The first time I read to Ironflower, I teared up, I was so happy to finally be reading to my little girl. She was three days old. I think I started reading to the boys even before I got home from the hospital. And even though she and Lovebug now can and do read extremely well on their own, I still read to them most nights. I feel like most parents know they should read to their kids every night, but that doesn't have to be the only way parents can help their kids with literacy.
- Have rich conversations. Even if your little one can't respond verbally yet, s/he is paying attention to what you say. So narrate your day. Use big words. Encourage toddlers and preschoolers to ask what new words mean.
- Share the alphabet. I'm not a big fan of flashcards for young children (especially babies), but that doesn't mean I don't think they should be introduced to the alphabet. Sing the ABC song, point out letters on signs, read them alphabet books and so on.
- Rhyme. Rhyming is one part of phonemic awareness, a key component of reading skill. When repeating directions, try rhyming some of the words ("Give me a hug, bug!"). With preschoolers, play "I Spy", but instead of using colors, say, "I spy with my little eye something that rhymes with ____".
- Label pictures. When your little one proudly points to his scribbles and announces that it's actually a picture of your mother-in-law, carefully write "Grandma" on the page. As your kiddo grows, so will his descriptions. Eventually you'll be writing down entire stories for him!
- Play with the alphabet. Magnetic letters, alphabet puzzles and board books may not be much fun to step on (though they're all better than Legos, trust me), but they are great for familiarizing kids with the alphabet.
- Encourage imaginative play. Play pretend with your kiddo - let her be the server, or the doctor, or the super hero princess and join in her story. Alphabet apps and web sites can be great for preschoolers and up (Starfall.com is an excellent free site), but imaginative play will do more for her than any app.
Resources that back up what I'm saying, but that I did not actually cite in my post because all this information lives in my head (told you I'm obsessed with reading):
30 comments:
we had a parent/teacher conference today and got a great report from my daughters teacher about her reading. it was a pleasant surprise.
We're lucky that our child LOVES to read. Learning to read well is the most important thing they will ever learn in life. It's a skill that we use every day of our lifes.
These are some great ideas! I'm sharing with my bff who has twins due next month. She will be needing this info here very soon!
My kids loved labeled pictures when they were little. Helped them when they started learning to read.
These are all great ideas. My 3-year old will be starting school this year, and we do work on some of these activities together.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing!
Great tips for activities. I know a lot of children who love to read and to keep it going is what matters.
Our child is just entering this age and is interested in learning so these are great ideas to keep him going.
As a former teacher I agree that reading is the number one important thing. These are great tips to establish literacy and get kids off to a solid start and keep them up to speed.
Great tips. I started early with my daughter and she started talking really early. I do use flash cards with her and she loves playing with them and pointing and saying the different things she knows. I made the flash cards myself so they weren't too busy like the ones I saw in the stores.
Michelle F.
I love the tip about labeling pictures...that is such a helpful suggestion that I didn't think of.
When my kids were small I constantly talked to them. I'm sure they were thinking Mom shush! They might of slept more. I did the magnetic letters with them too. My daughter wouldn't stick to doing it but the boys were more receptive to it.
I read to my 2-year-old daughter all the time. We read dozens of books a day. She is even starting to "read" by herself.
This is great advice. I think I did this more with my first son, than my second. I had more conversations earlier on and I think that developed his language so much better. My second son is 2 and is now speaking in three word sentences, but he's very quiet, I think its because I didn't spend as much time conversing with him.
This is such a great list of ideas to use with any little one!
Such great ideas. I will definitely be doing these with my daughter.
So important! I've been at home since I had my son, but before that I taught English. Literacy is the foundation for all other subjects, in my opinion.
Awesome Tips I Need Some New Ideas Thanks!
When my kids were little they would always read. We would also work on things like when on a walk I would ask my son to show me that started with A, B, C and so on. Now they are almost 9 and 7 and advanced in reading. We read every night before bed still.
These are all great ideas. I will definitely be using some.
I never thought about rhyming when I talked to my kiddos. I didn't really know how important phonemic awareness was for young kids. . . thank you for sharing! My daughter is 3, and it is our goal to be reading by her 4th birthday! It will be bittersweet, because she might not want me to read our bedtime stories anymore.
I love literacy activities too partly because my husband is an English teacher! But this is great.
I have always been a huge reader. It has always been a huge part of my life and I couldn't imagine not sharing that love from a very young age. These are really great tips and ideas for incorporating literacy activities with kids even if they aren't verbal yet.
Earlier this afternoon I was reading a book to my one year old. It was a book about opposites from Sesame Street. She has never really paid attention to books but tonight she just started laughing at the pictures and saying words I didn't even know she knew. They are paying attention even when we think they aren't so reading to them and talking to them are so important even if we think they aren't listening. Thank you. :) I used to be a teacher too and reading to the kids was one of my favorite activities. :)
Great tips! These are such a wonderful bonding activities.I used to love reading to & with my boys when they were little.
I used to be a teacher too and same as you I found reading was so relaxing during hard times.
I can relate to some of your suggestions, I'm glad I started them so early with my daughter as now at 2 1/2 yo she seems a bit more sharp than the average. I really believe teaching her the alphabet, reading books and poems together makes a huge difference in children development.
I love all of these. We play with the alphabet too, cutting letters out and making words and such. It's fun. :)
I'm big on not baby talking to children. I really hate it and it practically (if not expressly) encourages them to incorrectly use language.
Early literacy activities are so important. And you are right, no baby talking!
Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough to teach my littles and get them ready for reading. Things like this, though, show me that I'm actually doing the right things. Thank you!
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