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What is Early Literacy? Early Literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they can actually read and write. Research shows that children get ready to read years before they start school. There are six early literacy skills that parents can incorporate into their children's daily life. These six skills are: Vocabulary, Print Motivation, Print Awareness, Narrative Skills, Phonological Awareness, and Letter Knowledge. More detailed information about these six skills is available at http://multcolib.org/birthtosix/elitskills.html/
You can help your baby, toddler and preschooler learn important skills now so they can become good readers. There are many simple and fun ways to do this. We invite you to bring your child to Library storytimes, which utilize research-based techniques to build early literacy skills. This newsletter will help you extend storytime benefits by including book-related fingerplays, crafts, and other activities.
This issue features the literacy skill known as print awareness. This is when children notice print in their environment, and understand how books "work," including how pages turn, and that print on the pages has meaning. You can foster your child's awareness during read-aloud time by hunting for letters on each page, pointing out interesting words, (like animals sounds) and letting the child handle the book. Books with different fonts are great for developing print awareness because they draw attention to individual words. The following books provide a variety of print and would be great tools to promote print awareness. |
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Fingerplays for Toddlers and Preschoolers |
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Bumblebee bumblebee
(use finger for bee)
Landing on my nose.
Bumblebee bumblebee
now he's on my toes.
On my arms, on my legs
Bumblebee, oh bumblebee
He lands and then he goes.
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Wiggle wiggle fingers
right up to the sky.
Wiggle wiggle fingers
wave them all good-bye.
Wiggle, wiggle, fingers
right into a ball.
Now throw it in your lap
and do not let it fall. |
Reserve this book
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Enhance your toddler's print awareness by enjoying this interactive book together. Try reading the book with your child on your lap, galloping along with the story. Run your finger under the repetivive phrases to match the text to the story. Children love the action and will want to read it over and over.
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| Fold 4 or 5 pieces of plain white paper in half, and staple the folded edges. Think of a fun story to share with your child. Come up with a title and write it on the cover, make sure you include the author and illustrator. Let your child tell you what to write down. Write the words on the bottom half of the paper and let them do the illustrations on top half. You could even use magazine pictures or make collages. Make the book special, add it to your home library, and share with friends and family. |
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Print Awareness in Your Neighborhood |
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When you are out and about with your child, point out the words on labels and signs and read them aloud. Chilldren need to see that print is everywhere. The book Alphabeep: A Zipping, Zooming ABC by Debora Pearson is a fun, colorful book that includes lots of road, vehicle and building signs. |
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For Babies
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