The 5 Best Phonics Toys for Pre-Schoolers

Research shows that children are ready to start learning phonics once they are able to identify all the letters of the alphabet - typically, that occurs between the ages of three and four. Fully unsponsored, here is a small list of Phonics / Reading / Writing related Toys (or tools we like to call them) we love across our team with our little ones - tried and tested! 

1. Japace Spelling Game

Affordable, easy and fun - this game involves a series of picture cards with corresponding words which your little one has to find the letters to, and match them on the card directly. It's colourful, fun and straightforward, a total winner and number one on our list for a reason.

2. Sight Cards

Sight cards are something useful to have to hand - you can play a fun guessing game, and repeat daily for 1-2 minutes. Over time, you'll find your little one becoming more familiar with the words, which will help when recognising them in books. 

3. Priddy Books

We're huge fans of the Priddy Books selection, especially the wipe-clean series, which come with a wipeable pen and have lots of tracing letter activities. 

4. Reading Books: Pig on a Dig

Don't underestimate the importance of a non-learning specific book, for learning. At the end of the day, phonics is learnt with the intention of teaching your child how to read, so do not forget to also add books as part of your daily routine, to get your child use to small words.

5. Jaques of London: Magnetic Alphabet Set

When choosing your tools to help you on the road of learning how to read and write, for us, the trick is to go basic. The fancy games seem appealing, but in the end, the simple ones seem to do the trick. In the rush to go for the game that seems to promise the most, don't lose sight of the fact that you are learning letters, and having a letter set to hand, which you can stick on the fridge or around the house, is great to reinforce certain words and letters. We love how this one is magnetic, it also includes numbers and can be packed quickly and is nice and compact, making it a great learning game for travelling.