The Very Best Phonics Activities for Preschoolers
There are so many fun phonics activities for preschoolers available! Trying to find the best activities for teaching phonics to your students can be overwhelming when you think about all the options. However, some resources are better than others and I’m excited to share my favorite phonics activities for preschool students with you.
My easy preschool phonics worksheets make it easy to develop phonological awareness and get extra practice with your students in the classroom and at home. They don’t require lots of extra prep time to add to your lessons and they’re fun and engaging for kids.
Plus, get help developing these essential literacy skills with your preschool learners using my phonics scope and sequences printables and a take-home reading resource guide for parents.
Keep reading to discover these great printables and lots of hands-on phonics activities for preschoolers too!
My Favorite Crafty Phonics Activities for Preschoolers
There are lots of crafty phonics activities for preschoolers! These are some of my favorite preschool phonics crafts to add to your literacy center or send home for extra practice.
Silent E Crafts
Crafts featuring long vowels are a fun way to practice phonics in the classroom and at home. These Silent E CVCe Crafts feature different long vowels to help your preschoolers master these essential literacy skills.
These cut-and-paste crafts would be a great addition to any word center, literacy station, or phonics bulletin board in your preschool classroom. They’re also great to use with students during assessments, independent work, and add a little extra fun for the children who complete their assignments early.
Each printable phonics craft is easy to assemble and gives kids the opportunity to write the long vowel words and create lists of silent E words on the included phonics worksheet.
Short Vowel Phonics Crafts
When you’re teaching short letter sounds to your preschoolers, consider adding some of these cut-and-paste Short Vowel Phonics Crafts to the mix.
They’re great for learning all about short vowels together, in centers, or independently at home. Just print, color, and assemble each short vowel craft to help your preschoolers develop phonemic awareness this year.
Preschoolers can get extra practice writing the short vowels on the printables provided or completing the included worksheet. You can also use these adorable crafts to create a phonics bulletin board for your classroom!
Digraph Phonics Crafts
Are you learning about digraphs with your preschoolers this year? These printable Digraph Phonics Crafts make it fun to practice sh, th, ch, wh, and ph with your preschool students in the classroom and at home. Plus, they’ll be developing critical fine motor skills as they cut and paste these cute crafts together!
These phonics crafts about digraphs are a great way to learn new words in small groups, a literacy station, or a phonics bulletin board! Just print, color, and assemble each digraph craft for learning fun with your preschoolers this year.
Printable Phonics Scope and Sequence Pages
This printable phonics scope and sequence bundle is an easy resource for preschool teachers to consult as they teach their little learners all about CVC words and phonics skills. Following the phonics scope and sequence by grade level will help your students become efficient readers more quickly. Plus, it makes teaching your students to read easier.
My phonics sequence chart can help you teach the next skill to your early readers. Phonics and phonemic awareness make up the first two essential components of learning to read.
Developing phonemic awareness is the first step when teaching children how to read. Grab your own Printable Phonics Scope and Sequence Chart for kindergarten through second grade to help you prepare your preschoolers for their kindergarten year.
No-Prep Preschool Phonics Worksheets
Pair my printable phonics charts with preschool phonics worksheets and hands-on phonics activities for preschoolers to encourage your students as they learn to read this year. Check out my favorite no-prep preschool phonics worksheets below to help you get started.
CVC Phonics Worksheets
These preschool phonics worksheets are filled with 40 pages of CVC phonics activities and assessments perfect for your kids to complete as they learn about blending sounds and short vowel CVC words.
My CVC Phonics Worksheets are ideal for preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first and second-grade students. They’re great for extra practice one on one with students or in small groups.
Alphabet Worksheets for Preschool
I’ve got lots of fun ways to explore the letters of the alphabet with preschoolers this year! Check out my list of 15 Fun and Playful Alphabet Activities to get fun ideas for teaching letter names and the sound of the letter to your preschool students. One of my favorite fun activities is alphabet ball.
To play alphabet ball, find an open space to throw or kick a ball. I like using a beach ball. One person throws the ball and calls out a letter of the alphabet.
Then, the person who catches the ball has to respond with a word that starts with that letter. We made a rule that letters can’t be repeated and I try to play until we have covered all 26 letters. It’s a really fun way to build language skills with preschoolers!
Short Vowel Phonics Passages
Looking for more phonetic sound activities you can do with your preschoolers? These preschool phonics worksheets are a good way to practice short vowels, CVC words, and reading comprehension with your students.
I’ve included 17 short vowel families in these 17 Short Vowel Phonics Passage Worksheets for all kinds of phonics instruction practice with young children.
Hands-On Phonics Activities for Preschoolers
If your preschoolers enjoyed playing the alphabet ball game I mentioned above, they’re going to love these other hands-on phonics activities for preschoolers! Discover some of my favorite hands-on fun phonics games below.
Phonics Scavenger Hunt
I love this phonics scavenger hunt game idea because it’s one you can play in the classroom with preschoolers or at home for more learning fun and phonics practice! First, come up with a list of common household or classroom items for the hunt. Then, have kids practice their reading skills as they decode the name of each item and find it in the room.
Finally, don’t forget to take lots of pictures! This phonics scavenger hunt is the perfect bulletin board idea for your classroom literacy center!
Build Magnetic CVC Words
My preschoolers love magnetic letters! Fortunately, they’re the perfect tool for practicing the English language. Preschoolers can use letters to build simple words, practice sight words, and learn to decode different words too.
You can begin building a word for your preschoolers and have them add the first letter or explore different sounds by adding a new vowel sound to the missing space in CVC words you build with magnetic letters. It’s a fun activity for emergent readers and fluent readers as well!
Fishing Beginning Sounds Game
Are you looking for a fun hands-on phonological awareness practice activity? Check out my printable Fishing for Beginning Sounds Game! It’s the most fun we’ve had practicing initial sound skills with preschoolers.
This game bundle comes with pre-made cards and 40 blank cards to create your own problem-solving opportunities for your preschool students to work through. Plus, there are 2 different mats for preschoolers to write and draw as they work to find solutions.
A Helpful Reading Guide Resouce for Parents
If you’re searching for a helpful reading guide you can send home with parents or use at home with your preschool children, don’t miss my Parent Resource Guide to Reading printable packet. It’s an excellent tool for parents who are curious about how to help their kids develop reading strategies at home.
I like to hand out these reading guide resources during the open house, at parent conferences, and meet the teacher events. There are 6 parts included in each packet: phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension, sight words, fluency, and alphabet skills. Every section includes lots of helpful details about different reading styles and phonics activities for preschoolers to do at home for added practice.
Want to learn more about the pillars of reading and how you can help emergent readers in your preschool classroom? Check out my article all about the 5 Pillars of Reading for more ideas and phonics activities for preschoolers.
What are some of your favorite phonics activities for preschoolers to engage students in the classroom and at home? Share your favorite preschool phonics games, crafts, and activities in the comment section. I can’t wait to read all your great ideas and try them with my students too!
