Ideas to support early reading at home 📚
Activity 1- get a book (story or reading book) pick a word and have a race as to who can find it first on that page.
Activity 2- find a word in the book and see how many words you can make rhyme with it, model writing them down or if your child is able let them write them.
Activity 3- play I spy with the pictures in the book use the soft sound not the letter. I spy with my little eye something beginning with S ‘ssss’.
Activity 4- write some key phrases from the story on paper and cut them into strips. Can your child read and order the events. (Or photocopy pages from the book and order them)
Activity 5- pick your favourite character from the story if you could ask them any question what would you ask them? What do you think they would say?
Activity 6- Tell a story together my turn, your turn.
You-Once upon a time there was
Child.....
You- He lived in
Child....
You-One day he decided to
Child...
Activity 7- read a story book to your child and get them to follow the text as you are reading with their index finger.
Activity 8-tricky word (words children should know by sight as they cannot be sounded out phonetically) snap. Write down two sets of tricky words on scrap paper and divide them into two piles. Play snap.
Phase 2 tricky words-I, no, go, to, the
Phase 3 tricky words-he, she, we, me, be, was, you, they, are, all, my, her
Phase 4 tricky words- said, have, like, so, do, some, come, little, one, were, out, what, when, there 
Phase 5 tricky words- Oh, Mr, Mrs, people, called, looked, could, asked, their
Activity 9- read a simple story or traditional tale. Ask your child to draw and label a picture to explain what happens at the beginning then middle and end and put them in order.
Activity 10- pick a word or picture from the book and see how many describing words you can think of for example a cloud- fluffy, white, soft, large, like cotton balls, as big as a snowman etc
Activity 11- hide the book from your child’s sight and describe the setting/scene to your child and get them to draw it. When they are finished compare the setting to your child’s drawing discuss how they are different. Can they describe it to you and you can draw it?
Before reading a new book you can also get your child to predict what will happen by looking at the title and front cover.
Whilst reading a book you can ask the children questions, for example ‘what do you think is going to happen next?’, or ‘how do you think she is feeling now?’

Ideas to support early writing at home ✏️
Activity 1- shopping list
Go through your cupboards and fridges and call out different items that you need to buy from the shops, get your child to write the list.
Activity 2- write a sensory poem
At the park/ cinema/ in summer/ ,
I see ...
I hear ....
I feel .....
I touch...
I smell...
And so on.
Activity 3- fun envelopes
Ask your children to write letters to family members or friends and tell them you will post them or post them together. Remind them of tricky words, to use their phonics to sound out words
Writing on top of the line, finger spaces, a capital letter for a name or beginning of a sentence and to finish with a full stop.
Activity 4- decorating the alphabet, give your child a letter from the alphabet to write down and see what they can turn it into, an animal, a car, a castle. Can they label their picture?
Activity 5- role play, ask your child to take your lunchtime order and make it extravagant, can they write down everything you would like using their phonics knowledge.
I would like...
A hotdog with ketchup
Some crisps
an ice cream... and more
Activity 6- give your child a word of interest for example ‘ninja’
Can they tell you a SHORT sentence about a ninja (I am a super ninja)
Can they remember their sentence?
Can they write this sentence using phonics, finger spaces, full stop, capital letter at the beginning?
Challenge- Can they extend their sentence using adjectives (describing words) (I am a super ninja and I can fight bad guys.)
Activity 7- create and write a book log of your favourite stories and keep them in a file.
What did you like about the story, what didn’t you like? Who was your favourite character? Rate it out if 3 stars, decorate it with drawing.
Activity 8- sorting initial sounds
Have 3 sounds in three separate piles
s, t, p (for example)
Can you write any 2 words that have that initial sound and put it in the correct pile?
Sock, sand, soap,
Tap, toast, tin,
Pan, pizza, popcorn
Can you find something/ object in your house that starts with that sound to add to your pile?
Challenge- use diagraphs/trigraphs for example... can you think of a word that has the sound oa in it?
-boat, soap, toast, loan
(zz, qu, ch, sh, th, ng, ai, ee, igh, oa, oo, ar, or, ur, ow, oi, ear, air, ure, er)
Activity 9- draw a super hero and label all of its powers and what he/she can do, what do they look like who will they save? Can you write a story to show/tell your teacher or a family member?
Activity 10- can you write a new word only changing 1 sound each time? How many can you write?
Example; Hat, bat, bag, big, fig, dig, dog.....