English for Kindergarten and Grades 1-2: How to Start Right
In kindergarten and grades 1-2, English starts through the ear: songs, short stories, games and everyday words. Letter sounds come next, and reading only after that. A few playful minutes a day, with no tests, do more than one long weekly session. At this age there is no need to push fluent reading, writing, grammar or translating every word.
By TutorNest · Updated 5 October 2026
What do children in kindergarten and grades 1-2 really need in English?
At these ages the goal is for English to sound familiar and pleasant. A child who has heard a lot of English, sung songs and understands a few dozen words comes to reading with something to build on.
In most Israeli schools English is not yet a structured subject in grades 1-2, and what is taught varies from school to school. So there is no gap to worry about. Whatever your child picks up now is a head start, not a requirement.
Why start with listening and not with reading?
Children learn a language through the ear first, the same way they learned their first one. A child who knows how a word sounds and what it means will recognize it easily when it shows up in print.
Children in grades 1-2 are still settling into reading and writing in Hebrew. Adding a second writing system too early, one that runs in the opposite direction, can be confusing. Listening and speaking do not compete with Hebrew, which makes them the natural place to begin.
What should we do at home, and in what order?
Stage
What it looks like
How to help at home
Listening
Your child hears English and enjoys it, without understanding everything
A teacher every week, practice every day
TutorNest joins a weekly one-to-one English lesson to about ten minutes of practice at home each day.
Songs in the car, a short picture story, a familiar show in English
Words
Recognizes and says everyday words: colors, animals, food, numbers
Pointing games: where is the dog, bring me something red
Short phrases
Follows simple instructions and answers in a word or two
Fixed phrases at home: good morning, thank you, let's go
Letter sounds
Knows the sound each letter makes, not only its name
One letter at a time, with a word that starts with its sound
The order matters more than the pace. A child who does not yet enjoy listening will get little from letter worksheets. A child who already sings, understands and says words will pick up letter sounds quickly.
How much time a day, and how do we keep it fun?
Five to ten minutes a day is enough at this age. A young child's attention is short, and it is the small daily contact that makes a language stick. It is better to stop while your child still wants more.
One song repeated all week, with movements.
A picture book in English read again and again, pointing at the pictures.
A short game: Simon Says, a memory game with picture cards, what is missing.
A fixed moment in the day for a little English, such as breakfast.
Pick one English song and play it every day for a week, at the same time of day. After a few days many children are singing parts of it on their own. Repeating one song teaches more than seven different songs.
What should we not push yet?
Fluent reading and writing whole words. That comes later, built on letter sounds.
Spelling tests and quizzes. They measure before there is anything to measure, and can put a child off.
Grammar rules. A young child absorbs patterns by hearing them, not from explanations.
Translating every word into Hebrew. A picture, a gesture or an object explains it better.
Correcting every mistake. Say the sentence back the right way and move on.
A child who does not want to speak English is still learning. Many children listen for a long time before they start to talk. There is no need to press: keep playing, singing and listening, and the speaking follows.
How do we know our child is ready for letters and reading?
The usual signs: your child understands simple words and instructions in English, notices the sound a word starts with, is curious about letters around them, and reads Hebrew fairly steadily. For many children this happens toward the end of second grade or in third grade.
When you do start, teach the sound of each letter first, not only its name. A child who knows the sounds that m, a and t make can blend them into the word mat. A child who knows only the letter names gets stuck at exactly that step.
How does TutorNest handle this?
TutorNest is for children from age 6 and is matched to level, not to school grade. A child starting from zero gets one weekly 45-minute one-to-one lesson with the same teacher, who also speaks Hebrew, and about ten minutes of daily practice in an app where each question appears as a small game. It begins with letters and sounds and moves on from there.
Questions parents ask
Does early English confuse a child's Hebrew?+
Usually not. Listening, songs and words in English do not harm Hebrew. What is worth delaying is structured reading and writing in English, until reading in Hebrew has settled.
Our own English is not strong. Can we still help?+
Yes. Songs, recorded stories and shows give your child a good model of pronunciation. Your part is to play them, show interest and enjoy them together, not to teach.
Are English videos enough on their own?+
They help a child get used to the sound of the language, but children learn far more when someone joins in: singing, asking, pointing and responding. A few minutes together are worth more than an hour alone with a screen.
Does a first grader need a private tutor?+
Not necessarily. There is a lot you can do at home yourselves. A tutor makes sense when a child is curious and wants more, or when you want an orderly start with letters and sounds.