A copy of Cleo’s Alphabet by Stella Blackstone (AKA Tessa Strickland co-founder of Barefoot Books).

Parents can start helping even from the age of two by:

1. Using the first letter sound of each word & repeat 2-3 times as you say the word. It will reinforce the decoding strategy for your kiddo. E.g. “It’s a /k/k/kite”

2. Talking specifically about the sound of the letter.

3. Praising & gently correcting any attempts they make. In this audio example you’ll hear the child say ”/k/k/ for boat”, followed by the adult saying “good try, it’s “/b/b/ for boat”.

Listen to the Front Cover Book Chat audio clip on this page for a real-life example.

Below are skills taken straight from the Australian Curriculum so you know this technique is adding to your child’s at-school learning.

• Associating the most common sound (phoneme) that each letter represents

• Segmenting words into separate phonemes (sounds) including at the beginnings of words (phonological awareness)

Click on the audio examples to match each of these numbered tips.

1. Pump up your kiddo’s tyres, i.e. make them feel good! A simple “good boy/girl/job/try” are all nods to their efforts.

2. Stretch out any sound you want, e.g. “where do you put your /h/at? You put your /h/at on your /h/head /h/h/h/”

3. Know when it’s time to STOP. Seriously, if you can tell your kiddo is done-zo, then it’s okay to call it quits for the evening. One good minute is better than nothing, their stamina & sense of success will grow faster this way.