18/02/2026
A Jolly Friday to You All!
Today we are excited to round up our Jolly Phonics letter sounds as we dive into the last and final sound from Group 7 .../ar/! 🎉
Our story followed Dorothy’s visit to the doctor, where the doctor asked her to open her mouth wide and say “ar… ar… ar…” so he could check her throat.
Learners joined in, opening their mouths wide and singing the ar… ar… ar… sound, making it a fun, interactive game while building confidence in reading.
Letter Formation Activities
• Air Writing: Children trace ar in the air with big arm movements while saying “ar… ar… ar…”
• Sand/Flour Tray: Use a tray of sand or flour for learners to write ar with their fingers
• Chalkboard Crawl: Write ar on the board and have children crawl their fingers along the letters, saying the sound
Blending Activities
• Sound Hop: Place letter cards (st, ar, c, f, m) on the floor. Children hop to each letter and blend to make st-ar = star, c-ar = car, f-ar-m = farm
• Letter Box Blend: Place letters in small boxes or containers; children pick letters and say the word out loud
• Word Chain: Start a word, children add letters to blend each new word aloud: st → st-ar → star → st-ar-s
Segmenting Activities
• Clap & Stretch: Clap each sound as children say: f-ar-m → farm
• Jump & Sound: Children jump for each sound segment: st-ar → star
• Sound Detective: Give children a word, e.g., car, and ask them to point to each letter as they say each sound
Featured Resources:
Jolly Phonics Pupil Books
Finger Phonics Big Book 7
Jolly Phonics Flash Cards
Jolly Songs & CD
The Letter Sounds Book
Readers
Congratulations! Your children should now be reading confidently. Keep revising ....practice makes perfect, and repetition is the mother of all learning.