Phonics rules teaches kids to break down words into smaller “chunks” so that even the most difficult words can be easy to read.  I’m going to explain some of the more common and basic phonics rules for early learners.  I posted in my Early Literacy blog the Fry Word List.  The Fry Sight Word List is 1000 of the most common words to appear in reading materials.  By the end of kindergarten, your child is required to know the first 100 words.  I did not blindly have my child memorize each sight word.  When my child was old enough to understand, I went over the phonics rules with my child…

So, in my introductory post, I explained my desire to homeschool my then Kindergartener (Emily).  I have 2 kids, Kathy (6th grade) and Emily (2nd Grade).  Because of the events of 2020-2021 (the pandemic), I did not think it was beneficial for my child to begin Kindergarten in a virtual environment.  I thought it was best to homeschool her instead.  I mentioned that I was a Kindergarten teacher for ten years before I stopped to raise my family.  I’ve been out of the game now for about 12 years, but it all started coming back to me as I was homeschooling my little one. I was a bit anxious about…