Early literacy is helping your children get ready to learn to read. You are your child’s first teacher!

Enjoy these five playful and simple ways to prepare your children to become a successful reader.

Talk Together

Children learn about language by listening and joining in the conversation.  They learn about the world around them.  Talk as you play and choose whatever books interest your child to give you more to talk about!

Here’s how:

-Make sure your child has lots of opportunities to talk with you, not just listen to you talk.
-Stretch your child’s vocabulary.  Repeat what your child says and use new words.  “You want a banana?  That’s a healthy choice.”

Sing Together

Fingerplays, rhymes & songs slow down language so children can hear the different sounds that make up words.  This will help children as they begin to read printed language.

Here’s how:

-Sing the alphabet song to learn about letters.
-Clap along to the rhythm in a song so children hear the syllables in words.

Read Together

Shared reading–or reading books together–is the single best way to help children get ready to read. Kids who enjoy being read to are more likely to enjoy reading themselves, which leads to success in all school subjects.

Here’s how:

-Read every day!
-Use books to help teach new words.  Books can teach less common words, words that children may not hear in every-day conversation.  As you read, talk about what these words mean.

Write Together

Reading and writing go together.  Children can learn pre-reading skills through writing activities.  Provide your children with lots of opportunities to write or draw.

Here’s how:

-Writing begins with scribbles and other marks.  Encourage this by providing many opportunities to draw and write.
-Talk with your children about what they draw, and write captions or stories together.  This helps make a connection between spoken and printed language.

Play Together

Children learn language by interacting with others and also by interacting with their physical surroundings.

Here’s how:

-Give your child plenty of playtime.  Some of the best kinds of play are unstructured, when children can use their imaginations and create stories about what they’re doing.
-Encourage dramatic play.  When children make up stories using puppets or stuffed animals, they develop important narrative skills.  This helps children understand that stories and books have a beginning, middle, and end.

Print this entry