First words brings letters and sounds together: children read short words like cat, dog and sun, sounding out each letter, and show they understood by finding the picture.
What your child will learn
- Sound out and blend three-letter words
- Match a written word to its meaning
- Read every letter, not just the first one
Why the word isn’t read aloud
Unlike the other Early Years games, the word here is never read out — reading it is the challenge. In the last quest the pictures have similar words (cat, hat, bat), so children need to look at every letter.
Example questions
Here are a few questions like the ones in the first quest. Can you solve them?
1. Read the word. Which picture is it?
fox- 🦊
- 📦
Show answer
Answer: 🦊. The word is “fox”: f-o-x, fox!
2. Read the word. Which picture is it?
hen- 🐔
- 🦊
Show answer
Answer: 🐔. The word is “hen”: h-e-n, hen!
3. Read the word. Which picture is it?
pig- 🐷
- ☕
Show answer
Answer: 🐷. The word is “pig”: p-i-g, pig!
Tips for grown-ups
- Sound out words together slowly: “c-a-t… cat!”.
- Write labels for toys and furniture and read them together.