Getting Started at Home
No teaching experience needed. Follow these four simple steps with your child — 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty. Every step comes with free videos and printable activities.
Step 1: Meet the Characters
Letterland turns every letter into a friendly character — Annie Apple, Bouncy Ben, Clever Cat. Children learn letters by making friends with them. Start with the alphabet songs and these free activities.
Alphabet Songs — Part 1
Alphabet Songs — Part 2
Colouring-In Sheets
Colour all 26 letters, then stick the pages together to make your own alphabet poster.
Spot the Difference
Find the eight differences between two busy Letterland scenes — great for developing an eye for detail.
Step 2: Learn the Letter Sounds
Here's the Letterland shortcut: just start to say a character's name, then stop. “Sammy Snake, sss…” — that's the sound! Try to say sounds purely (“mmm”, not “muh”). It feels small, but it makes blending words much easier later. Use the online pronunciation guide to hear every sound spoken aloud.
Traditional Alphabet Names
How the character names connect to the traditional letter names — useful once sounds are secure.
Step 3: Practise Letter Shapes
Finger tracing is the gentlest way to start writing — and it works best with two fingers together (first and middle). Watch the videos, then try the activities below.
Finger Tracing — Example 1
Finger Tracing — Example 2
Handwriting Practice
Practise forming letter shapes correctly — say the sound together every time your child writes it.
Draw the Letterlanders
Drawing the characters helps children take personal ownership of the letter shapes — even simple artwork works.
b/d Finger Puppets
Many children mix up b and d. These printable puppets put the secret to telling them apart right in their hands.
Step 4: Blend Sounds into Words
This is the magic moment — c…a…t becomes cat, and your child is reading. Practise with these free activities, then move on to decodable readers: little books that use only the sounds your child already knows, so they can genuinely read every word.
Word Building
Print and cut out your own flashcards, then see how many words you can build with just seven letters.
What's Next?
Once your child is blending simple words with confidence, a decodable reader or practice book is the natural next step — our short product guide will help you pick just one or two. And if any of the phonics terms feel confusing, we've translated them all into plain language. Questions any time: letterland@live.ca