a, e, i, o, u: five letters, 14 sounds
Aa
short a, as in mat
long a, as in ape
third sound of a (broad a), as in father
Ee
short e, as in egg
long e, as in me
Ii
short i, as in if
long i, as in Idaho
long e, as in boutique
When teaching the letter i to your child, teach the three most common sounds in the order given here.
The letter y is sometimes used as an alternate spelling of the sounds represented by i: myth, my, happy
Oo
short o, as in hot
long o, as in Oprah
third sound of o, as in boot
Uu
short u, as in but
long u, as in uke
third sound of u, as in put