Sounds Like Fun!
Playing with the sounds of language
When children learn to read, they start to take words apart by 
the sounds in them. The printed word CAT, is made up of the sounds /k/ /a/ /t/. This ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in words is called Phonological Awareness and it's a really important skill for good readers.
You can help your child become better at hearing the sounds in words in lots of fun ways:
* With your baby, mimic their babbling sounds. Introduce new sounds to the babbling. Smile when they repeat those sounds!
* Read rhyming books. Sometimes leave off the last word in a sentence so your child can supply the rhyming word. They have to listen to the other words and how they sound to do that.
* Sing rhyming songs like Down by the Bay. (Raffi wrote this as a book, too!)
* Guess the sound. Say a word and have your child guess the beginning sound. What's the ending sound? (Remember, this is about sounds not letters so if your word is SHIP, the beginning sound is /sh/ not S.)
Parent Tip: Clap out the syllables of the names in your family. Who has the most syllables? (Tim = 1, Vi-o-let = 3, Da-vid = 2, An-to-ni-o = 4.)
word that has an ending part like BAT. Something like CAT. What else can you think of?" Encourage them to sound out the rhyming part of the word. If they have trouble, suggest words and ask them if they rhyme. Sometimes use words that don't rhyme. "Does dog rhyme with cat? No? What about bat?" Make suggestions.
