Introducing Phonics in preschools can be a contentious issue. Some argue it shouldn’t have any place in the early years curriculum while others believe offering children access to this knowledge will give them an advantage when starting school.
As an ECT (having been a Primary School Teacher) as well as a mum of 4, I believe that there is a place for introducing children to these concepts at an early age and this was the motivation to create the Funky Phonics resources.
We understand and support the role of primary schools in teaching children to read, but have also seen first hand the way some children struggle with the speed at which learning occurs at that stage. We believe that having some pre-existing knowledge of the basic sounds can be immensely beneficial to these young learners as they start their reading journey.
The Early Years Learning Framework gives us the guidance for all we do in Early Childhood education and Funky Phonics was designed to incorporate these principles, allowing for both Intentional Teaching opportunities (practice 4) and Learning through Play (practice 3).
Specifically the EYLF (section 5.2) states that “Positive attitudes and competencies in literacy and numeracy are essential for children’s successful learning” and that this is evident when children:
Listen and respond to sounds and patterns in speech, stories & rhymes in context
Sing and chant rhymes, jingles and songs
Begin to understand key literacy and numeracy concepts and processes such as the sounds of language, letter-sound relationships and concepts of print.
It tell us that Educators promote this learning by:
Allowing for talk explicitly about concepts such as rhyme and letters and sounds when sharing texts with children
Providing a literacy enriched environment including displaying print in home languages
Singing and chanting rhymes, jingles and songs
Engaging children in play with words and sounds.
The Funky Phonics resources enable you to provide and deliver all these elements within your setting through our carefully designed games, songs, stories and fun with Felix the Fox. We develop the children’s ability to hear and identify sounds (phonological awareness) through intentional teaching and ‘learning through play’ opportunities and build the relationship between preschool and home with the sharing of learning - songs, stories and flashcards that can be accessed by both.
Funky Phonics provides educators with resources, ideas and fun ways to meet these EYLF goals when they have a million other things to think about too; giving educators a helping hand with fun ideas and ways of engaging the children in sound-letter recognition.