Daily Pre-Phonics Skills for Children Under Three

As early years practitioners, you hold the key to unlocking children’s early language and communication skills. Pre-phonics development isn’t just about teaching, it’s about sparking curiosity, supporting listening skills, and introducing the magic of sounds in fun, everyday moments. From arrival to departure, every routine provides an opportunity to strengthen language understanding, vocabulary development, and listening skills.

If you’re ready to take your practice to the next level, we’ve designed a Pre-Phonics Word Recognition Confidence Questionnaire to help assess and enhance your strategies. Find the link below or contact your consultant for tailored support.

Here’s how to make your daily routines exciting, purposeful, and packed with opportunities to build pre-phonic skills for babies and toddlers (birth to under 3).

Morning Magic: Welcome and Greet

Start the day with joy and connection!
Greeting each child is more than a warm hello—it’s a chance to foster vocabulary, listening, and early recognition of speech sounds.

Ideas to Try:

• Name Recognition Songs: Sing a personalized hello song like, “Hello, [Name], how are you today?” Repetition builds listening and name recognition.
• Playful Puppets: Use a puppet or soft toy to wave hello, encouraging visual tracking as it moves side to side.
• Language-Rich Greetings: Ask simple questions or make observations, e.g., “You have a blue hat today! Do you see it?” This helps develop vocabulary and understanding.

Crawling Adventures and Movement Play

Encourage babies and toddlers to explore their world while enhancing listening, speech sound awareness, and tracking skills.

Ideas to Try:

• Sound Exploration Path: Set up a crawling course with sensory items like crinkly paper, bells, and textured mats. Describe the sounds as they interact (“Listen to the crinkle!”).
• Action Words on the Move: Narrate their movements (“You’re crawling over the soft mat!”). This builds vocabulary and understanding of action words.
• Rolling Ball Games: Roll soft balls across the floor to encourage tracking and crawling. Add phrases like “Here it goes!” to support speech sound recognition.

Treasure Basket Time: A World of Discovery

Treasure baskets offer endless opportunities to develop vocabulary, listening, and understanding through sensory exploration.

Ideas to Try:

• Descriptive Language Play: Fill a basket with items like wooden spoons, shiny foil, and soft fabrics. Describe each item as children explore, focusing on textures and colors (“This is smooth. That’s shiny!”).
• Sound Sorting Fun: Include objects that make different sounds, like jingling bells or clapping blocks. Encourage children to notice differences in sound.
• Interactive Rhymes: Sing rhymes related to objects, e.g., “This is the way we shake the rattle!” This repetition builds rhythm and sound awareness.

Art Play: Colors, Patterns, and Sounds

Art is an exciting way to enhance visual discrimination, listening, and speech sound awareness while letting creativity flourish!

Ideas to Try:

• Finger Paint Explorations: Talk about the colors and patterns as children use their hands. Say phrases like “Red and blue are mixing—look at the purple!” to boost vocabulary.
• Rhythm Painting: Tap the paintbrush or crayon in time to a song, encouraging children to join in with rhythmic movements.
• Shape and Pattern Recognition: Draw simple shapes like circles or lines, naming them as you go. Encourage children to copy or follow along.

Outdoor Adventures: Exploring the World

Outdoor play offers rich sensory experiences to enhance sound discrimination, visual tracking, and vocabulary development.

Ideas to Try:

• Bubble Chasing: Blow bubbles and encourage children to track them as they float. Add fun phrases like “Up, up, up!” and “Pop!”
• Nature Sounds Safari: Point out environmental sounds like birds, wind, or cars. Say things like “Can you hear the bird? Tweet-tweet!” to encourage listening.
• Follow the Leader: Lead children in clapping, stomping, or marching games to build rhythm awareness and body movement coordination.

Snack and Mealtime Rhythms

Mealtime is perfect for encouraging language development and listening in a relaxed and social setting.

Ideas to Try:

• Food Names and Descriptions: Name the foods as you serve them and describe their textures or tastes (“This apple is crunchy and sweet”).
• Singing Through Snacks: Use familiar tunes with food-related lyrics, e.g., “We’re eating, we’re eating, what do we eat?”
• Simple Choices: Ask questions like, “Do you want the banana or the apple?” This supports speech development through decision-making and responses.

Quiet Time: Calming and Soothing

Even rest time can help children develop auditory memory and listening skills.

Ideas to Try:

• Repetitive Lullabies: Sing the same lullaby each day, helping children recognize patterns in melody and rhythm.
• Soothing Sounds: Use calming background sounds like soft rain or wind chimes to encourage sound recognition in a relaxing environment.
• Gentle Whispering: Speak in soft tones about rest time, modeling quiet, clear speech for children to imitate.

Saying Goodbye: Parting with Purpose

End the day with meaningful interactions that reinforce listening, understanding, and communication skills.

Ideas to Try:

• Farewell Songs: Sing goodbye songs with their names, such as “Goodbye, [Name], we’ll see you soon!” This repetition strengthens auditory memory.
• Object Recognition: Help children find their belongings by describing them (“Here’s your red bag”).
• Waving Goodbye: Use scarves or toys to wave goodbye, encouraging visual tracking and interaction.

Take Your Practice Further

Want to deepen your understanding of pre-phonics skills? Explore our Pre-Phonics Word Recognition Confidence Questionnaire to assess your strategies and discover new approaches.

Contact your Early Years Consultant or Start Well for additional support and resources.

Start Well Service

Call: 01204 338149

Email: startwell@bolton.gov.uk