Phonics and Play: Turning Everyday Moments into Learning Opportunities

You don’t need worksheets or apps... just a little playtime and a lot of love.

What is "Incidental Learning" and Why It Works

If you feel guilty for not having time to sit down with phonics worksheets, take a breath, because you’re already helping your child learn.

Incidental learning means learning that happens naturally through everyday life. It’s powerful because:

In fact, some of the best phonics moments happen in kitchens, bathtubs, and car rides. Not at a desk. Here's how to make the most of them.

Turn your kitchen into a phonics playground while prepping meals or snacks. Try these:

"Find something that starts with…": "Can you find something that starts with /ch/?" "Cheese!"
Sound sort challenge: "Put all the /s/ sound things on the left and /t/ sound things on the right."
Syllable clapping: "How many beats are in 'banana'? Let’s clap them: ba-na-na!"

🧡 You don’t need special materials. Just curiosity and a moment of focus.

Bath time is perfect for playful sound games that don’t feel like "lessons."

Rhyme time: "Duck rhymes with…truck! Can you find something else that rhymes?"
Soap Letter Shapes: Draw letters on the wall with bubbles or foam and say their sounds.
Blending Bubbles: Drop foam letters into the tub. "Can you find the letters for /s/ /u/ /n/ and blend them together?"

💧 Silly = sticky. Kids remember learning when it’s full of giggles.

Turn errands into language adventures with:

I Spy with a Sound: "I spy something that starts with /b/…"
Syllable claps: Clap the syllables of things you pass: "am-bu-lance," "ta-co stand"
Rhyme chains: "Car rhymes with star… what else can we think of?"

⏱️ Even a 5-minute trip can build phonemic awareness.