great for practising alien words. After blending the sounds, decide between you if it’s a real or alien word. If it’s real, can your child think of a sentence using it?

This strengthens phonics comprehension – the link between decoding and meaning.

 2. Segment the Shops

Pick a sign or shop and segment it together:

“Can you split Tesco into sounds?”

This anchors phonics to real-life situations – which helps it stick.

3. Sound Detective

Choose a sound (e.g. /m/) and challenge your child to find or think of as many things as possible on the way home that begin with that sound:

Mud, mat, man, mum, magazine.

This is perfect for gently revisiting tricky sounds your child might not yet be confident with.

Dinnertime + Bath Time: Phonics Without the Fuss

Evenings can feel like survival mode – especially during the dreaded witching hour – but they’re rich with language opportunities.

1. Dinner Table Rhyming Rumbles

“What rhymes with peas?”
“What’s a silly word that rhymes with chicken?”

Real or nonsense, rhyming builds sound pattern awareness and supports early spelling skills.

 2. Menu Sound Swap

Let your child decide dinner by sounding out choices:

“Do you want p-asta or r-ice?”

You’re showing that sounds = choices = meaning. Phonics becomes a powerful communication tool.

3. Bath Time Sound Splash

Use toys in the bath:

“Can you split duck into its sounds?” → d-u-ck
“Find something that starts with /f/.”

It’s short, sweet, and makes learning part of your bond – not an extra task.

Here is some advice from Sarah, from Reading Made Delicious, about what to look for in recipes:

I have heard so many times that cooking is a great activity for our kids’ learning. Plus, recipes are a great way for them to practise their reading, but finding recipes that kids can really use their reading and not just ‘help’ is a challenge.

When I started helping my own daughter learn to read, we did all the things. Then I heard the dreaded words… “This is boring.”

So I got creative and remembered that I used to create recipes for the kids in my Reception class to read. We tried them out at home, and they were a hit! Reading and learning a life skill in one go. Boom, we were off!

Having spent hundreds of hours testing out recipes, there are three things to look out for with recipes for younger children and early readers.

Firstly, use recipes that measure with cups. This is much easier for children under the age of about 7 or 8. Why? They don’t have to also worry about the larger numbers involved with grams on top of the brainpower needed to put a recipe together (the reading, the pouring, avoiding the temptation to poke everything—iykyk). They can focus on making sure it’s full, and we can even introduce fractions in a hands-on way.

But the biggest bonus—it’s an easy CVC word. When helping your child with reading, it’s likely you’ve come across using phonics sounds, with the first words using these sounds being ‘consonant–vowel–consonant’ (CVC) words—like ‘cup’.

Next, make sure the recipe is step-by-step. This might sound easy, but recipes with lots of ingredients (especially if they are unfamiliar to your child) and different equipment are overwhelming for kids.

Every step needs to have one action. Things like “Add all the dry ingredients” would be obvious to us as adults, but that’s another thing to focus on for kids! The simpler the steps, the more independent they can be because they can follow along.

Finally, look for recipes with ingredients in them that they like. Most kids like sweet options, so maybe start here. Then, once they get the hang of the format of recipes (as this is a text type in itself), you can start trying out new foods. This is a bit like trying to find books they might like.

The beauty of recipes is that they can see their reading paying off in front of their eyes as simply—read the text, do the action, it makes a cookie.

If you would like a collection of recipes that have been tested on early readers and save you time searching for reading resources with a real-life purpose, check out the Read-to-Cook Kit.

*Disclaimer: Link is an affiliate link for Del.

Why These Little Moments Matter

You might be thinking, "Del, this is an incredible blog (😏), but do 2-minute games like this really help?"

Yes. And here’s why:

👉 They support cumulative phonics practice.
Children learn best through low-pressure repetition. Micro-moments turn phonics into a habit – not a chore.

👉 They build confidence.
Instead of corrections and worksheets, your child experiences success and connection.

👉 They seriously add up.
10 minutes a day adds up to over 60 hours a year of phonics-rich learning. That’s huge – especially when so many children are falling behind.

Over to You: Start Simply and Start Today

Just start with one - Segment “zip” while getting dressed. Blend a number plate. Swap the first sound of their name.

Remember: you don’t need to be a phonics expert - you have me for that 😉 You’re their parent. That connection? It’s your superpower.

You’ve got this.

PS. Want a Simple Way to Keep It Going?

If you’d love more done-for-you phonics ideas like this, the Phonics at Home Curriculum is here to help.

It’s packed with playful, low-pressure activities that slip into your daily routine – no prep, no stress – as well as easy-to-follow, interactive lessons for each sound that get your child reading and writing confidently.

✅ Designed for ages 3–7

✅ Evidence-based and teacher-approved

✅ Builds phonics confidence at home without overwhelm

👉 Explore the Phonics at Home Curriculum here