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I am a kindergarten teacher and thus have many occasions to interact with hundreds of parents of the kids in my class. When I talk to these parents, I get asked many different questions relating to the kid’s progress in school. Parents want to know whether their child is paying attention in class and whether he/she participates in class activities. Another leading question that I get asked by the parents is whether or not their kids are finding it easy to learn the concepts being taught in kindergarten and if they are managing to keep up with their peers or not. But perhaps the one question that I get asked the most is, “How to teach phonics to our children?”

I am asked this question so many times that sometimes I get frustrated of the same query again and again. In my frustration I am tempted to tell the parents that it is not their job to teach the kids phonics. We are their teachers and teaching the children is our job. After all, that is why they send their kids to school, right! But when I calm down I realize that this is not the right way to talk to parents. All parents want their kids to succeed in school and thus try to teach them at home too. Thus, it was fair that they were trying to learn new methods of teaching phonics so that they could impart that valuable knowledge to their kids as well. But one thing that I think is true – parents should let teachers teach phonics to the kids. Yes, they could enhance their child’s ability by reading a good story book to their kids. They could also help their kids by buying them a few reading games. But phonics was best taught by qualified teachers.

I once again reiterate that this is my honest feeling when it comes to teaching phonics. How to teach phonics is not something that can be picked up in a day or even in a matter of few weeks. Teachers are coached on these topics for years on end and only then they become qualified to teach young kids. Yes, parents can reinforce the concepts that their kids learn in school by making them study for a few minutes every day at home. Spending 20 minutes in revising the lessons that have been taught in school is a great way for parents to ensure that these important lessons are understood and retained by their children. Using some reading games or a good story book makes it quite easy to revise the rules of phonics. But as far as how to teach phonics goes, please allow the qualified experts do their job so as to make your kids good at reading.