Because we don’t want all that hard work to fade away!
Let’s be real – summer is amazing. Long days, no alarms, sticky popsicles, and barefoot backyard adventures. But if you’re a kindergarten teacher or parent of a soon-to-be first grader (or like me, you’re both this year!), you probably know that the summer slide is very real, especially when it comes to early literacy.
After spending an entire year working on letters, sounds, blending, and sight words the last thing we want is for those phonics skills to disappear as fast as an ice cream cone on a 85° day.
But don’t worry – keeping phonics fresh doesn’t have to mean daily worksheets or formal lessons. It can be fun, quick and something that blends right into your summer activities!
Here are some of my favorite low-prep, high-impact ways to keep those phonics skills strong over the summer.
Letter Sound Scavenger Hunts
We take SO many road trips to visit family during the summer. I Spy is a classic game that helps kill some of the time. When my kids were little, we used this is a chance to work on colors but as they have gotten older we have modified the game to include some reading skills.
Whether you’re in the backyard, at the park, or even inside on a rainy day, a scavenger hunt is a fantastic way to practice phonemic awareness or letter recognition.
🎯 Call out a sound: “Find something that starts with /m/.”
🎯 Or reverse it: “You found a ball! What sound does ‘ball’ start with?”
🎯 Can you find something that has the letter T on it?
🎯 Print and play road trip bingo! Have your child look for road signs (bonus points if they can name the letters or try to read them!) or find objects that begin with different letters.
Teacher Tip: Send home an alphabet chart with a list of sounds or letters for families to cross off throughout the summer. Easy peasy.
Sidewalk Chalk Word Work
Chalk is the ultimate summer learning tool and you most likely have a bucket in your garage just ready to go.
Write letters or CVC words and have your child:
🌈 Hop to the letter that makes the /s/ sound
🌈 Read the word and draw a picture to match
🌈 Write rhyming words
🌈 Spray the word with water
Not a fan of chalk? Use a paintbrush and water to “paint” letters on the driveway!
Or try out this dustless chalk that can be used inside (or just for less mess)!
Phonics Games That Don’t Feel Like School
Here’s the trick: Make it a game.
🧩 Play “I Spy” with beginning sounds (“I spy something that starts with /m/.”)
🧩 Use fun magnetic letters on the fridge for a morning message: “Can you build the word ‘bat’ today?”
🧩 Play CVC word memory—match pictures to words!
Make your own CVC memory cards – or grab this set for FREE!
Read. Every. Day.
Yes, even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
Keep reading light and joyful—grab silly rhyming books, books with repeated patterns, or books they love to read again and again.
Bonus points if you pause mid-sentence and let them fill in a rhyming or predictable word. That’s phonemic awareness and confidence in one go!
Your local library probably has a summer reading program for children. Each time we go we discover new books, enjoy story time (usually with a fun craft!), and my kids get prizes for filling out their summer reading log.
Summer should be full of fun, rest, and time to just be a kid. But with just a sprinkle of intention, we can make sure all that hard-earned phonics progress stays strong—so our kiddos walk into first grade feeling confident and ready.
Whether you’re a parent or a teacher sending littles off for the summer, remember: it doesn’t have to be perfect, just playful and consistent.
Let’s keep those brains growing—and those popsicles coming. ☀️🍦
Just a heads-up—some of the links on this blog are Amazon affiliate links. That means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you!). I only share products I love and actually use in my classroom or at home. Thanks for supporting Koffee and Kinders and helping to keep the coffee flowing and the laminator running!
Leave a Reply