For Parents

Help your child strengthen their literacy skills at any stage of development.

Your family plays a big role in helping your child learn to read and write. With the right phonics activities at home, you can support your child’s literacy development and academic success. The more you understand how and why phonics instruction works, the better you can facilitate effective and meaningful learning experiences with your family. 

To help your child practice phonics at home, read our insights for parents below! You can also browse our phonics program reviews for more.

Phonics Education for Families

what is phonics?

What is Phonics? An Introduction for Parents and Educators

Anyone who can read and write in an alphabetical language has mastered an important...

Phonics for Preschoolers: What’s Too Early vs. Just Right?

Phonics for Preschoolers: What’s Too Early vs. Just Right?

Your three-year-old walks up to you holding a book, points to the letter ‘M’, and declares, “That’s my letter!” Your heart swells with pride, but then doubt creeps in. Should…

When Phonics Progress Stalls: Troubleshooting Common Roadblocks

When Phonics Progress Stalls: Troubleshooting Common Roadblocks

Your five-year-old was excitedly sounding out simple words just last month, proudly reading “cat” and “dog” with confidence. But suddenly, they’re stuck. New words feel impossible, tears come easily during…

Phonological Awareness vs. Phonics

Phonological Awareness vs. Phonics

Did you know that before children can successfully crack the reading code, they must first develop the ability to hear and manipulate the invisible sounds that make up spoken words?…

Can Worksheets Teach Phonics?

Can Worksheets Teach Phonics?

Your child sits at the kitchen table, pencil in hand, dutifully filling in letters on a phonics worksheet while you prepare dinner nearby. They seem focused and productive, and you…

Phonics and Executive Function

Phonics and Executive Function

Here’s something that might surprise you: when your child sits down to sound out the word “cat,” their brain is performing an intricate dance that involves far more than just…

Systematic vs. Incidental Phonics: Which Approach Gets Kids Reading Faster?

Systematic vs. Incidental Phonics: Which Approach Gets Kids Reading Faster?

When it comes to teaching children how to read, not all approaches are created equal. Behind classroom doors across America, a quiet battle is taking place between two fundamentally different…

Essential Phonics Terms Every Parent Should Know

Essential Phonics Terms Every Parent Should Know

When you start helping your child with reading, you’ll quickly encounter terms that might sound like a foreign language. Understanding these phonics terms will help you communicate better with teachers,…

Phonics FAQs: Let’s Support Young Readers

Phonics FAQs: Let’s Support Young Readers

As a parent, you probably have questions about phonics and how to support your child’s reading development. These frequently asked questions address the most common concerns parents have about phonics…

Common Phonics Teaching Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Common Phonics Teaching Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Sarah thought she was doing everything right. She bought colorful phonics workbooks, downloaded popular reading apps, and spent hours each evening helping her six-year-old son with letter sounds. Yet after…

Federal Focus on Evidence-Based Reading: What This Means for Your Child’s Education

Federal Focus on Evidence-Based Reading: What This Means for Your Child’s Education

In a historic shift that could transform how millions of American children learn to read, the U.S. Department of Education has announced that evidence-based literacy instruction will be a top…