Free Phonics Worksheets for Kindergarten: Beginning Sounds Pack

Beginning sounds are the first real test of phonics for kindergarten: can your child hear the very first sound in a word and connect it to a letter? This free beginning sounds pack gives you five printable worksheets that take that skill from listening all the way to writing, with no prep required.

Every page below uses the same phase 2 letter sounds most kindergarten and pre-k programs teach first. Print one worksheet a day, or work through all five in a week — each PDF is free to download and ready to hand to a four-, five-, or six-year-old today. For the best results, print on plain white cardstock and slip each page into a dry-erase pocket, or laminate it, so your child can write on it with a wipe-off marker and practice again the next day.

What’s in this beginning sounds pack

Five worksheets, five different ways to practice the same skill:

• Circle the Beginning Sound: circle the letter that matches the picture’s first sound.
• Match the Beginning Sound (Set 1): draw a line from each picture to its beginning letter.
• Write the Beginning Sound: write the missing first letter under each picture.
• Match the Beginning Sound (Preschool Set): a simpler matching page for younger beginners.
• Find and Color the Beginning Sound: find the correct letter among four choices, then color the picture in.

How to use beginning-sound worksheets (ages 4–6)

Beginning-sound practice works best in order. First your child hears the word and says the sound out loud — the listening stage covered in our step-by-step Jolly Phonics guide. Next, they match a picture to the correct letter, then write that letter from memory, and finally find it among a set of choices and color the page in. If your child hasn’t covered the phase 2 sounds yet, spend a few days on that skill first — each stage below builds on the last, so keep the order even if you skip a day here and there. There’s no need to finish a whole page in one sitting; three or four pictures at a time is plenty for a four- or five-year-old’s attention span.

Worksheet 1: Circle the Beginning Sound

Your child hears each word, looks at four letters, and circles the one that matches the sound at the start.

This pack also includes three preview cards from our phonics sound cards set for extra letter-sound practice.

Worksheet 2: Match the Beginning Sound (Set 1)

Kids draw a line from each animal, fruit, or object picture to the letter that starts its name.

Worksheet 3: Write the Beginning Sound

This page asks your child to write the missing first letter under five pictures, the write-it-down step of phonics for kindergarten.

Worksheet 4: Match the Beginning Sound (Preschool Set)

A gentler matching page for younger beginners, with fewer pictures per row and extra space to draw the line.

Worksheet 5: Find and Color the Beginning Sound

Children find the correct beginning letter among four choices, then color the black-and-white picture in for extra fine-motor practice.

Hear the sounds first

Not sure your child is saying a sound correctly? Watch these short phonic sounds videos before you print.

For more hands-on practice, try our simple maze game or the five senses maze worksheet. Once single sounds feel solid, move on to digraphs, and if terms like phonemes and graphemes still feel confusing, this quick explainer breaks down the difference.

3 short teaching tips

• Say the sound, not the letter name — “mmm” for M, not “em”.
• Let your child guess first, and only correct gently if they’re stuck.
• Keep sessions under ten minutes; little and often beats one long sitting.

Keep going with the letter sounds

Once beginning sounds feel automatic, move on to full letter sounds with the Jolly Phonics complete guide, our reference for all 42 sounds in order. You can also practice individual sounds on their own pages: start with the /s/ sound, the /a/ sound, the /t/ sound, and the /p/ sound, or review the whole phase 2 set with our phonics sound cards phase 2 flashcards.

Frequently asked questions

What age are beginning sound worksheets for?

Most children are ready between ages 4 and 6, once they know the phase 2 letter sounds and can hear the first sound in a simple word.

Do I need to teach letter names first?

No. Phonics for kindergarten focuses on letter sounds, not names, so say “mmm” for M rather than “em” — that’s the sound your child needs to blend into words.

Which worksheet should we start with?

Start with Circle the Beginning Sound, since it only asks your child to recognize a sound, then move through matching, writing, and finding it as confidence grows. Skip around if one worksheet feels too easy or too hard — there’s no need to do them in a single sitting.

Are these worksheets really free?

Yes. All five PDFs on this page are free to download and print for home or classroom use, with no sign-up required.