Decodable Reading with Nature Letter Formation Fun

We play outside every single day.  Getting outdoors is so great for kids.  And for mama who needs some fresh air and sun light to make it through another round of feeding the littles.  Seriously. They are ALWAYS hungry!!  This letter formation and decodable reading activity was fun and a good way to slow down in the great outdoors while working on reading skills.
Big Sister is a new reader and Little Guy is starting to show some interest in sounding out letters and little words.  We used something we have in great abundance to work on letter identification, letter sounds, and decodable reading…sticks!

Work on letter formation and decodable reading using nature. From Sugar Aunts

Decodable reading activity for new readers

With a handful of twigs ready, I showed the kids how to make letters on a shallow basket.  We started by me making the words and sounding out the words with decodable reading techniques.  I made the first letter in the word and said “sound”, as they made the sound of the letter “T”.  Next, I made a letter “A” and said, “sound”.  They made the aaaa sound.  Then, I said the cue, “Blend it together”.  They blended “T” and “A” together and added the “R” sound.  Big Sister is familiar with this technique from Kindergarten.  Little Guy repeated Big Sister, but soon got the hang of it.

We tried it with a few more words before Big Sister got in on the fun.  She made a few words of her own and Mom and Little Guy decoded the words.

Letter formation Activity

Little Guy worked on letter formation with the sticks.  He really got into this.  While he built the letters, we talked about the sound(s) of letters.  Letter “A” makes a short and long sound.

Building the letters with sticks is a fun pre-handwriting activity for new writers.  Talk about the lines needed to make each letter.

Looking for more letter formation and decodable reading ideas?  Follow along on our handwriting or beginning reading Pinterest boards.

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