Learning to read opens the world up to children. Suddenly they can read a stop sign or spot their name and decoding all these things around them is very rewarding.

However, there is a lot to take in for any child when learning to read, and especially for those that find it difficult. Reading should be fun whether children find it easy or hard and as a parent we can make it enjoyable by playing letter games, reading stories and repeating rhymes and poems.
I have been working on a series of nonsense poetry to help children learn their letters / phonics – they are silly rhymes that can reinforce the letter sounds and help children learn their letters without really knowing they are doing so.
The Letter Aa

Being a vowel, there is more than one sound associated with the letter Aa, just to make life that bit trickier! There are three sounds:
ah – as in ant
ae – as in ate
aaaa – as in aunt

The purpose of this poem is for children to hear the ‘a’ sound, most commonly the short sound ‘ah’ – show the child this poem as you are reading it so they can recognise the letter and start associating it with the sounds.

Most importantly have fun, it’s a nonsense poem so enjoy just repeating it. Kids love repetition and they love silliness.

Keep an eye on my ‘Learning to Read’ page for more poems like this.