Simple games that help toddlers and preschoolers fall in love with reading.
When I tell other moms that my daughter was reading fluently by the age of 2.5, they almost always ask me the same question:
“Wait—how did you even teach her to read so early?!”
Truthfully, when she was a toddler, teaching her to read was the last thing on my mind. I was drowning in tantrums, messy meals, and never-ending potty training. Sound familiar?
But looking back, I realize that some of the simple, playful things we did every day made a huge difference. I wasn’t drilling flashcards or using fancy programs. I was just doing fun, hands-on activities that sparked her interest in sounds and letters.
Over time, those “little games” helped her develop a love for reading—and she’s now 5, reading at a 3rd grade level (and I often have to beg her to come out of her reading nook!).
In this post, I’m sharing 10 phonics activities that you can easily do at home—even if your toddler is still in diapers.
These are the exact types of games and ideas I used to build a strong reading foundation.
If you’re interested, you can read my more detailed post where I talk about how I taught my 2.5 year old to read.
🎁 Bonus:
If you’re working on early reading skills with your child, I’ve got something you’ll love. I put together a set of free phonemic awareness worksheets that go hand-in-hand with what you’ll read in this post. They’re simple, engaging, and perfect for busy moms who want to sneak in 5–10 minutes of learning a day.
👉 Grab your free worksheets below and make teaching reading so much easier:
This post is about phonics activities for preschoolers
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Phonics Activities That Help Make Reading Fun
Children learn through play, so try incorporating phonics activities at home that involve playing. Make sure that whatever activity you choose you are intentional with your language, as this will help to develop their language skills.
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1. DIY Playdough Letters
A good way to introduce phonics to your child is by teaching them how to create letters out of playdough.
This hands-on activity will not only help your child learn letter sounds but also enhance their motor skills.
All you need is some playdough and a playdough mat or table where they can work.
If your child keeps forgetting what the letter looks like, you can even place a flashcard in front of them of the letter they are trying to create.
This activity will keep your child engaged while promoting memory retention and letter recognition skills.
Bonus: make it more fun by using lots of different playdough colors!
12-Pack of Non-Toxic Play-Doh Bulk Winter Colors
2. Phonics Scavenger Hunt
To take your child’s phonics learning to the next level, try out a Phonics Scavenger Hunt!
This activity is a creative way to encourage your child to identify phonetic sounds and improve their problem-solving skills.
Create a list of sounds and hide objects around the house that begin with those sounds. For instance, if the sound is “buh,” hide a ball or a book.
Let your child find each item on the list and say the corresponding sound out loud.
This activity is an excellent opportunity to help your child have fun while learning.
Bonus: it promotes critical thinking and imagination skills.
3. Phonics Bingo
Phonics Bingo is not only a great way to reinforce your child’s phonics learning but also promotes their listening and concentration skills.
To play Phonics Bingo, create a grid of nine squares and write a phonetic sound in each square.
Then, hand your child a set of small objects such as beans, buttons, or chips (make sure they are not a choking hazard!)
Call out a sound and have your child place an object on the corresponding square. Once they have covered three squares in a row, they can shout “Bingo!” and the game is won.
Phonics Bingo is a fantastic way to keep your child engaged in learning and make phonics fun.
If you’re short on time and don’t want to make the game from scratch, you can get a ready made Alphabet Bingo game like this one!
4. Letter Puzzles
Letter Puzzles are another great way to help your child improve their phonics skills.
Here are some some super cute letter puzzles on Amazon for helping kids learn phonics in a fun way:
Learning Resources 3-Letter Word Puzzle Cards, Kindergarten Readniness
80 Words Self-Correcting Spelling Puzzles
As they work on the puzzles, encourage your child to say the name of each letter out loud.
This will help them connect the letter sounds to the actual words and improve their phonetic awareness.
Phonics Activities For Developing a Strong Reading Foundation
5. Silly Sentences
Once your child has mastered the letter sounds, it’s important to put their phonetic knowledge into practice.
Silly Sentences is a fun and engaging way to do just that!
Encourage your child to use the sounds they have learned to construct wacky and nonsensical sentences.
This activity not only helps them develop their phonetic awareness but also boosts their creativity and imagination.
To get started, provide your child with a set of phonetic sound cards and a set of word cards. Ask them to choose one sound card and one word card at random and combine them to form a sentence.
For example, “The silly snake sings on the swing.” The more ridiculous the sentence, the better!
As your child becomes more confident, you can make the game even more challenging by asking them to come up with longer sentences or to use specific sounds.
Looking for fun phonics games? These are some of the bestselling phonics games that children, parents and teachers alike are loving:
Phonics Made Easy, Word Families, Picture Words, High-Frequency Words, Beginning Reading
Learning Resources Snap It Up! Phonics & Reading Card Game
Coogam Wooden Short Vowel Reading Letters Sorting Spelling Games
LITTLE BUD KIDS Spin-and-Read Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks
6. Phonics Hopscotch
This is a great way to get kids moving while learning.
Use tape indoors or chalk outdoors to draw a hopscotch board. Write letters or phonics sounds in each square. Your child jumps through the board while saying each sound aloud.
To level up: ask them to come up with a word for each letter they land on.
7. Phonics Memory Match
This classic memory game is easy to make and endlessly customizable.
Write pairs of matching phonics sounds (or picture-word combos) on small cards. Place them face-down and let your child flip two at a time to find a match.
If it’s a match, they say the sound and keep the pair. If not, they flip them back and try again.
This helps with memory, focus, and sound recognition all at once.
Trying to teach your child reading at home and don’t know where to begin?
When my daughter was two and a half, teaching her to read was the last thing on my mind. Like most toddler parents, I was much too preoccupied with challenges like potty training and managing tantrums.
I stumbled upon Children Learning Reading totally by accident. I watched in jaw drop amazement videos of kids as kids as young as 2 sounding out words and reading full sentences.
I was so honestly so skeptical about trying it out.
My first thought was that my child was way too young to start. My second thought was that it would take too much effort and time and I didn’t have either to spare.
I put aside these limiting thoughts and instead thought: what do I have to lose?
And so I started.
We spent just 10 minutes a day, and in a matter of weeks, she was sounding out CVC words like cat, mat, and dog.
Soon after, she was reading her first storybook from beginning to end. 🥹
I can not begin to describe the joy you feel when you see your little one confidently finish reading a story by themselves from beginning to end!
She’s 5 now, reads at 3rd grade level and I literally need to ask her to come out of her reading corner!
If you’re curious, I wrote a full post breaking down exactly how I taught my toddler to read: what worked, what didn’t, and how you can do the same—even if you’ve never taught anything in your life.
👉 Read: How I Taught My 2-Year-Old to Read
👉 Check out the program: Children Learning Reading – Over 70,000 parents have used it successfully!
8. Rhyme Time Activities
Rhyming is a key skill in phonemic awareness—and it can be super fun!
Start simple: say a word like “cat,” and see how many rhyming words your child can come up with: hat, bat, mat, etc.
Make it into a race, a song, or even a coloring game. We sometimes play this while driving or brushing teeth—it’s such a great brain booster.
9. Alphabetical Order Race
Want to sneak in some letter recognition and phonics practice?
Write out a few words on flashcards and mix them up. Your child’s goal: put them in alphabetical order.
Make it a game by timing them and seeing if they can beat their own record! Acting out each word or sound adds even more learning fun.
10. Phonics Karaoke
Yes, this one is as fun as it sounds!
Play popular kids’ songs but tweak the lyrics to focus on letter sounds or word families. You can make your own “phonics remix” of songs like “Twinkle Twinkle” or “Old MacDonald.”
Singing helps children retain information and makes reading feel like play instead of work.
Want Some Free Phonics Worksheets?
I’ve created a simple bundle of printable reading activities designed for ages 2–5. These worksheets focus on:
✅ Beginning sounds
✅ CVC words
✅ Rhyming & word families
✅ Matching, cutting, tracing, and coloring
They’re perfect for busy moms who want to sneak in short, fun reading practice at home.
👇 Sign up below and I’ll send them straight to your inbox!
If you found this post helpful, please share it with a fellow mom who’s in the thick of potty training and wondering how on earth to fit in reading too. You’ve got this! ❤️
Ps: These are the best resources on Amazon for Phonics flashcards, Picture Words and Sight Words:
Phonics Made Easy, Word Families, Picture Words, High-Frequency Words, Beginning Reading
GAMENOTE Sight Words Kids Educational Flash Cards with Pictures & Sentences
Think Tank Scholar 652 Sight Words/Phonics Flash Cards, Learn to Read
Don’t forget to check out Children Learning Reading to see why parents are drooling over this crazy simple yet effective Reading Program for kids.
We think you’ll enjoy reading these posts next:
7 Creative Ways to Teach a Toddler to Love Reading
5 Toddler Pre-Reading Skills and How to Inculcate Them
10 Inspiring Ideas For Setting Up An Insanely Cute Toddler Reading Corner
Children Learning Reading Review – An Honest Opinion From a Mom
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