My 6-year-old boy finished reception at the end of last year with around 50 sight words that he knew. Now at the beginning of this year he can barely remember his first list. Is this normal?

Retention is always a problem. Some children seem to retain everything they learn, others learn, pass off, and then forget. Reviewing continuously is a help. Also teaching some decoding skills instead of just memorizing words is a great plus as he then will be able to sound out/decode words as he comes across them instead of just having to know them instantly. Some words can’t be sounded out and have to be memorized, but if a child can attack a word and sound it out, then he has another reading tool to use instead of only memorization.

Decoding skills can be taught. Knowing what each letter says and how it blends together in a word is the start. Make sure he is extremely comfortable with his letters and sounds. Blend these sounds into simple phonetic words like cat, hat, Pam, etc. Make sure he really knows how to blend. Blending is a huge skill, if you can blend sounds together, then you can “unblend” or decode phonetic words. Hope this helps. Enjoy the process of working with your child.