*Top 5 Ways To Help Preschoolers DISTINGUISH BEGINNING SOUNDS

*NOTE: This is a kindergarten skill, but we’re sharing here because many preschoolers are advanced. If your preschooler is ready for this skill, feel free to teach it!

If you’d like to build your preschooler’s literacy skills, make sure that you don’t forget about helping them distinguish beginning sounds.

WHY PRESCHOOLERS SHOULD DISTINGUISH BEGINNING SOUNDS

When your preschooler learns to recognize the beginning sounds of words they are developing the ability to recognize phonemes. Phonemes are similar words, distinguished by changing one letter, such as tan, ban, and pan. By focusing on the beginning sounds of these words your preschooler will begin to recognize that similar words can have very different meanings when you change just one letter. This understanding can help your preschooler recognize the importance of learning and using the correct letters when speaking and writing. When your preschooler is able to distinguish the beginning sound of a word, they will start learning to sound out the rest of it.

For more information on helping your preschooler distinguish beginning sounds click here.