Phonemic Awareness
"...is the ability to understand that spoken words are made up of individual sounds called phonemes and its one of the best early predictors for reading success."
Here are some activities to develop your child's phonemic awareness:
Rhyme games
Sing and Recite Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. Read books with rhyming words, such as Dr. Suess. Sing songs with rhyme such as "Down By the Bay".
Hear the first sound in words
Have your child say words that they know like their name or family member names. Help them identify and isolate the first sound like /m/ in Max. Then help them think of other words that start with the same sound.
Letter Names and Sounds
Sing alphabet songs...there are lots of them on YouTube. Build letters out of PlayDoh or modeling clay. Make an alphabet book with pictures of animals or things that they like. Write the lower and uppercase letters on each page. Play with magnetic letters to build words or match letters to the first sound in pictures.