How to teach letters and early reading at home with games

By the Playlearnia team · 6 min read · updated 3 November 2026

Early reading is built from small, separate skills: hearing sounds in words, knowing letters, joining sounds into words and understanding what a sentence says. Each one needs practice, and children practise best when it feels like a game. This guide shows the order, six short activities you can do with no materials, and where a reading game helps.

In what order do children learn to read?

The order below is a common one, not the only one. The IES practice guide for kindergarten to grade 3 rates two of its recommendations as strongly supported by evidence: develop awareness of the sounds in speech and how they link to letters, and teach children to decode words. It also recommends that every child reads connected text each day.

1. Listening to sounds. Before a child looks at a single letter, they can learn to hear rhymes, clap syllables and notice the first sound of a word. This needs no screen and no paper.
2. Letter shapes and the sound each one makes. Many teachers start with the sound ("mmm") as well as the name ("em"), because the sound is what a child uses to read a word.
3. Blending. Pushing sounds together: c, a, t becomes "cat". Many children find this step hard, and it is worth repeating often.
4. Taking words apart. Hearing that "sun" has three sounds helps with spelling later.
5. Common whole words. Words such as "the", "was" and "said" do not follow the usual sounds, so children learn them by sight over time.
6. Short sentences and short books. Reading aloud to a grown-up who listens, helps with a stuck word and cheers when it is done.

Schools in different places teach in slightly different orders. If your child's teacher uses a particular program, ask which letter sounds are being taught that month and follow the same order at home.

What are six five-minute reading games?

1. Rhyme time

In the car or the queue, ask "what rhymes with cat?" Silly made-up words count. A child who can hear that "cat" and "hat" end the same is training the ear that reading depends on.

2. Clap the word

Clap the syllables of names and foods: ba-na-na, Ma-ri-a. Then swap and let your child clap yours. It is a good first step toward noticing that words are made of parts.

3. I spy with sounds

Play "I spy something that starts with sss". Use the sound, not the letter name. Start with objects that are in sight and begin with an easy, long sound such as s, m or f.

4. Sound stretching

Say a word slowly, "mmm-aaa-p", and let your child say it quickly. Then reverse: you say the sounds, they guess the word. This is blending without a single letter on the page.

5. Hunt for a letter

Choose one letter for the day. Find it on cereal boxes, street signs and book covers.

6. Read together, then swap

Read a picture book to your child every day if you can. Sometimes point to a word and let them read just that one.

Where does a reading game help, and where does it not?

A game is good at repetition with gentle feedback. Matching a letter to its sound twenty times in five minutes is hard to do by hand, and a game can speak the sound every time. It is poor at the most important parts of reading: sharing a story, talking about it and noticing when a child is guessing from the picture instead of reading the word. Use a game as a supplement, and keep the shared reading.

When you choose one, look for a game that:

• speaks the sound of the letter, not only its name;
• uses real pictures and real words;
• lets a child try again without a penalty or a buzzer.

What does Reading Forest in Playlearnia cover?

Reading Forest is one of the eight worlds in Playlearnia. It has 20 mini games on letters and their sounds, rhymes, syllables, first words and short sentences. Each game begins with a short spoken lesson, so a child who cannot read yet still knows what to do. A game is five short rounds, with hints that never cost a star and no timers. The app starts at a level suited to your child's age, and it makes a game a little harder after three clean answers in a row and easier after two struggles. We have checked that adjustment on screen, but not yet with children, so treat it as a design and not a proven result.

The honest limits: Playlearnia is not a reading program and not a replacement for school or for reading together. It is in English only, so it suits children learning to read in English. It is in testing and not yet on the App Store, so you cannot download it today. You can see the worlds on the worlds page and how a lesson works on the learning page.

When should you ask for help?

Children learn to read at different speeds, and a late start is common. If at any point you are worried, for example your child finds it very hard to hear rhymes, remember letter sounds or blend simple words, or reading difficulties run in your family, talk to your child's teacher or pediatrician. They can tell you whether a closer look is a good idea. We cannot assess your child and we do not make developmental claims.

What does a simple week look like?

Monday rhyme time, Tuesday clap the word, Wednesday I spy with sounds, Thursday sound stretching, Friday a letter hunt, and a shared book every day. Add ten minutes of a reading game on two days if your child likes it. If you want to keep screen time in check, read our guide to screen-time-friendly learning games. For the number side of early learning, see how to practise counting and early math at home.

Sources

Links open other sites. Checked on 3 November 2026. Guidance changes, so check the current version.

• Institute of Education Sciences, Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade: Sound awareness, decoding and daily reading of connected text.