Parents’ guide · ages 5–7 · First years of school
Helping your 5–7 year old learn at home
In the first years of school, children learn to turn letters into sounds and sounds into words, and to understand numbers to 20 and beyond. A few relaxed minutes of reading and number play at home make a real difference, especially when they match what is happening in class.
What children typically learn
Every child develops at their own pace. Use this as a rough map, not a checklist.
- Linking letters to sounds and blending sounds to read simple words.
- Reading short books and recognising common tricky words that do not follow the rules.
- Writing simple sentences with capital letters, full stops and finger spaces.
- Counting, adding and taking away within 20, and recognising number patterns.
- Telling the time to the hour and half hour, and naming coins.
Everyday activities that help
Most take five to ten minutes and need nothing special.
Read together, then swap
Let your child read the words they can decode, and you read the rest. Praise the sounding out, not just the right answer.
Kitchen maths
Share biscuits fairly, count out cutlery for the table and ask “if two more people come, how many forks then?”.
Write for a reason
Shopping lists, birthday cards and notes to grandparents feel more real than copying. Help them say each sound as they write.
Clock challenges
Ask “what time is it?” at round hours and half past. Set a two-minute sand-timer challenge to tidy up.
Play shop
Price toys with small amounts and use real or pretend coins to buy and give change.
When to talk to the teacher or a doctor
These are not signs that something is wrong — they are good reasons to ask. Early conversations help.
- After a year of school, your child still finds it very hard to remember letter sounds or blend them.
- Reading or writing make them very upset, or they avoid it completely.
- They often seem not to hear you, ask for things to be repeated or turn the TV up loud.
- They have real difficulty with pencil control, buttons or catching compared with classmates.
- Friendships, separating from you or behaviour at school are a regular worry.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child’s health or development, contact your doctor, health visitor or school.
Practise together
Worksheets and games for this age
Print them or play on screen with instant marking.
Programmes for this age
Science Explorers
Short lessons for ages 5–8: My body, Animals and habitats, Weather and seasons, Space. Fresh practice every time, marked instantly, with a check-up at the end of each unit.
First Reading & Writing
Short lessons for ages 4–6: Letters and sounds, First words, Stories and sentences. Fresh practice every time, marked instantly, with a check-up at the end of each unit.
Collections for this age
Articles for this age
How to Teach Letter Sounds at Home: A 10-Minute Phonics Routine
A calm 10-minute daily routine for teaching letter sounds to 3–5 year olds at home, with games, what to say, and what to do when the sounds won't stick.
Sight Words vs Phonics: How Tricky Words Fit with Learning to Read
What sight words, high-frequency words and tricky words really are, how they fit with systematic phonics, how countries differ, and practice ideas that work.
Teaching Numbers 1 to 20: Building Real Number Sense in 3–6 Year Olds
How to teach numbers 1 to 20 so children understand quantity, not just recite: counting principles, subitising, number bonds, the tricky teens and games.
Handwriting Tips for Reluctant Writers: Grip, Posture and Letter Families
Practical handwriting help for children who hate writing: posture, pencil grip, letter formation families, five-minute practice and when to ask an OT.
Learning Wiki topics
Syllables
A syllable is a beat in a word, built around one vowel sound. Cat has one syllable, rab-bit has two, el-e-phant has three.
Vowels and consonants
The vowel letters are a, e, i, o and u (and sometimes y); all the other letters are consonants. Almost every English word needs a vowel sound.
Blending
Blending means saying the sounds in a written word one after another and pushing them together to hear the whole word, like /c/ /a/ /t/ → cat.
Digraphs
A digraph is two letters that make one sound, like sh in ship, ch in chip, ck in duck or ai in rain.
Number bonds
Number bonds are pairs of numbers that add up to a given total, like 3 and 7 making 10. Knowing them by heart makes adding and subtracting much faster.
Phonics
Phonics teaches children to read and spell by linking sounds (phonemes) with the letters that write them (graphemes), then blending and segmenting those sounds.
Track your child’s progress
Your parent dashboard suggests a ten-minute plan for today and builds a printable weekly pack matched to your child’s level.
Questions about ages 5–7
Phonics or sight words — which comes first?
Most schools teach phonics first and add a small set of common tricky words alongside. Ask the teacher which approach the class uses and practise the same way at home.
My child reverses letters like b and d. Is that a problem?
Reversals are very common at this age and usually fade with practice. If they continue well into the second or third year of school, mention it to the teacher.