- Keep books accessible to the children, perhaps on a low bookshelf.
- Make reading books together a bedtime routine.
- Don't use the words. Use only the pictures and make up your own story!
- Act out the story together.
- Use silly voices for each different character in the story.
- Utilize your library story time. Help your child pick out more books to enjoy together while you are there.
During the first five years of life children develop early literacy skills. These prepare them to learn and succeed and generally fall into six categories, as mentioned above. Here are their definitions and an activity to go with each.
Narrative Skills - The ability to describe things and tell stories; Ask open ended questions about pictures such as: "What do you think is happening here?" to encourage children to make up their own stories.
Letter Knowledge- Understanding that each letter has its own name and sounds; Write words your child finds appealing such as "dinosaur" or "sparkle" using magnetic letters and a crayon or pencil and paper.
Phonological Awareness - The ability to recognize and play with the smaller sounds that make up words; Play with rhymes. Read simple poems and have children guess the last word in the