There’s Always “Time”
for Literacy
December 2009/January 2010
Encouraging early literacy skills in your youngster can easily be a part of your typical day. Mealtime, playtime, car time, bath time and bedtime all offer opportunities to introduce some literacy activities.
Mealtime:
Mealtimes are great times to encourage your child to communicate with you, whether it be through baby talk, gestures or actual conversation. Ask questions – “Are you ready to eat?” or “Do you want some banana?” Make comments – “It’s time for lunch! I made your favorite - hot dogs!” Keep it exciting and fun. Encourage your child’s back-and-forth interaction with you. Use short sentences and give your child time to respond to what you’ve said. See Mealtime Conversations (PDF) for more information.
Playtime:
Young children explore their world through touch. Playtime offers a great opportunity to practice literacy skills like letter knowledge. You can use blocks, play dough or string to form shapes and letters. Sandboxes are great places to practice “writing” by drawing letters, shapes or numbers in the sand. In the winter try filling a shallow dish with glitter or sprinkles and draw in that.
Car Time:
Inevitably you will probably find yourself in the car during your day – running errands, shuttling kids from here to there. Why not make good use of the time by playing some fun literacy games with the kids? Sing songs, recite nursery rhymes and have the kids do the actions for them. Play guessing games like “I spy with my little eye” or choose a letter (C or M for example) and have them try to spot the letter on signs as you drive.
Bath Time
Add some fun and literacy to your bath time routine by playing imagination games. Bath toys can morph into an exciting story that you and your child create together. Storytelling is a great way to practice narrative skills. How about learning the names of body parts as you scrub them?
Bedtime
As the day winds down, what better way to soothe your child to sleep than with a storybook. Making reading a special and anticipated part of a child’s day can produce a lifelong love of books. Always have books on hand (the library is great for this) and allow your child to choose the evening’s entertainment. Sure, you will probably get tired of reading Goodnight Moon for the fifth time but kids love repetition because it is how they learn best. Being able to anticipate what will happen in the story creates feelings of pride and success.
A typical day offers many opportunities for you to help your child be ready to read. It’s easy to find “time” to incorporate early literacy skills into your child’s day!
Visit The Center for Early Literacy Learning to discover more literacy activities. Also see Fun, Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Promote Literacy with your Preschooler.
By Valarie Sandlian, Reference Librarian, Virginia Village Branch of the Denver Public Library
Sign up for the Literacy Newsletter!
|
