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Blending sounds to read words is a HUGE milestone in early reading. 😢For some children, though, hidden barriers can make blending feel really tricky. 💡The good news is that when we spot these barriers early, we can give children the right support. 🙌With targeted intervention, every child can go from blending struggles to reading success! Image by Antranias, Pixabay Barriers to blending The following barriers can make blending a struggle: 👂Auditory processing Children who struggle with auditory discrimination may confuse phonemes or miss sounds entirely. Signs to watch for: Difficulty following oral instructions. Confusing similar-sounding words (e.g., pat and bat ). Frequent requests for repetition or showing signs of inattentiveness during listening activities. Support strategies: Ensure children are seated near the teacher and away from background noise. Use clear, slow articulation when modelling sounds. Give short, clear instructions: break directions down into small steps and use simple language. Use visual supports: pair spoken instructions with pictures or gestures. Allow extra processing time: pause after giving directions so the child has time to process before responding. Consider professional hearing assessments if difficulties persist. 👁️Visual tracking Problems with tracking or focusing can slow reading development. Signs to watch for: Difficulty remembering the sequence of letters in words. Headaches, eyestrain, squinting and fatigue. Support strategies: Highlight or underline letters as children blend. Encourage the child to use a ruler, pointer or their finger to help keep their place when blending. Provide large-print and well-spaced text to help reduce eye strain and make tracking easier. Cover parts of the page to reduce overwhelm and visual clutter. 5–10-minute activities can help prevent fatigue and frustration. Strengthen eye movement skills by working on simple activities like tracing mazes or dot-to-dot puzzles. Ensure good lighting and minimise glare. Work with an optometrist or occupational therapist for targeted exercises and support. 👄Speech development and articulation Children need to be able to pronounce sounds accurately to blend them successfully. Signs to watch for: Omitting or substituting sounds. Unclear speech that makes oral blending challenging. Frustration when asked to say words slowly or segment sounds. Support strategies: Work closely with speech and language specialists. Incorporate mouth and tongue exercises into phonics practice. Model sounds clearly and encourage repetition. Ask the child to look in a mirror while they repeat the sounds. Start with two-sound blends (e.g., ‘at’). Pair sounds with mouth pictures, hand signals or letter cards so the child connects what they hear, see and say. If a child mispronounces a sound, gently model the correct articulation. Use songs, rhymes and chants: rhyming and rhythm-based activities strengthen awareness of sound patterns in words 🧠Working memory and cognitive load Blending requires holding multiple sounds in your mind while manipulating them into a word. Signs to watch for: Forgetting the first sounds by the time the last sound is said. Blending errors with longer words. Easily overwhelmed during reading tasks. Support strategies: Start with short, simple words and gradually increase length. Break tasks into smaller steps and use visual aids. Allow repetition and overlearning by providing plenty of practice with the same set of words to reduce cognitive load. Provide letter cards, sound mats or blending strips so the child doesn’t have to hold all sounds in their memory. Use multisensory methods, such as asking children to tap sounds on their fingers, move counters or use magnetic letters to ‘see and feel’ the blend. Say the sounds and the blended word, then have the child echo - reducing the strain of holding everything in memory. Reduce distraction by keeping phonics activities focused and quiet. ⚠️Attention and focus Children who struggle to maintain focus may lose track of sounds or skip steps in the blending process. Signs to watch for: Frequent distraction during phonics activities. Difficulty completing blending exercises. Appearing restless or fidgety during reading tasks. Support strategies: Provide short, engaging blending exercises of 5-10 minutes. Minimise distractions and create a structured learning environment. Incorporate movement or hands-on activities to maintain focus. Incorporate multisensory activities by using tapping, clapping or jumping for each sound to keep learning active and engaging. Use clear visual supports such as sound cards or sound buttons and lines to guide their eyes and attention. Set clear, achievable goals for the child. For example: “Let’s blend three words together,” so they know the task has a clear end point. Rotate activities (games, cards, whiteboard writing, digital apps) to maintain interest. Sand timers help children see how long they need to focus for. From blending struggles to reading success! Watching a child learn to read is incredible and one of my favourite experiences as both a teacher and a parent! For many children, the journey into phonics and blending is steady, one that takes off with daily practice and support. For some children, though, this process isn’t so straightforward. 👉 Do  you teach phonics and have children who are struggling to blend? 👉Are you in panic mode and desperately need ways to support them? 👉Do you worry about boring worksheets and want fun ideas for your blending intervention group? ✅Phonics Blending Breakthrough aims to shine a light on the specific challenges that make blending so difficult for some learners, moving beyond a ‘one size fits all’ approach. ✅Through evidence-informed strategies, step-by-step guidance and playful examples, this book equips you with the confidence and clarity needed to help every child find success with blending. Click on the image to purchase on Amazon.

If you're new to Reception, have members of your team who are new to EYFS or want to direct parents to a definitive guide for phase 2 phonics, you've come to the right place! Here's an overview of what phonics is and some tried and tested tips for teaching early word reading. If you're in a rush and struggling to make progress with blending, save time and download your free blending checklist! What is phonics? Phonics is a key strategy in the teaching of reading and spelling. 'Research shows that when phonics is taught in a structured way, starting with the easiest sounds and progressing through to the most complex, it is the most effective way of teaching young children to read.' (Department for Education, 2013) Words are made up of sounds called phonemes . A phoneme can be represented by between one to four letters (graphemes), such as 'igh' in l igh t, or 'a' in m a n. Phonics teaches children each of these sounds and how use them to read and spell. Blending is when children say the sounds that make up a word and then merge them until they can hear what the word is, e.g. c-a-t = cat. Blending plays a very important role in the journey to becoming a fluent reader. Click to take a look at this amazing value bundle! Phonics blending tips When teaching children to blend make sure that the sounds are pronounced correctly . Some children (and adults!) add /uh/ onto the end of a sound (for example, /m/ becomes muh). Encourage children to look in a mirror whilst saying the sounds, so that they can focus on the shape which their mouth should be making. You should do lots of oral blending first, saying the sounds which make up the name of an object (e.g. c-u-p) or giving an instruction (e.g. Stand u-p). You should try to vary the phonics activities which you provide and ensure that learning is hands-on in order to keep children's attention. Ideally, phonics should be taught daily; little and often is key. Encouraging children to say the first sound in the word loudest is a helpful strategy. In addition, children should be told to say the sounds faster and faster each time, to make hearing the word possible. For a handy reference sheet for educators or parents, download your free blending checklist! Blending activities Here are some engaging activities that incorporate children's interests. Find out what the children in your class love and try to develop some activities around these passions. They won't even realise that they're learning! Farmyard Fun Draw sheep on a piece of paper and cut them out. Place magnetic letters inside the sheep to make a word. Drive a toy tractor past the sheep and say each sound aloud. Blend to read the word. Dinosaur Blending Draw dinosaur footprints on paper and cut them out. Write sounds on each of the footprints. Arrange the footprints to make a word. Move the dinosaur across the footprints, saying the sounds. Blend to read the word. Blending Ramp Write the sounds which you require on individual stickers. Stick the sounds on the ramp to make a word. Send the toy car down the ramp. Say each of the sounds as the car whizzes over them! Blend to read the word. Hop Along! Use mats or hoops and place a sound card on/in each one. Jump or hop along and say the sounds aloud. Blend to read the word. Blending Cars Draw a road on a piece of paper. Add magnetic letters to make a word. Drive a toy car along the road, saying the sounds aloud. Blend to read the word. These activities and many more can be found in my phonics book, which you can purchase from Amazon. ‘Blast-Off with Blending’ is available in paperback and eBook versions and has over 500 sales to date! Learn to read and write the phase 2 high-frequency words with this fun phonics activity book! Reception-aged children will enjoy cutting and sticking to complete the phonics activities whilst also developing their fine-motor skills at the same time! Your child should blend to read the word, cut and stick to make the word and finally write the word. An engaging, hands-on learning workbook without too much mess! Learn to read phase 2 words and captions with this fun phonics activity book ! Reception-aged children should blend to read the word or caption and draw a picture to go with it. Engaging learning for early readers! The perfect workbook for home or school. Looking for new and engaging activity ideas for teaching spelling? Struggling for inspiration? Then this is the book for you! This collection of over 60 engaging, yet easy-to-set-up activities will transform your phonics provision. It's available in paperback and eBook versions. Soar with Segmenting and Early Spelling makes learning fun! Click here for more information about segmenting . Unlock the power of reading with this phonics blending activity book! Designed for young learners who need extra support with blending, Catch-Up Phonics contains fun and engaging activities that focus on two-letter words. From cutting and sticking to using a bingo dabber, your child will enjoy hands-on learning that boosts their confidence and helps them master the art of blending. The perfect activity book for beginning or struggling readers. * As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Do you keep hearing about loose parts play and wondering what on earth it is? Are you curious as to why people are giving their children baskets of 'junk'? Want to find out the method behind the madness? Learn more with this short inspiring read... The Benefits of Loose Parts Play Loose parts (or tinker trays) are ideal for developing children's creativity in the early years (EYFS). Essentially, they are just that - 'loose parts' - a collection of resources or materials with varied properties that can be used in many different ways. The idea of loose parts was introduced by Simon Nicholson in the 1970s. He presented his idea in an article, 'The Theory of Loose Parts, An important principle for design methodology.' Loose parts allow children's imaginations to run wild, with endless opportunities for open-ended play ! Instead of giving a child a toy doll or car, which can be used in a limited number of ways, loose parts are open ended. A cardboard box can be a shelter, a car, a boat and more! Ideally, the child will lead the activity whilst you are on hand to help them to develop their problem solving, counting, fine motor skills and more. Let them explore their own ideas at home, in your setting or outdoors. When children are left to explore, a collection of loose parts might become a face, a dinosaur or a tractor! Loose Parts Resources and Materials To begin with, look around your home or setting, outdoors, in charity shops, online market places, craft shops, home improvement stores and at scrap centres for items which you think might be useful for your collection. Small items can be used anywhere at any time! Large items are ideal resources for large scale tinkering. They may be better used outdoors, or you could set up a corner of your home or setting as a 'deconstructed role play area', where only open-ended loose parts are provided. Here's a useful list of resources which you can gather together. If you are an early years educator, you can ask parents to help you with this task! Feel free to add any more resources that you can think of in the comments section below. Small Items Leaves, twigs, pine cones, conkers, corks, peg dolls, wooden dolly pegs, feathers, shells, flowers, cardboard tubes, wooden curtain rings, cork tiles, natural loofah, buttons, bamboo products, brushes, wooden balls, keys, metal measuring cups, spoons, locks, napkin rings, bangles, paint sample cards, colourful gems, hair curlers, foam shapes, scarves, felt, ribbons, lolly pop sticks, make up brushes, sponges, empty picture frames, plastic tubs, empty jars, funnels, sieves, colanders, tweezers, chopsticks, golf tees, etc. Large Items Plastic guttering, tyres, buckets, pallets, planks, poles, tubing, plastic crates, logs, cardboard boxes, balls, bricks, etc. When you have gathered together your collection, you'll need something to store it in - a box or a lidded tray with compartments is ideal. This will help to keep the items at their best and protect them from the elements if outside. Now everything is ready for your little explorer! Next Steps with Loose Parts Play Over time, you should try to add to your loose parts set. You will start to notice treasures everywhere! Adding to your collection will help to stimulate and engage children in their play and hold their interest. You might want to create themed boxes, which can be rotated throughout the year: Seasonal Colour/Black and White Floating and Sinking Sound Celebrations Light Construction Art and Design Storytelling Small World Maths Playdough Loose Parts Play Set Remember to take care when introducing loose parts to little ones. Some smaller items are unsuitable for children under 36 months or older children who put things in their mouths). Adult supervision is always recommended.