The holidays are an exciting time for rest and quality time with family. For your little one learning phonics, the holidays are also a good time to keep the learning momentum going—especially when it comes to your child’s literacy practice. Phonics is crucial for developing reading skills, and adding a little bit of reading activity into your child’s holiday fun can make learning enjoyable. 

To get some phonics practice ideas tailored to different stages of development, this article is for you! 

Preschool Phonics Activities for Holidays at Home

For preschoolers, phonics activities should focus on letter recognition and sounds. At this stage, children are just beginning to understand the relationship between letters and sounds, so it can be helpful to reinforce this learning over school break.

• Rainbow Hop Letter Sounds Game: Turn your living room into a colorful, immersive board game using colored paper as stepping stones for each letter of the alphabet. As your child hops from one letter to another, encourage them to say the sound of each letter they land on. Make it holiday-themed with decorations and toys, if you want!
• Alphabet Ball: Play a game of catch where each time you toss the ball, you call out a letter. Then, your child responds with a word that starts with that letter. This helps reinforce letter sounds in a fun and active way.
• Phonic Photo Scavenger Hunt: Create a photo album with pictures of items representing each letter sound. This activity can be done indoors or outdoors, making it perfect for holiday trips when you’re on the go.

Kindergarten Phonics Practice for Holiday Break

Kindergarteners are ready to start blending sounds and forming simple words. Activities at this stage should support these skills.

• Go Fish with Letters: Use flashcards with uppercase and lowercase letters for a game of Go Fish. This not only helps with letter recognition but also introduces the concept of matching sounds.
• Letter Says (Simon Says Variation): Adapt Simon Says by giving instructions based on letters. For example, “Simon says if the color of your eyes starts with the letter ‘B,’ touch your nose!” This reinforces letter identification in a playful manner.
• Reading Hopscotch: Create hopscotch squares with decodable words next to them. As your child hops from one square to another, have them read the word aloud.

First Grade Phonics Activities for School Break

First graders are typically working on decoding more complex words and understanding vowel combinations. Here are a few practice ideas to do with your child during break. 

• Word Walk: Write words using sidewalk chalk and have your child walk along them, sounding out each word as they go. This is an excellent way to practice word decoding in an active setting.
• Mix and Match Cups: Label cups with different letters or blends and have your child mix them to form new words. This hands-on activity helps reinforce decoding skills.
• Phonogram Connect 4: Create a Connect 4 board using learned vowel teams. Have your child pick word cards and match them to the correct vowel team on the board, aiming to get four in a row.

Second Grade Phonics Practice Ideas 

By second grade, children are ready to tackle more complex phonics patterns, such as digraphs and multisyllabic words. To maintain their growing skillset over the holidays, here are some simple and approachable practices.

• Toss and Blend with Plastic Cups: Label cups with different blends or digraphs and have your child toss a ball into them. They then think of a word that uses that blend or digraph.
• Fill in the Missing Letters: Hide sticky notes around the house with vowels written on them. Write CVC words with missing vowels and have your child find the correct vowel to complete each word.
• Play Phonogram Bingo: Create bingo cards with high-frequency words or phonics patterns. Call out words or sounds for your child to mark on their card until they get bingo.

Holiday-Themed Phonics and Reading Activities for the Whole Family 

Want to include the whole family in a reading activity this holiday? Here are some simple ideas to encourage bonding and learning together. 

• Holiday Word Scramble: Create a word scramble using holiday-themed words (like “snowman,” “reindeer,” and “candy cane”). Have family members race to unscramble the words, promoting quick thinking and spelling skills.
• Phonics Charades: Play charades using phonics-related words or characters from favorite books. Family members can act out the words while others guess, making it a lively way to reinforce vocabulary and comprehension.
• Reading Marathon: Set aside time for a family reading marathon where everyone picks a book to read together. Afterward, share what you’ve read, discussing characters, settings, and phonics elements found in the stories.

Phonics.org: Education Resources and Fun

Phonics practice doesn’t have to take a backseat during the holidays. By applying a few of these fun and engaging activities tailored to the phonics concepts your child is learning, you can keep the learning going while enjoying the festive season. Encourage creativity and playfulness in these activities to keep your child motivated and excited about learning!
For more resources and ideas on phonics practice, visit Phonics.org where you’ll find expert reviews of phonics programs and additional tips for effective phonics instruction.