Hearing the first sound in a word — the “s” in sun, the “d” in dog — is the key skill that phonics and reading are built on. Children match pictures that start the same way, then find the letter that makes the sound.
What your child will learn
- Hear the first sound in a spoken word
- Match words that start with the same sound
- Link a first sound to its letter
Sounds, not letter names
Every word is chosen so that its first letter makes its usual sound — no silent letters, and no tricky soft c or g. That way “starts with the same sound” always means “starts with the same letter”, which keeps early learning clear.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Which one starts like 🐶 dog?
- 🍌 banana
- 🐘 elephant
- 🥁 drum
Show answer
Answer: 🥁 drum. Dog and drum both start with the sound “d”.
2. Which one starts like 🌈 rainbow?
- 🍎 apple
- 🐭 mouse
- 💍 ring
Show answer
Answer: 💍 ring. Rainbow and ring both start with the sound “r”.
3. Which one starts like 🥛 milk?
- ❤️ heart
- 🐭 mouse
- 🐜 ant
Show answer
Answer: 🐭 mouse. Milk and mouse both start with the sound “m”.
Tips for grown-ups
- Play I-spy with sounds: “I spy something beginning with sss…”.
- Stretch the first sound when you say a word: “mmm-oon”.