First Checkup

Welcome back to Read Not Guess.

We've been working for a few weeks now. How is your son or daughter doing so far? Today we're going to give you a few short exercises to check their ability to recognize sounds and blend them into words.

Let’s get started.

Blending Game

This is a speaking game. You’re going to divide words into their sound parts, and then ask your child to name the word.

To start, say the word “and” very slowly (like "aaaaa---nnnnn---ddddd").

Ask them to repeat the word slowly just like you said it, and then have them blend the sounds faster and faster until they can identify your word (“and”).

Here are some more words to try:

Sand Band Hand Stand Test Nest Rest If your child struggled with any of the words, have them do it again. Repeated practice is good for kids.

(This is an exercise you can do anywhere. Try it at the dinner table, in the car, or anytime you’re waiting around.)

Letter Quiz

How is your child doing with their letter sounds? Ask them to say the correct sounds as they point to the letters:

u p n c i m Word Practice

Now we’re going to work on “blending” letter sounds into words. Your child can start slowly by saying each sound individually, but each time, they should try to say it just a bit faster.

Ask your child to say the correct sounds as they point to the letters:

m a d m ad mad And:

h a d h ad had And:

g u m g um gum

And:

h u m h um hum

And:

h e m h em hem

By the end, make sure your child is reading the word "hem" without any extra sounds at the end.

Now let's try a couple harder ones:

d i g d ig dig

And:

d i g s d igs digs And:

p i g s p igs pigs Vowel Practice

Kids often struggle with the different vowel sounds. To help them practice telling those apart, see if they can read these words:

set sat sit net nit nut pin pan pen mud mad mid That’s it for today. How did your child do? Are there verbal skills or letter sounds they need more practice on? Feel free to go back to earlier lessons, and we'll see you next time.