A wooden trace board like in this video.

Alternatively, you can do exactly the same task with a tablet App, whiteboard or by sticking a sheet of printed paper behind a window (so your kiddo can use a whiteboard marker straight onto the glass).

As we are focussing purely on letter recognition, don’t be tied up in the neatness of the handwriting.

1. As your kiddo traces the letter, ask them to say the NAME.

2. As they trace it a second time, ask them to say the SOUND/S.

3. Finish a third trace by asking them to say a word that begins with that sound.

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)

On top of the reminder to enjoy calm, fun & regular reading play, you can also:

1. Find different fonts for your kiddo to practise with (often they become stumped when they see lowercase letters with extra ‘bits’ e.g. anything cursive).

2. Begin with uppercase letters then move to lowercase letters.

3. Take note of which letters are particularly difficult for you kiddo then use these as the starting point each time to get more ‘reps’ in